Washington Examiner executive editor Bob Cusack said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could be a serious presidential contender, but Democrats are cautious about it.
“She’s either going to run for Senate, or she’s going to run for the White House, and I’m not sure which way she’s going to go,” Cusack said on CNN’s Laura Coates Live Tuesday.
Ocasio-Cortez’s presidential potential has floated through Washington as the congresswoman continues to make headlines.
In an interview with the New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez talked about the 2028 election, saying, “Life doesn’t wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you.”
Cusack said the Democratic Socialists of America want her to run for office and that she could win over a lot of states.
“Her greatest weakness in the general election is electability, and she knows that,” Cusack said.
However, Cusack said she hasn’t taken the one step that could indicate she’s considering a presidential run.
“There’s one thing she hasn’t done that a lot of these other 2028ers have done, it’s a precursor for running: She hasn’t written a book,” Cusack said.
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Cusack said Democrats are wary about their candidates because they are feeling “burned” from losses by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 election to President Donald Trump, and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump.
Despite caution from the Left, Cusack said she could be the kind of candidate they need: “AOC is exciting, and I think that’s what the base wants.”