AOC’s star is rising, along with hopes for a different America

“Millennials are not punk kids anymore. We’re grown adults with mortgages and kids. [. . .] And we’re taking the reins.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s words capture the generational argument now gathering around her political future.

At 36, Ocasio-Cortez is a millennial and is serving her fourth term as a New York congresswoman. She entered national politics in 2018 by defeating Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent who was then the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. Since then, the democratic socialist associated with Bernie Sanders has become an emblem of the progressive movement and one of the most recognizable political figures of the social-media era.

The November midterm elections will decide control of the House and Senate, but the column argues that they will also help define the opening field for the 2028 presidential race. Once dismissed as wishful thinking among her supporters, the possibility of an Ocasio-Cortez presidential bid is now receiving more serious attention in Washington. Progressive voters and younger Democrats have greater influence, while other democratic socialist candidates have recently made gains.

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Millennials are not punk kids anymore. We’re grown adults with mortgages and kids. [. . .] And we’re taking the reins.

Zohran Mamdani won election as New York mayor, and progressive Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed surged to victory in Michigan’s primary, both with Ocasio-Cortez’s backing. Young progressives in other states have also challenged establishment candidates. Their performance in the November general elections will test whether this momentum can support a future Ocasio-Cortez campaign.

The columnist also sees a deliberate change in her public language. In a recent television interview, Ocasio-Cortez said, “Woke One was crazy,” referring to the first phase of left-wing “woke politics” around 2020. The term originally described awareness of inequality linked to race, gender and other issues, but later became associated with aggressive political correctness and identity politics. Ocasio-Cortez was once seen as representing that politics. Now, the column says, she is drawing a line between that earlier image and her current political identity.

Her polling has shifted as well. She remained in the single digits in hypothetical national Democratic primary surveys until last year, then rose into the low-to-mid teens. In New Hampshire, one of the first Democratic primary states for 2028, she received 22% support in July, ahead of former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Prediction markets at one point even made her the favorite over California Governor Gavin Newsom and other potential contenders.

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Woke One was crazy