Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that fellow progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) decision whether to run for president in 2028 wouldn’t affect his own decision.
In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Khanna was asked about his 2028 presidential ambitions and specifically about whether Ocasio-Cortez’s flirting with the prospect would affect his own calculation. After singing her praises, Khanna said her decision was irrelevant to his own.
“Obviously, she’s extraordinary, but my vision is an economic vision,” Khanna responded, laying out his economic plan.
“I have a vision called economic patriotism, which calls for having the greatest economic mission in generations to build a future economy that’s going to be working for people I grew up with: deindustrialized communities, the black South,” he continued.
“How do we bring economic success, not just in Silicon Valley, across this country? I understand tech. I’ve had the guts to stand up to them, and I have a road map of how we build that future economy everywhere,” Khanna added.
Khanna’s message appears fine-tuned to carve out a niche of left-wing economic populism while avoiding the toxic associations of Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive social policies. Ocasio-Cortez has slightly distanced herself from the excesses of the “Woke 1” era, but held to most of its policies.
Ocasio-Cortez’s rising prominence in the party has driven speculation on both sides of the aisle that she could be the Democratic nominee in 2028. Vice President JD Vance, who many believe will be the Republican nominee in 2028, said in June that he believes the New York Democrat will be the Democratic front-runner in the next presidential election.
Ocasio-Cortez has avoided commenting on the matter directly, only saying she hasn’t ruled it out.
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“I’m focused on winning the midterms. I’m running for Congress right now,” Ocasio-Cortez recently told ABC’s This Week when asked about any presidential ambitions.
“I haven’t ruled out the possibility. And I’m very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there,” she added.