‘Ready for AOC’ Group Launches Campaign to Draft Ocasio-Cortez for 2028

***A new political organization called Ready for AOC officially launched Monday after months of quietly organizing volunteer-led meetings, with a clear mission: persuade Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028.“AOC is the only candidate who can lead the working-class movement to fight the oligarchy and transform America,” the group declared in its inaugural social media post.The ambitious effort hopes to recruit 10,000 community leaders who will gather at least one million voter signatures pledging their support for a potential Ocasio-Cortez campaign. The recruits would also be responsible for building grassroots infrastructure — phone-banking, canvassing, and spreading the word — well before Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has committed to a run.The group says it has already lined up more than 500 local political leaders and labor organizers, spanning 35 states. A December poll from The Argument/Verasight found Ms. Ocasio-Cortez edging Vice President J.D. Vance 51 percent to 48 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup.“Is AOC running for president in 2028?” the site asks. “She hasn’t said yet. In August 2026, she told ABC’s This Week she’s focused on the midterms, then added, ‘I haven’t ruled out the possibility.’ That’s why this petition exists. When she decides, she should know how many people want her to run.”Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is also said to be weighing a Senate run against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York in 2028. She has indicated she’ll address her plans after the dust settles from this cycle’s elections.The timing isn’t incidental. Progressive candidates posted notable wins in last week’s midterms, and many in the party’s left flank see it as validation of an economic-populist message. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was a visible presence this cycle, campaigning for candidates like former Florida state Representative Angie Nixon and Senators-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and Troy Jackson of Maine — both of whom ran on Medicare for All.A memo released by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, titled “How AOC Wins in 2026,” details her electoral footprint over the past two years, including the Fighting Oligarchy tour she ran alongside Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. At a rally in Idaho during that tour, she told the crowd: “I want us all to understand that this constant pressure we feel in our lives — of the water rising up to our throats — the impossibility to afford anything easily, the fear of speaking up or being who we are in public, the bitter divisions driven more by online algorithms than the truth, the crumbling of our rights and protections — understand that this — right now — is what it feels like to be governed by billionaires.”Ready for AOC isn’t the only draft effort circulating. Allies of Representative Ro Khanna of California have formed a similar committee on his behalf, and other potential 2028 contenders — including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker — are also drawing early speculation.

‘Ready for AOC’ Group Launches Campaign to Draft Ocasio-Cortez for 2028

‘Ready for AOC’ Group Launches Campaign to Draft Ocasio-Cortez for 2028

More from the New York Sun

The Rush to Judgment on Hegseth

Nations Clamor To Assist Deluged Gaza but a Reconstituted Hamas Raises Few Objections

Mississippi’s Moment

Fetterman Draws Far-Left, Gaza-Born Primary Challenger Who Is ‘Running To End the War in Iran

Judge Fines Owner of California Cafe That Sold ‘Sweet Sinwar’ Juice $59,000 for Defying Repeated Court Orders

Outgoing Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon Scorches Fringe Conservatives Who Attacked Her Indian Heritage

New Young Conservative Group Rallies Behind Vance’s Vision for GOP’s Future

In Pursuit of the Father: Thomas Jefferson and His Biographers

More from the New York Sun

The Rush to Judgment on Hegseth

Nations Clamor To Assist Deluged Gaza but a Reconstituted Hamas Raises Few Objections

Mississippi’s Moment

Fetterman Draws Far-Left, Gaza-Born Primary Challenger Who Is ‘Running To End the War in Iran

Judge Fines Owner of California Cafe That Sold ‘Sweet Sinwar’ Juice $59,000 for Defying Repeated Court Orders

Outgoing Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon Scorches Fringe Conservatives Who Attacked Her Indian Heritage

New Young Conservative Group Rallies Behind Vance’s Vision for GOP’s Future

In Pursuit of the Father: Thomas Jefferson and His Biographers