Ocasio-Cortez Raises Eyebrows With 2028 Comments

The 2028 presidential campaign may still be more than two years away, but the jockeying to succeed President Donald Trump is already accelerating—and the Democratic Party’s increasingly socialist base appears ready to elevate one of its most radical national figures.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has moved to the top of the prospective Democratic presidential field in New Hampshire, narrowly surpassing former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg while leaving former Vice President Kamala Harris far behind.

Despite the growing speculation, Ocasio-Cortez is refusing to say whether she intends to seek the White House.

“I have genuinely not really weighed seriously anything past the midterm elections,” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital when asked if she is interested in a run.

“I think that I’m taking in this information just like anybody else,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Her refusal to rule out a campaign will do little to quiet speculation. Ocasio-Cortez has increasingly expanded her political activity beyond New York, supported socialist and progressive candidates across the country and carefully left open the possibility of either a presidential campaign or a 2028 Senate primary challenge against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The University of New Hampshire’s July Granite State Poll placed Ocasio-Cortez at 22 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. Buttigieg followed at 21 percent, giving the New York congresswoman a narrow one-point advantage in a state that remains an important test of presidential candidates despite Democratic efforts to reduce its traditional influence.

Ocasio-Cortez gained seven percentage points since the university’s February survey. Harris, by contrast, fell to just 5 percent—17 points behind the democratic socialist who could become the party’s standard-bearer after Trump leaves office. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also lost seven points, finishing at 8 percent.

The early movement offers another sign that Democratic voters remain dissatisfied with the party establishment after Harris’ decisive 2024 defeat.

Harris may continue to benefit from national name recognition, but her dismal New Hampshire showing suggests many Democratic voters are already looking elsewhere. Early presidential polls are notoriously fluid, yet falling from 10 percent to 5 percent in a matter of months is hardly an encouraging sign for a former vice president and recent presidential nominee.

Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, has cultivated a loyal following among the party’s most ideological voters.

“Nearly half of socialists and one-third of progressives support Ocasio-Cortez, while pluralities of liberals and moderates support Buttigieg,” Andrew Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said.

The poll confirms that the prospective Democratic field is dividing along ideological lines. Socialists and hard-left progressives are consolidating behind Ocasio-Cortez, while voters who still consider themselves liberal or moderate are leaning toward Buttigieg.

That ideological split could define the 2028 primary.

Ocasio-Cortez has built her national profile by demanding expansive federal spending, attacking free-market institutions and supporting candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. Her rise would force Democrats to decide whether their path back to the White House runs through economic populism and cultural radicalism—or through a candidate capable of appealing to Americans outside the party’s activist class.

Asked earlier about seeking higher office, Ocasio-Cortez declared that her objective was to “change the country.”

Her record leaves little doubt about the direction of that proposed change. The congresswoman’s political movement favors a substantially larger federal government, sweeping environmental mandates and economic policies that would shift greater power away from individuals and private enterprise and toward Washington.

Behind the top two candidates, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona received 9 percent, placing him third. Newsom followed at 8 percent, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., received 6 percent. Harris stood at 5 percent, and every other potential candidate tested registered at 2 percent or less.

Sanders, whose presidential campaigns helped move the Democratic Party sharply leftward in 2016 and 2020, has largely dismissed the possibility of attempting another run at age 84.

“I suspect that’s not going to happen.”

He jokingly added, “I know I look like I’m 30. I am not.”

Even without Sanders on the ballot, his influence over the party is unmistakable. Ocasio-Cortez represents the next generation of the socialist movement he helped make nationally viable, combining his economic agenda with the identity-driven politics and aggressive online organizing of the modern Democratic left.

Democrats Reshape Their Primary Calendar

The New Hampshire poll arrived as Democratic officials moved forward with a revised 2028 presidential nominating calendar that continues the party’s break from more than a century of political tradition.

On Friday, July 24, the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee selected South Carolina to hold the party’s first 2028 presidential primary on January 22. Nevada would vote next, followed by New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia before Super Tuesday. The proposal still requires approval from the full DNC at its August meeting.

The decision could complicate Ocasio-Cortez’s path.

New Hampshire’s progressive electorate may be receptive to her democratic-socialist agenda, but South Carolina’s Democratic primary electorate is heavily influenced by black voters, who have historically been more cautious about the party’s most ideologically left-wing presidential candidates.

The calendar may provide a greater initial advantage to Harris, who still possesses stronger relationships with many establishment Democrats and black political leaders. It could also force Ocasio-Cortez to prove immediately that her appeal extends beyond young voters, socialists and progressive activists concentrated in liberal states.

New Hampshire officials are expected to resist the DNC’s decision because state law requires its presidential primary to be held before any similar contest. That could again produce conflict between the national party and state officials, as happened during the 2024 cycle.

Republicans, meanwhile, are expected to retain their traditional opening calendar, beginning with the Iowa caucuses and followed by the New Hampshire primary.

Vance Leads, but Rubio Is Closing Fast

On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance remains the New Hampshire frontrunner to carry forward President Trump’s America First movement—but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sharply narrowed the gap.

Vance received 36 percent support among likely Republican primary voters, while Rubio followed with 26 percent. The 10-point margin represents a dramatic change from February, when Vance led Rubio 53 percent to 7 percent.

Rubio’s rise comes as his role in the administration has expanded, giving him greater visibility on foreign policy and national-security issues. Vance, however, remains closely identified with Trump’s working-class coalition and has long been viewed as the most likely political heir to the president’s movement.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley each received 8 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed at 6 percent, while every other Republican tested remained at 4 percent or below.

The Republican contest, should both men run, would likely center on who is best positioned to preserve Trump’s accomplishments, defend American sovereignty and keep the party’s working-class realignment intact.

The Democratic race presents a dramatically different choice.

Ocasio-Cortez’s rise signals that the party may respond to its 2024 defeat not by moving toward the political center, but by embracing an even more aggressive socialist agenda. Buttigieg remains competitive, while Harris is struggling to maintain relevance in the state that once helped expose the weakness of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

It is far too early to declare a nominee. Polls conducted before the midterm elections primarily measure name recognition, ideological enthusiasm and early organizational strength.

But the emerging picture is already clear: The Democratic establishment is vulnerable, the socialist left is gaining power and Ocasio-Cortez is no longer merely a media celebrity or congressional agitator.

She is now being measured as a serious contender for the presidency of the United States.