Sunkara Urges Ocasio-Cortez to Launch 2028 Bid Early as DSA Tops 120,000 Members
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 21
Sunkara Urges Ocasio-Cortez to Launch 2028 Bid Early as DSA Tops 120,000 Members
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 21
Summary
Bhaskar Sunkara argued Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should announce a 2028 presidential campaign early, saying she is uniquely positioned to unite the left and build a serious national operation.
2015 is his warning: Bernie Sanders spent a year building from scratch and still lost to Hillary Clinton, so Sunkara says Ocasio-Cortez should move quickly to consolidate support and deter rivals.
He says her case strengthened after Trump’s 2024 win, when she sought out constituents who backed both her and Trump and adjusted her message toward working-class voters Democrats have been losing.
That shift matters because Democrats’ share of working-class voters fell to 45% by 2024, while their support among middle- and upper-class voters rose to 68%, underscoring the coalition problem she would need to solve.
Sunkara argues Ocasio-Cortez combines national name recognition with movement infrastructure—backed by a DSA now above 120,000 members and left-wing crowds of 12,500 in Idaho and 20,000 in Utah on her 2025 tour with Sanders.