Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political future has remained a topic of discussion within the left wing — and there's increasing speculation that she could be set for a collision course with Democrats' top leader in Congress.The progressive rock star says she's weighing what to do next, whether it be a 2028 presidential run or a bid for the seat currently held by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow Democrat and New Yorker."I know there is a lot of speculation about what I will decide to do in 2028.
I get asked about it nearly every interview and event," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a recent fundraising email to supporters.The 36-year-old lawmaker with a massive social media footprint said in a recent New York Times interview that her decision, which could happen sometime after this year's midterm elections, would come down to answering the question, "Where can I do the most good?"OCASIO-CORTEZ OPENS UP ABOUT 2028Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., departs following a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2026.
(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)If she decides on a statewide rather than a national run, it could set up a titanic Democratic Party and generational battle between her and the soon-to-be 76-year-old Schumer, who was first elected to Congress nearly a half century ago and has served in the Senate since 1999.Ocasio-Cortez, in her interview, made clear that her decision about 2028 would not be dictated by someone else."I don’t think that my decisions would come down to deference," she said.Meanwhile, a campaign swing the past few days throughout upstate New York by Ocasio-Cortez raised some eyebrows.While the trip was aimed at boosting fellow Democrats on the ballot in this year's elections, it sparked speculation that it was also a move by Ocasio-Cortez to build relationships far from her base in New York City.Schumer has left his 2028 plans open and has not announced whether he’ll run for yet another term.
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