USA09 May, 20262 min read
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tells David Axelrod She Wants To Change The Country In 2028
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She said, 'My ambition is to change the country' regarding 2028. She avoided committing to a 2028 run during a Chicago event with Axelrod.
AOC on 2028
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told David Axelrod during a Friday event in Chicago that her ambition is not about a “title or a seat” as she weighed potential higher office in 2028.
Ocasio-Cortez said, “My ambition is to change this country,” and she added that “single-payer healthcare is forever.”
The Guardian reported that Axelrod asked whether she planned to run for higher office in 2028 while he hosted a conversation at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.
In the same exchange, Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to “make decisions from a place of how are we going to change the country,” and she later described waking up and “looking out the window and observing the conditions of this country.”
Polls and party jockeying
The Guardian said a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll taken in April showed support among Democratic voters for former vice-president Kamala Harris at 24% and for California Governor Gavin Newsom at 12%. In that same poll, the outlet reported that ex-transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ocasio-Cortez each received 9%, and it framed the remarks as coming amid “early jockeying among her party for its 2028 presidential nomination.” Newsweek described Axelrod’s question in Chicago as also touching on the idea of challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat, and it quoted Ocasio-Cortez saying, “My ambition is to change this country.”
Newsweek also reported that a YouGov survey released last month asked which people respondents would consider voting for in the Democratic presidential primary or caucus in 2028, with Harris at 52% and Newsom at 40%. The YouGov results in Newsweek placed Buttigieg at 39%, Ocasio-Cortez at 38%, and Sanders at 37%, while the poll surveyed 2,189 adults from April 8-13 with a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.
Republicans and next steps
On the Republican side, KOIN’s source said Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “widely seen as likely candidates to succeed President Trump once his second term is up.” KOIN also quoted Trump telling reporters in October, “I’m not sure if anyone would run against those two,” and it added that Trump has “also not entirely ruled out seeking a third term.” The same KOIN account said Trump Organization debuted “Trump 2028” hats last April and that the president told reporters in October that he would “love to” run again.
In a separate thread of Democratic positioning, El Correo described the “unofficially” beginning of the 2028 presidential primaries after the November midterms and said the progressive checks led by Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris were “gearing up for the November midterm elections.” El Correo also quoted Newsom commenting on an image in which Trump seemed drowsy in the Oval Office with “Perfect health,” as it portrayed the party’s 2028 field as already taking positions.