On Tuesday night, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed rumors that she might like to run for president in 2028.
In an Instagram live video, the self-described socialist said that “people” keep bringing up “the future, like 2028, like blah blah blah.”
“I think what’s really important is that we have a lot of work that we need to do right now,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And I want to like level with all of you: I’m not a person that aspires to position. I aspire to a mission.”
RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Says U.S. ‘Not An Advanced Society’
AOC addresses rumors that she plans to run for president in 2028 and doesn’t rule it out… pic.twitter.com/zOX4bV0VLe
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 11, 2020
She Didn’t Say ‘No’…
“We have a lot of issues in our country right now and we need to address those issues,” the Democrat added. “We can’t swing from one savior to another, and there is a lot of saviorism [sic] in politics, like whose next, whose gonna save us.”
“The answer is you, the answer is people,” she added.
But notice after saying “2028, like blah blah blah,” AOC never says “no.”
And for good reason.
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AOC Might Be the Democratic Party of the Future
While Joe Biden might be ascending as the Democratic nominee right now as Bernie Sanders falls by the wayside, there are indicators that point to the future party being more socialist in the way Sanders or Ocasio-Cortez might like than centrist.
New York Magazine’s Eric Levitz writes, “Sanders’s faction is not the same old minority of staunch progressives that have been with the Democrats since time immemorial. It is a coalition of the ascendant.”
“Throughout the 2020 campaign, Sanders has boasted the lion’s share of the millennial and zoomer generations’ support, while Biden got by with a minuscule fraction: As of late January, national polls were putting Biden’s support among voters under 35 within their margin of error,” Levitz writes. “And although the Democratic front-runner has gained some of the younger vote as the field has narrowed, exit polls from Tuesday night’s races once again confirmed that Biden’s crusade against ‘malarkey’ (and/or single-payer health care) does not resonate with the young folk.”
Bernie won voters under 30 by 76 points in Michigan and 57 points in Missouri. If Biden does not do everything in his power to make young progressives feel at home in his coalition, Democrats could be headed for another long spell in the wilderness. https://t.co/s4QP7Fuj1e
— Eric Levitz (@EricLevitz) March 11, 2020
Levitz notes where Dem-voting youth plant their flags: “Even as he lost Michigan and Missouri by hefty margins Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders won voters under 30 in those states by 76 points and 57 points respectively, according to exit polls.”
That AOC for president coalition is looking real good. Hope Bernie is around in 2028 to see his ideas win. https://t.co/EnFX6XB2cl
— Rohan Naidu (@Rohan_Naidu) March 11, 2020
RELATED: Most Americans Just Want To Have A Good Life And A Sanders Presidency Endangers That
Biden Can’t Take Young Progressives for Granted in 2020
What should Biden do to attract younger voters?
“To maximize his odds of victory in November, Biden will need to improve his standing with younger, progressive voters,” Levitz advised. “Given Trump’s structural advantage in the Electoral College, Democrats can’t afford to take any votes for granted.”
No, Biden can’t take these votes for granted, and for most young Democratic voters, it is the socialist message that resonates most.
So, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 2028? It sounds comical right now. It might not in eight years.
I already can’t wait to elect @AOC as our president in 2028
— lindsay ✨ (@lindsaykearney_) March 5, 2020