Progressive activists launched a group called Ready for AOC on Monday to encourage Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028. The organization aims to enlist 10,000 leaders to gather a million signatures. Spokesman Ravi Sahai said, "The goal is to build the infrastructure of a grass-roots movement."
A new political organization aims to encourage Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president, and to demonstrate that a formidable organizing apparatus is awaiting her.
Fresh off a midterm election that energized the left, a network of progressive activists is shifting their attention a new objective: urging Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028.
A political organization called Ready for AOC announced Monday that it was launching a push, powered by volunteers, to encourage the progressive New York congresswoman to run for president, and to show her that she has a legion of supporters ready to mobilize if she does.
Ready for AOC, which has been quietly organizing this fall, said it aimed to enlist 10,000 community leaders around the country who would gather at least a million signatures from people pledging to support a presidential run by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. The group said it already has more than 500 local political and union leaders in 35 states.
"The goal is to build the infrastructure of a grass-roots movement in the case that she decides to run, but also to demonstrate to her that, 'Look, there is a movement behind you ready to power you to victory should you choose to run for president,'" said Ravi Sahai, a spokesman for the group who has worked for New York City progressives such as Representative-elect Claire Valdez and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The effort, which comes amid other endeavors to draft Ms. Ocasio-Cortez into the race, is part of an early scramble by potential candidates and their allies in what is shaping up as a wide open Democratic primary. One of the biggest questions headed into 2028 race is whether Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, one of the party's best-known figures, will run for president, or make a Senate bid. A democratic socialist, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has built a large following on the left and has been a frequent target of Republican criticism.
She surged to national prominence in 2018 after ousting a longtime congressman in a stunning upset and helping found a group of left-wing congresswomen of color known as the Squad. In recent years, she has made some inroads with establishment Democrats, even as she has hewed to some staunchly progressive views. Still, some centrists have urged the party not to embrace her left-wing views, and warned that democratic socialism hurts efforts to appeal to moderate voters.
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.