AOC leaves open 2028 presidential and Senate bids

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has left the door open to a 2028 presidential campaign, while also declining to rule out a run for the U.S. Senate. For voters following the next Democratic contest, the key point is narrower: the New York Democrat has not announced, launched or committed to a campaign for either office.

On ABC's This Week, Ocasio-Cortez said she had not ruled out running for president in 2028, CNBC reported. She said she was humbled by support for a possible bid, but argued that elected officials should keep their attention on the 2026 midterms rather than personal ambitions.

Asked separately about a possible Senate campaign, she said that “anything is possible at this juncture,” according to CNBC. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow New York Democrat, is scheduled to face reelection in 2028.

Will AOC run for president or Senate in 2028?

Ocasio-Cortez has given no indication that she has made a decision. Her comments keep both options available, but they are not a declaration of candidacy. A campaign announcement would typically involve a formal decision to seek an office and the start of an organized effort to win it; neither step was described in her remarks.

The congresswoman had already left open the prospect of a presidential bid in July. MS NOW reported that she told Politico she could not say she had ruled it out after campaigning in Michigan with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

Her later ABC appearance expanded the public discussion to include the Senate seat. It also underscored her stated near-term priority: the midterm elections.

CNBC reported that Ocasio-Cortez has represented parts of the Bronx and Queens since 2019. The outlet also cited an early University of New Hampshire poll that placed her ahead of several potential Democratic presidential candidates in the state. That kind of early polling measures views of hypothetical candidates, not an active campaign or a final field.

For now, Ocasio-Cortez’s position is that both a White House bid and a Senate run remain possibilities. Whether either possibility becomes a campaign remains undecided based on her public comments.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.