Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said the question of her “electability” is part of her considering a 2028 presidential campaign while leaving open the possibility of running for the Senate instead.
Ocasio-Cortez, 36, told the New York Times that she expects to decide whether to seek a Senate seat or pursue the White House after the 2026 midterm elections. She said she is thinking “personally” about a presidential run.
“I think about it personally,” Ocasio-Cortez said when asked about a White House bid.
The progressive lawmaker also acknowledged that her age, gender, and ethnicity are factors she considers when weighing a presidential campaign.
“I’m not naïve to the fact that we are living under a very regressive administration, and I happen to be a woman, and I, you know, happen to be Latin,” she said. “And I think that there’s a lot of conversation about electability, and I don’t kind of shy away from those realities.”
Ocasio-Cortez said the defeats of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, the only two women to win the Democratic presidential nomination, are also part of a broader conversation around whether a woman can win the presidency.
“It may or may not be related, but I absolutely empathize with the heartbreak that people feel around that and, frankly, how those women were treated,” she said.
“This country has never elected a female president,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Why are we pretending that this is not a factor?”
She said she has encountered resistance to discussions about gender from both sides of the political spectrum.
“What is very odd about our political culture is that for some reason when you raise it, people just freak out,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They get so defensive at the mere suggestion that gender could play a role.”
“There’s an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot,” she said. “And you don’t — and just in life in general — life doesn’t wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you.”
“Every element of this is something that’s within consideration,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez could also run for the Senate seat held by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), which will be up for election in 2028. Schumer has not announced his plans for the seat.
“I don’t think that my decisions would come down to deference,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“My ambition is way bigger than that,” she said. “My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go, Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever, a living wage is forever, workers’ rights are forever, women’s rights, all of that.”
Ocasio-Cortez said concerns about money and special interests also factor into her thinking about the political system.
“I have a tremendous amount of fear over the corruption of our political system,” she said. “There’s very few people who are financially independent from special interests that are able to advocate directly for the needs of working people.”
Her ultimate consideration, she said, will be where she can have the greatest impact.
“Where can I do the most good?” she said.
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Ocasio-Cortez is already attracting attention in early polling of the potential 2028 Democratic field.
A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted July 15-20 found her with 22% support among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, followed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 21%. No candidates have formally launched a bid for the presidency yet.