Clinton Strategist Predicts Disaster For Dems If AOC Is ’28 Nominee
A former adviser to President Bill Clinton has dismissed any chance of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) becoming the Democratic nominee for president in 2028.
Appearing on Fox News last week, political strategist Mark Penn spoke with guest host Kellyanne Conway and offered a blunt forecast for Ocasio-Cortez’s future on the national stage, suggesting that her nomination would leave the party with support in just "one state."
Conway, a GOP pollster and strategist, posed the question: “Break it down for us. Do people want that young, fresh blood, a little bit socialist? Are they going to go back to someone like Kamala Harris and think if she had more time? Are we missing the point here altogether? Are there governors or Stephen A. Smith?"
She continued, asking, “And by the way, what are the attributes that the Democratic Party is looking for? Is it the economy? Is it immigration? Is it social justice? Is it climate? What’s going on? Tell us about the polls in your party.”
Penn responded by noting that when a party is out of power and has suffered a clear electoral defeat, leadership becomes unclear. “Well, you know that in a situation like this where the party essentially has none of the branches of government and lost an election significantly and handily, that there is no leader of the party. And AOC is trying to fill that vacuum," he said.
He went on to compare her emerging influence to that of Senator Bernie Sanders, stating, “Bernie Sanders, frankly, he could get, as we’ve seen, 30, 40 percent of a Democratic primary. So if she’s going to have a significant base, he’s clearly passing the torch to her.”
Penn warned that leaning too far left has historically led to poor electoral outcomes, saying, “There is a strong left-wing base in the Democratic Party. Remember, Democrats got one state in 1972, and they got one state in 1984.”
He added, “So the Democratic Party has been in the wilderness multiple times when it goes too far to the left. And so the possibility of that is real.”
As for Vice President Kamala Harris, Penn was skeptical of her chances: “I think in terms of Harris, no way she is going to come back in a presidential race, no way that she would ever win a presidential primary.”
Penn also commented on California politics, criticizing Senator Adam Schiff and raising concerns about the state’s condition: “But Adam Schiff is a senator, believe it or not, from California, after his completely disreputable record in the House. And so I don’t think it’s far-fetched that she [Harris] might wind up governor of California, because California does not seem to kind of wake up to the nightmare that its elected officials have put itself in."
He cited a host of issues facing the state: “a state that’s losing population, has an incredible erosion of its tax base as a fiscal situation, a crime situation, a transportation situation. So I don’t know what’s going to happen in the long term.”
Wrapping up his analysis, Penn doubled down on his view of AOC’s 2028 chances: “California seems to be solidly in the Democratic camp. So she could come back as governor. She’s not going to be the presidential candidate,” he said of Harris. Then, regarding Ocasio-Cortez: “I don’t think AOC is going to be the nominee of the party. If it is, I think it will be back to one state.”
Despite this, Ocasio-Cortez may have another path in mind: challenging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a primary.
A recent poll conducted by Data for Progress shows her holding a 19-point lead over Schumer in a theoretical 2028 Democratic primary.
Although Schumer maintains his leadership position in the Senate, his favorability among Democratic voters appears to be slipping fast.
In a survey carried out between March 26 and 31, 767 likely Democratic primary voters in New York were asked who they would support in a face-off between Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez. The results were eye-opening: 55% said they would back Ocasio-Cortez, while only 36% favored Schumer.
This wasn’t an outlier. The same poll showed that Schumer had the highest disapproval rating among all Democratic figures tested. In contrast, Ocasio-Cortez ranked among the top, with only Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren scoring higher.