Ready for AOC launches 2028 presidential draft effort
A volunteer-led group called Ready for AOC began a campaign on November 9 urging New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. The group is independent of Ocasio-Cortez, who has not said whether she will run and has indicated she would decide after the midterm elections.
Ready for AOC says it wants to collect one million pledges from people backing a presidential bid. By the afternoon of its launch, it had gathered more than 4,000 signatures, and more than 500 local activists in 35 states had joined as organizers. The effort also aims to build a network of 10,000 organizers and volunteers.
Organizers hope the campaign will persuade Ocasio-Cortez to make a decision by spring 2027, when the group plans to dissolve. They point to her grassroots organizing experience, opposition to big-money politics and national profile. The effort draws inspiration from Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign and Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Ocasio-Cortez has also left open the possibility of challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer for his New York seat. New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter is due to vote later in November on whether to encourage her to run for president.
The campaign comes amid other activity around possible 2028 candidates. Mamdani has held meetings about advancing working-class politics, including a meeting with California Rep. Ro Khanna. Allies of Khanna have also started an organization backing a potential presidential bid. Ready for AOC organizers say they want a broad base of support that could withstand other candidates consolidating behind a more centrist contender.
Ready for AOC builds a working-class push for 2028
The 2028 Democratic race is not yet underway, but Ready for AOC is building a grassroots case for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to lead it. The independent group launched on November 9, seeking one million pledges to persuade her to run for president.
More than 4,000 people had signed by the afternoon of launch, while over 500 local activists across 35 states had joined as organizers. The group hopes to recruit 10,000 organizers and volunteers and says it wants a movement large enough to resist a consolidation behind a more centrist candidate.
That ambition reflects a familiar obstacle for progressives: support can be substantial, yet contenders may unite behind a centrist in a Democratic primary. Ready for AOC is trying to build local networks in advance rather than rely only on enthusiasm for a high-profile candidate. Its organizers cite Ocasio-Cortez’s grassroots experience, opposition to big-money politics and national profile as reasons she could carry the movement forward.
Ready for AOC has no formal connection to Ocasio-Cortez, who has yet to state her intentions. She has said that after the midterm elections she will weigh a presidential campaign against a challenge to Sen. Chuck Schumer for his seat. Ready for AOC hopes she will decide by spring 2027, then plans to dissolve.
The effort joins a broader debate over what Democrats should prioritize in 2028. New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter will vote later in November on whether to urge an Ocasio-Cortez bid. Zohran Mamdani has also held meetings focused on putting working-class politics at the center of future campaigns, including one with Rep. Ro Khanna, whose allies have formed a group supporting a possible run.
Progressive activists try to draft AOC before she declares
Progressive activists are trying to turn enthusiasm for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez into a presidential campaign before she has decided whether to run. Ready for AOC, an independent volunteer group launched on November 9, wants one million pledges backing a 2028 bid.
The group had collected more than 4,000 signatures by the afternoon of its launch and says more than 500 organizers in 35 states have signed on. It wants to build a 10,000-person organizing network and hopes its show of support will persuade Ocasio-Cortez to make a decision by spring 2027.
But a petition campaign is not a candidacy. Ocasio-Cortez has not declared a presidential run and has also left open the possibility of challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer for his New York seat. The group is not affiliated with her, and its organizers—not the congresswoman—are making the case that she should be the progressive movement’s next national standard-bearer.
The campaign argues that Ocasio-Cortez’s organizing experience, opposition to big-money politics and public profile make her the right choice. It also hopes a broad network can prevent supporters from drifting away if the Democratic field narrows around a more centrist candidate. That strategy puts the movement’s preference ahead of the uncertainty that still surrounds the race.
Other political groups are also positioning around 2028. New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter will vote later in November on whether to endorse urging Ocasio-Cortez to run. Zohran Mamdani has held meetings about working-class politics, including with Rep. Ro Khanna, whose allies have launched an organization backing a potential bid.
Reported by amNY, MSNBC, Fox News, The Blaze, New York Post.
