The speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will run for president in 2028 and maybe even win is starting to be a thing.

When a poll this week showed her edging out Vice President JD Vance 51%-49%, she brushed it aside with one word on X: “Bloop.” She later added that she would “stomp” Vance.

Many of the political pros think she may be on to something, especially since no Democrat has seized the 2028 mantle. While former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the nomination race based on her national name recognition, her post-2024 election missteps and overdone egotism have few believing she will emerge as the leader.

Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, has remained a liberal force in Washington and on the campaign trail, and some now see a path for her to the nomination and White House.

Bloop! https://t.co/By2kl8LnWY

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 17, 2025

Following the release this week of the Argument/Verasight Ocasio-Cortez vs. Vance survey, for example, Cygnal founder and pollster Brent Buchanan said the 36-year-old has a “real shot” at winning.

He did a deep dive into President Donald Trump’s voter coalition for his 2024 victory over Harris and found that the Republican tapped into a large group unconcerned about partisan politics and who wanted somebody to address their frustrations.

“My research of the 2024 election shows the presidential race was decided by voters with remarkably weak partisan attachments. They were persuadable by emotional responses rather than ideological consistency,” said Buchanan.

Our @cygnal research of the 2024 election shows the presidential race was decided by voters with remarkably weak partisan attachments.

They were persuadable by emotional responses rather than ideological consistency.

Hence an AOC having a real shot.https://t.co/BotPokObmP

— Brent Buchanan, Pollster (@brentbuc) December 18, 2025

We pressed him for more, and he said, “Our polling throughout the 2024 cycle consistently showed that the voters who would decide the election had remarkably low partisan attachment. Among the persuadable voters in battleground states — young voters, Hispanic voters, and working-class whites without college degrees — only about 60% identified as strong partisans, compared to nearly 80% of college-educated white voters.”

Those persuadable voters were looking for an answer to their concerns, and Trump’s populist agenda, mixed with hope and anger on topics from taxes to immigration, won out.

“Trump’s victory came from his ability to connect emotionally with these low-partisan voters — speaking to their frustrations, their sense of being left behind, their distrust of institutions,” said Buchanan.

“AOC also has that ability, and the Right has been unwise to ignore this growing overlap of opportunity for both parties with younger voters,” he added.