Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) dismissed a question about a potential 2028 presidential run on Friday night, stating that her ambition is far greater than any single office.
AOC's Vision for Change
During a conversation with Democratic strategist David Axelrod at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, Ocasio-Cortez 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."
Potential 2028 Candidates
Ocasio-Cortez is among several figures voters see as potential Democratic candidates for the 2028 presidential election, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (Calif.), former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
However, the congresswoman emphasized that her political ambitions are about meeting the moment, not pursuing a title. "Conditions change radically all the time. So I make my response less to an attachment to some title or position, and working backwards from there. But I make decisions by waking up in the morning, looking out the window and observing the conditions of this country and saying what move or what decision can I make today that is going to get us closer to that future, stronger, faster, better than yesterday and those conditions."
Commitment to the Working Class
She further explained that her decisions come from a substantive place, and no elite power can prevent her from serving the working class. "And I can do that in the House. I can do it in the Senate. I can do it from the White House. I can do it from a shack in upstate New York, chopping wood and being a burnout — like, I can do it," Ocasio-Cortez concluded.
