AOC Eyes Presidential Run

Progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is eyeing a run for president in 2028, according to a report Friday.

The socialist “Squad” member is gearing up to seek higher office as she’s attempted to grow her presence across the country and the Empire State, people familiar with her operation told Axios in a Friday report.

Ocasio-Cortez and her team are deciding on whether to run for the Senate or the White House, sources told the outlet.

The New York lefty has joined Sen. Bernie Sanders — a former presidential candidate — on his national “Fighting Oligarchy” tour while she’s also held town halls across upstate New York this summer.

Ocasio-Cortez, who reps parts of Queens and the Bronx, has also doled out millions this year on growing her social media presence and obtaining a list of possible supporters and donors to raise her grassroots fundraising ceiling, Axios reported.

The outlet made clear that the 35-year-old lawmaker has yet to make any decision on the future, but her team wants to give her choices.

Some allies reportedly think that even if she doesn’t believe she could win the nomination for president, she would run for the White House so the left wing of the Democratic Party has a stake in the primary — similar to Sanders’ surprising showing against moderate Hilary Clinton in 2016.

If she ran for one of New York’s two US Senate seats, she’d likely challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, though he has yet to confirm whether he is planning to run for re-election.

The Brooklyn Democrat was elected to a fifth term in the Senate in 2022 in an easy triumph without any serious challengers from the left.

The Post has sought comment from AOC’s congressional office and campaign. The Post also reached out to a spokesperson for Schumer.

A Sanders aide called it the “height of arrogance to assume she couldn’t win the 2028 nomination.”

“She has a supporter base that, in many ways, has a larger potential width than Bernie’s,” Ari Rabin-Havt told Axios.

“She has been in the glare of the spotlight from day one and has the national campaigning experience a lot of other potential candidates are now trying to get.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who burst onto the political scene when she beat entrenched Congressman Joe Crowley in a 2018 Democratic primary, has a myriad of progressive positions, including advocating for universal health care and the pricey Green New Deal.

Positioning herself as an antagonist to President Trump, she’s against Israel’s war in Gaza and has been a staunch opponent of deportation of migrants in the US illegally.

She also at times hasn’t worried about publicly calling out the Democratic establishment — like earlier this month when she took a dig at Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for not endorsing Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor.

Some allies reportedly believe that even if she doesn’t think she could win the nomination for president, she would run for the White House so the left wing of the Democratic Party has a stake in the primary — similar to Sanders’ run in 2016.