Speculation is swirling about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s plans for 2028 after she successfully endorsed dark-horse socialist Zohran Mamdani in the heated New York City Democratic mayoral primary.
Many observers believe the lefty “Squad” member will try to move up from her House seat — whether to the Senate or even the White House — in the aftermath of Mamdani’s stunning upset over ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday night.
“It just continues to open more doors,” Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortez’s former spokesperson and author of America’s Undoing Substack, told The Post. “It just broadens her horizons.”
The 35-year-old Bronx and Queens congresswoman was perhaps the most high-profile Democrat to throw her weight behind Mamdani, 33, at a time when he was widely seen as the underdog in the race.
Cuomo, a thrice-elected Democrat, got the backing of establishment party members, like South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn and former President Bill Clinton — but still lagged behind Mamdani by 7 points in the ranked-choice voting contest.
“You can always count on her being underestimated for sure, that’s a given,” Trent said of AOC.
Mamdani’s shocking victory “gives her a little bit of a national victory, more national attention for going in the right direction and backing the right horse,” he added.
Other Democratic operatives and aides endorsed the view that Ocasio-Cortez would interpret the socialist’s ascent as proof that her style of grassroots, progressive politicking could triumph in the next presidential contest.
But some cautioned that Cuomo’s defeat was more a result of his own bad brand.
“He had the consulting class, the lobbyists, and nasty operatives, and then his own track record,” one Dem operative assessed. “There’s nothing to like.”
Almost seven years ago, Ocasio-Cortez had a similar breakthrough moment when she bested bigwig former House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in a 2018 primary.
The big question now is whether Ocasio-Cortez will seek Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) seat or the presidency 10 years after her meteoric rise from bartender to congresswoman.
One Democratic operative told The Post that AOC was still more likely to be making a move against Schumer in the 2028 primary.
But another suggested such a challenge would pale in comparison to “doing [presidential] rallies across the country,” in the same vein as Ocasio-Cortez’s recent “Fight Oligarchy” events with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“The polls say she would beat Schumer at primary, and I think, you see her and Bernie going through some upstate New York tours, I think you’d absolutely see more than you’d expect,” Trent said of her potential.
“People know they’re getting screwed. And I think you go out there and tell that message. It’ll resonate,” he added, in a reference to Mamdani’s platform that stressed affordability.
A third Democratic aide speculated that the left flank of the party will also use Mamdani’s win to make the case that AOC will be a viable candidate for the party’s presidential nom in 2028.
But the democratic socialist’s win is also exciting Republicans who will have plenty of “fodder” — such as Mamdani’s pie in the sky plans for government-run grocery stores and his anti-police and anti-Israel rhetoric.
Those issues will be tough for Democrats to “navigate” between now and the 2026 midterms, according to a fourth party insider.
Around the time that Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez’s odds of clinching the Democratic nomination in 2028 spiked dramatically.
The Democratic primary is generally seen as pretty wide open, with the party struggling to regain its footing after the drubbing it received in 2024.
“The Democrat Party should stop wasting time, just crown AOC the 2028 nominee now! She’s a foreign policy mastermind, her legislative wins are too many to count, and she clearly speaks for Democrat leadership,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) said on X after Mamdani’s victory, noting his account wasn’t hacked.
“This is the candidate who can unite climate alarmists, people who think economics is a vibe, and believe that we’re all just citizens of the world. Run AOC, Run!”
If she were to run and win in the next presidential race, she would become the first female and youngest person in US history to hold the office.
There’s also the possibility AOC could try to go up against Schumer in 2028, when the five-term senator is up for re-election.
Schumer drew wrath from the progressive base in March when he declined to block a GOP bill to prevent a partial government shutdown.
Tonight’s biggest winner is @aoc. @SenSchumer is cooked in a Democratic primary in 2028.
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) June 25, 2025
Ocasio-Cortez had been one of the leading voices pushing for a shutdown showdown. Multiple polls have since found her beating him, should she choose to run against him.
She declined to challenge Schumer in 2022 and the minority leader has not yet said publicly whether or not he will even pursue re-election in 2028.
Schumer congratulated Mamdani on his win Wednesday, but unlike Ocasio-Cortez, he has stopped short of outright endorsing the former rapper and two-term state assemblyman as he gears up for a general election race against Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent.
Many top GOP voices in the Empire State believe Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez are on a collision course against one another.
“Tonight’s biggest winner is [Ocasio-Cortez]. [Schumer] is cooked in a Democratic primary in 2028,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) mused Tuesday evening, re-upping his longstanding prognostication.
The Democrat Party should stop wasting time, just crown AOC the 2028 nominee now!She’s a foreign policy mastermind, her legislative wins are too many to count, and she clearly speaks for Democrat leadership.This is the candidate who can unite climate alarmists, people who… pic.twitter.com/QytW7mm3lm
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) June 24, 2025
Trent, who concluded that Mamdani’s win probably isn’t impacting AOC’s 2028 decision-making process too significantly, described his former boss as the “Michael Jordan” of political messaging.
“There’s no question about that,” he said of her ability to communicate effectively.
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