Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she hasn’t ruled out a potential run for president or Senate in 2028
Alexandra Marquez
Updated Sun, August 9, 2026
NBC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also said she has begun the process of freezing her eggs. (Sarah Rice / Getty Images file)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Sunday that she hasn't ruled out a potential run for president or the Senate in 2028, echoing remarks she has made while campaigning for congressional candidates ahead of November's midterm elections.
"I'm focused on winning the midterms. I'm running for Congress right now," Ocasio-Cortez first told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday when asked whether she plans to run for president in two years.
Pressed further by "This Week" host Jonathan Karl, Ocasio-Cortez added, "I haven't ruled out the possibility. And I'm very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there." But she reiterated her focus on the upcoming midterms over her own political future.
Asked whether she'd consider running for the Senate in New York in 2028, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will be up for re-election, Ocasio-Cortez, 36, answered, "I think that anything is possible at this juncture."
The congresswoman's political future has been the subject of speculation for years as she has wielded her national political power to endorse insurgent progressive candidates who have beaten more moderate, establishment candidates with bigger campaign war chests.
Most recently, Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate who pledged to reject funding for Israel and promote "Medicare for All," beat Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the Great Lakes State's Democratic primary for Senate last week, overcoming the tens of millions of dollars spent by Stevens' supporters to attack him.
"I think that we are in a time of renewal for the Democratic Party. And it's tremendously exciting for all of us, for the big tent of the Democratic Party," Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday in the wake of El-Sayed's victory. "We have really an ascendance of a young, inspiring, exciting electorate, energizing wave of candidates that I think really inject a new energy to the Democratic Party and add to the toolbox of candidates that we have to win the midterm elections hopefully in November."
El-Sayed's victory was fueled in part by Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement and by the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who ran for president twice as a progressive, anti-establishment alternative to traditional Democrats.
Sanders has all but ruled out another presidential run in 2028, drawing questions about who might take up the mantle of the movement he began in 2016.
Ocasio-Cortez, to some, appears to be a natural successor, especially as she and Sanders crisscrossed the nation together since the last presidential election, urging supporters to fight oligarchy and support Medicare for All.
In July, while campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan, the congresswoman told Politico when asked about a presidential run: "I mean, I can't say that I've ruled it out."
She was first elected to Congress in 2018, winning her party's nomination for New York's 14th Congressional District in a shocking upset to the Queens machine after she challenged longtime Rep. David Crowley in the Democratic primary
On Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez reflected on her political rise since 2018, telling Karl:
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to represent the working people of my congressional district. And I think some of the ways that it's changed me has been to be able to come in with so many aspirations for our country, and then to have the remarkable opportunity to be in the arena and try to make the country a better place, challenges and all."
"And I love that it's hard," she added. "I love that I have to and I get to engage with people from all across the country, elected officials from all across the country, to try to actually fulfill our dreams to guarantee healthcare to every American."
The congresswoman also spoke about a personal milestone she revealed on Instagram last week — freezing her eggs — and why she decided to publicly share such a personal decision.
On Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez posted videos of herself on Instagram administering the first injections in the egg-freezing process. "I want to share this because I've been weighing this for a very long time … and there isn't a lot out there, and sometimes it can feel very daunting," she said in her posts from Saturday night.
Asked by Karl about the decision, Ocasio-Cortez said: "In this political environment where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it's important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes, especially for working women across the country, and normalize them."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also said she has begun the process of freezing her eggs. (Sarah Rice / Getty Images file)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Sunday that she hasn't ruled out a potential run for president or the Senate in 2028, echoing remarks she has made while campaigning for congressional candidates ahead of November's midterm elections.
"I'm focused on winning the midterms. I'm running for Congress right now," Ocasio-Cortez first told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday when asked whether she plans to run for president in two years.
Pressed further by "This Week" host Jonathan Karl, Ocasio-Cortez added, "I haven't ruled out the possibility. And I'm very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there." But she reiterated her focus on the upcoming midterms over her own political future.
Asked whether she'd consider running for the Senate in New York in 2028, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will be up for re-election, Ocasio-Cortez, 36, answered, "I think that anything is possible at this juncture."
The congresswoman's political future has been the subject of speculation for years as she has wielded her national political power to endorse insurgent progressive candidates who have beaten more moderate, establishment candidates with bigger campaign war chests.
Most recently, Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate who pledged to reject funding for Israel and promote "Medicare for All," beat Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the Great Lakes State's Democratic primary for Senate last week, overcoming the tens of millions of dollars spent by Stevens' supporters to attack him.
"I think that we are in a time of renewal for the Democratic Party. And it's tremendously exciting for all of us, for the big tent of the Democratic Party," Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday in the wake of El-Sayed's victory. "We have really an ascendance of a young, inspiring, exciting electorate, energizing wave of candidates that I think really inject a new energy to the Democratic Party and add to the toolbox of candidates that we have to win the midterm elections hopefully in November."
El-Sayed's victory was fueled in part by Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement and by the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who ran for president twice as a progressive, anti-establishment alternative to traditional Democrats.
Sanders has all but ruled out another presidential run in 2028, drawing questions about who might take up the mantle of the movement he began in 2016.
Ocasio-Cortez, to some, appears to be a natural successor, especially as she and Sanders crisscrossed the nation together since the last presidential election, urging supporters to fight oligarchy and support Medicare for All.
In July, while campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan, the congresswoman told Politico when asked about a presidential run: "I mean, I can't say that I've ruled it out."
She was first elected to Congress in 2018, winning her party's nomination for New York's 14th Congressional District in a shocking upset to the Queens machine after she challenged longtime Rep. David Crowley in the Democratic primary
On Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez reflected on her political rise since 2018, telling Karl:
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to represent the working people of my congressional district. And I think some of the ways that it's changed me has been to be able to come in with so many aspirations for our country, and then to have the remarkable opportunity to be in the arena and try to make the country a better place, challenges and all."
"And I love that it's hard," she added. "I love that I have to and I get to engage with people from all across the country, elected officials from all across the country, to try to actually fulfill our dreams to guarantee healthcare to every American."
The congresswoman also spoke about a personal milestone she revealed on Instagram last week — freezing her eggs — and why she decided to publicly share such a personal decision.
On Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez posted videos of herself on Instagram administering the first injections in the egg-freezing process. "I want to share this because I've been weighing this for a very long time … and there isn't a lot out there, and sometimes it can feel very daunting," she said in her posts from Saturday night.
Asked by Karl about the decision, Ocasio-Cortez said: "In this political environment where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it's important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes, especially for working women across the country, and normalize them."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
IVF
Toby Mann
BBC
Mon, August 10, 2026
US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed she has decided to freeze her eggs, and has shared her first steps in the process on social media.
The 36-year-old New York Democrat posted the clips on Sunday, hours before telling ABC News's This Week programme that she had not "ruled out the possibility" of running for president.
In the clips, Ocasio-Cortez shows herself taking an injection and talks through tips she has learnt, before answering questions about costs, clinical procedures, storage and how fertility care works under what she calls the US's "broken" medical system.
In her later interview with ABC, she explained that she wanted to "normalise" conversations about the process.
[Reuters]
She said it was important "especially in this political environment".
"This administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy," she said. "I think it's important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes," she added.
In her earlier social media post, she said she wanted to share the information even though there was a "political risk" in doing so.
Ocasio-Cortez rarely appears on the Sunday political shows and in her conversation with ABC's Jonathan Karl, she appeared to go further than before at indicating she may run for higher office.
When pressed on whether she was open to a White House run and whether it was a realistic prospect, she said: "I haven't ruled out the possibility and I'm very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there."
But the focus must remain on the midterm elections in November and not on "individual aspirations or plans", she added.
More in Politics
The congressional elections are held every two years and fall in the middle of the president's four-year term of office.
They are due to be held in early November. Votes will be cast for all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, while a third of the 100 seats in the Senate will also be up for grabs.
Left-wing Democrats are on a winning run - but can they lure back crucial swing voters?
When she was asked about a possible Senate run in New York against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the US Senate's top Democrat, Ocasio-Cortez replied that "anything is possible".
A divide between the party's left wing and its establishment, which is embodied by Schumer, has become more apparent in recent months.
The Democratic voter base, which is hungry for radical change, has delivered some big wins in recent primary elections for left-wing candidates who have run against centrist candidates backed by party leadership.
Last week, Abdul El-Sayed won a Senate primary in a key swing state, Michigan, after a campaign centred on Medicare for all, stopping military aid to Israel and abolishing ICE, the federal immigration enforcement agency.
El-Sayed's victory sends tremors through Democratic Party
Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed him, El-Sayed is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) but he was supported by some of their leading figures.
In the ABC interview, Ocasio-Cortez said the rise of these new, younger candidates was exciting for the "big tent" of the party and showed this was a "time of renewal".
She also distanced herself from aspects of the DSA platform which appears in the group's guiding document, such as defunding the police and abolishing the Senate.
But she said it was important that her party appealed to a wide audience.
"Democrats have a responsibility to build a winning coalition, and young people are engaging in mediums and conversations that we have a responsibility to attend to and be responsive to," she said.
Mon, August 10, 2026
US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed she has decided to freeze her eggs, and has shared her first steps in the process on social media.
The 36-year-old New York Democrat posted the clips on Sunday, hours before telling ABC News's This Week programme that she had not "ruled out the possibility" of running for president.
In the clips, Ocasio-Cortez shows herself taking an injection and talks through tips she has learnt, before answering questions about costs, clinical procedures, storage and how fertility care works under what she calls the US's "broken" medical system.
In her later interview with ABC, she explained that she wanted to "normalise" conversations about the process.
[Reuters]
She said it was important "especially in this political environment".
"This administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy," she said. "I think it's important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes," she added.
In her earlier social media post, she said she wanted to share the information even though there was a "political risk" in doing so.
Ocasio-Cortez rarely appears on the Sunday political shows and in her conversation with ABC's Jonathan Karl, she appeared to go further than before at indicating she may run for higher office.
When pressed on whether she was open to a White House run and whether it was a realistic prospect, she said: "I haven't ruled out the possibility and I'm very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there."
But the focus must remain on the midterm elections in November and not on "individual aspirations or plans", she added.
More in Politics
The congressional elections are held every two years and fall in the middle of the president's four-year term of office.
They are due to be held in early November. Votes will be cast for all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, while a third of the 100 seats in the Senate will also be up for grabs.
Left-wing Democrats are on a winning run - but can they lure back crucial swing voters?
When she was asked about a possible Senate run in New York against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the US Senate's top Democrat, Ocasio-Cortez replied that "anything is possible".
A divide between the party's left wing and its establishment, which is embodied by Schumer, has become more apparent in recent months.
The Democratic voter base, which is hungry for radical change, has delivered some big wins in recent primary elections for left-wing candidates who have run against centrist candidates backed by party leadership.
Last week, Abdul El-Sayed won a Senate primary in a key swing state, Michigan, after a campaign centred on Medicare for all, stopping military aid to Israel and abolishing ICE, the federal immigration enforcement agency.
El-Sayed's victory sends tremors through Democratic Party
Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed him, El-Sayed is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) but he was supported by some of their leading figures.
In the ABC interview, Ocasio-Cortez said the rise of these new, younger candidates was exciting for the "big tent" of the party and showed this was a "time of renewal".
She also distanced herself from aspects of the DSA platform which appears in the group's guiding document, such as defunding the police and abolishing the Senate.
But she said it was important that her party appealed to a wide audience.
"Democrats have a responsibility to build a winning coalition, and young people are engaging in mediums and conversations that we have a responsibility to attend to and be responsive to," she said.
'This isn't a winner': Trump insiders recoil as far-right takes the 'bait' and attacks AOC
Tom Boggioni
August 11, 2026
Tom Boggioni
August 11, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks with reporters after the House of Representatives passed its version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Le
Insiders in President Donald Trump's White House are cringing at the latest conservative attack on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
According to a report from Marc Caputo at Axios, there was a groundswell of sneering aimed at the popular New York lawmaker who admitted she plans to freeze some of her eggs, should she want children at a later date.
Ocasio-Cortez announced her decision on Instagram, preemptively acknowledging the reaction she expected. "Don't be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be," she wrote, with Axios suggesting her statement sparked speculation about potential political ambitions, including a possible White House bid in 2028
Conservative gadfly Matt Walsh went low on social media and ranted, "She'll turn 37 in a couple months. If she got pregnant now, it would technically be a geriatric pregnancy. This desire to start having children late in life is completely baffling to me."
The criticism prompted pushback from within conservative circles where there has been an emphasis on women having more children under the Trump administration.
Alexa Henning, a MAGA consultant who recently departed the State Department, countered the messaging with, "Conservative men dunking on AOC for freezing her eggs is not a winning message with women voters."
She then lectured, "I have many conservative friends who, because they decided to put careers first, froze their eggs and had babies and families later in life. That should be celebrated."
Trump administration officials recognize the political liability the controversy presents, Caputo is reporting. At the White House, where the president has previously championed in-vitro fertilization, officials are distancing themselves from Walsh's criticism.
"We most certainly want to encourage more women and families to have children, period," a senior White House official told Axios. "That's a diplomatic way of saying, 'Yes, the Matt Walsh messaging is not helpful.'"
A Trump adviser also acknowledged the strategic problem by stating "This isn't really a winner for Republicans," with midterm elections less than three months away.
Republican pollster Adam Geller advised the party to ignore the issue entirely.
"AOC knows how to get attention. She knows how to stand out. This should be treated as a stunt. And my advice to Republicans is, don't take the bait," Geller said.
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks with reporters after the House of Representatives passed its version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Le
Insiders in President Donald Trump's White House are cringing at the latest conservative attack on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
According to a report from Marc Caputo at Axios, there was a groundswell of sneering aimed at the popular New York lawmaker who admitted she plans to freeze some of her eggs, should she want children at a later date.
Ocasio-Cortez announced her decision on Instagram, preemptively acknowledging the reaction she expected. "Don't be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be," she wrote, with Axios suggesting her statement sparked speculation about potential political ambitions, including a possible White House bid in 2028
Conservative gadfly Matt Walsh went low on social media and ranted, "She'll turn 37 in a couple months. If she got pregnant now, it would technically be a geriatric pregnancy. This desire to start having children late in life is completely baffling to me."
The criticism prompted pushback from within conservative circles where there has been an emphasis on women having more children under the Trump administration.
Alexa Henning, a MAGA consultant who recently departed the State Department, countered the messaging with, "Conservative men dunking on AOC for freezing her eggs is not a winning message with women voters."
She then lectured, "I have many conservative friends who, because they decided to put careers first, froze their eggs and had babies and families later in life. That should be celebrated."
Trump administration officials recognize the political liability the controversy presents, Caputo is reporting. At the White House, where the president has previously championed in-vitro fertilization, officials are distancing themselves from Walsh's criticism.
"We most certainly want to encourage more women and families to have children, period," a senior White House official told Axios. "That's a diplomatic way of saying, 'Yes, the Matt Walsh messaging is not helpful.'"
A Trump adviser also acknowledged the strategic problem by stating "This isn't really a winner for Republicans," with midterm elections less than three months away.
Republican pollster Adam Geller advised the party to ignore the issue entirely.
"AOC knows how to get attention. She knows how to stand out. This should be treated as a stunt. And my advice to Republicans is, don't take the bait," Geller said.
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