Democrats are still reeling from the Election Day drubbing they took, and a closer look at the particulars gives one a better understanding as to why there’s so much fingerpointing taking place, so much second-guessing underway, and so much wailing and gnashing of teeth going on.
Not only did former President Donald Trump defeat VP Kamala Harris in both the Electoral College and the popular vote (winning all seven battleground states in the process), but four Senate seats flipped blue, giving Republicans firm control of the United States Senate. Republicans also appear poised to maintain control of the House, giving the red team a trifecta.
Eager to move beyond the failure of their undemocratic installment of Kamala Harris as their nominee in place of President Joe Biden to thwart another Trump presidency, speculation has already started as to who their 2028 contenders might be.
Among them is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who, since bursting onto the scene in 2018 and becoming a media darling in the process, has become little more than just another entrenched Democrat face in the crowd:
When Democrats talk about the future of the party, the 35-year-old New York congresswoman’s name always bubbles to the top.Democrats have long been impressed with Ocasio-Cortez’s ability to “cut through the BS and tell it like it is,” the second Democratic strategist said.“She’s somebody who can cut through the noise and doesn’t talk like Washington.”Democrats say Ocasio-Cortez would be a magnet for young voters and would have little trouble using social media, podcasts and other online tools, as she has been doing since she was elected to Congress in 2018.While Ocasio-Cortez was once aligned with progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), she has since backed more centrist candidates.Still, some Democrats say she still represents a more leftist wing of the party to some voters, something that could hurt her if she pursues higher office.“She and the ‘squad’ started pushing too hard, too fast,” the first strategist said. “D.C. doesn’t work that way. And our party doesn’t work that way. We need to get back to the basics.”
While some of the chatter on Twitter/X was that AOC was “considering/contemplating” a run, there’s no confirmation anywhere that she is, and the article didn’t suggest that, either.
That said, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says AOC has told people since 2019 that she’d be interested in running in 2028:
Either way, hilarity ensued in the aftermath of the story:
Some were even more optimistic:
Honestly, I don’t see it happening – but if it did, it’d be amusing to watch Gavin Newsom try to mow right over her and other high-profile candidates, including perhaps even Kamala Harris herself to get the seat he wanted in 2024 but didn’t.
It’s too early to be stocking up on the popcorn for 2028 but… Aww heck, it’s never too early to do that, because there are few things more hilarious and popcorn-worthy in politics than watching Democrats turn on each other, something we’ll probably be seeing even more of in the coming weeks and months.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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