NEW YORK — The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has voted to urge Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president of the United States in 2028, a move that could serve as an early bellwether for the Democratic Party’s direction in the presidential race.
The resolution passed 291 to 123 at the chapter’s convention on Saturday, where more than 400 delegates gathered in a Midtown Manhattan office building to set the group’s political and legislative priorities for the next two years. While it is not a formal endorsement by the Democratic Socialists of America, it commits the New York City chapter to encouraging a presidential bid and building the groundwork for a potential campaign.
“If the US can elect Trump, I think we can elect Democratic Socialists,” Gustavo Gordillo, the chapter’s co-chair, told Al Jazeera, referring to President Donald Trump.
The convention was held following a strong showing by DSA-endorsed candidates in the midterm elections. A record eight DSA-endorsed candidates were elected to federal office and will hold congressional seats in January, and the chapter endorsed Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year. Ocasio-Cortez, popularly known as AOC, is a longtime member of the New York City chapter, which has about 15,000 members and has backed her in all five of her congressional general elections since 2018.
“Now that we have put a mayor into City Hall and we’ve elected three socialists in the city, I think regardless of how a politician feels about DSA personally, they’re definitely looking at what we say and how we’re moving,” co-chair Grace Mausser said. “We are one of the biggest political actors in the city, in the state, and the country, frankly.”
The chapter has yet to finalise a national presidential platform. Mausser said it would be built around the issues members encounter when speaking with voters. “The top issues at the doors that we encounter are housing, healthcare, childcare – the hallmarks of affordability,” she said. “Those would all become the core of a federal platform.” The resolution text says the campaign would provide an opportunity for “continued crafting of a platform that engages the working class”, and identifies public housing, stopping the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, labour organising and “the anti-war and pro-Palestine movements” as priorities.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing New York’s 14th congressional district, rose to national prominence in 2018 after defeating a 10-term incumbent in a congressional primary. A prominent democratic socialist, she has advocated for policies including universal healthcare, tuition-free public college and labour protections.
The vote adds to mounting efforts on the left to persuade Ocasio-Cortez to enter the 2028 presidential race, following a debate within the national DSA over her possible endorsement and the launch of an independent campaign urging her to run, called “Ready for AOC”. The national organisation withdrew its endorsement of her in 2024 after disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and some members at the convention objected that she has at times distanced herself from the group’s core principles.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously said she will decide on her political future after the midterm elections, leaving open the possibility of a 2028 presidential bid or a challenge for a US Senate seat. She has not publicly responded to the New York chapter’s resolution.
