Progressive group launches 'Ready for AOC' to push Ocasio-Cortez toward a 2028 presidential run

The launch

On Monday, 9 November, a network of progressive activists and campaign organizers announced Ready for AOC, a volunteer group that wants to persuade Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, to seek the presidency in 2028. The organizers plan to enlist 10,000 community leaders across the country and collect at least one million signatures from people who would back a presidential run. The group says it already has more than 500 local political and union leaders in 35 states. It had been organizing quietly through the fall before going public.

Organizers and model

Ravi Sahai, the group's spokesman, previously served as a deputy field director on Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign and has worked with other New York progressives. The group says its model draws on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and the 2025 New York mayoral race. Sahai has argued that a national operation would need tens of thousands of people who can organize neighbours door to door, rather than a simple list of voters and volunteers. He described the aim as twofold: building a grassroots structure in case she runs, and showing her that a movement is ready to back her.

“It's building the infrastructure in case she does run, but it's also demonstrating to her that there is a movement behind her should she choose to run.”

Ocasio-Cortez's position

Ocasio-Cortez, 37, has represented New York's 14th district for nearly eight years and won 78.2% of the vote in the recent midterms. She has not ruled out either a Senate run or a presidential bid in 2028. The Senate question is tied to Chuck Schumer, 75, who faces reelection in 2028 and has not said whether he will run again. In May, speaking at a University of Chicago event, she said:

“They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.”

In a memo to allies, her team said she had moved more than $3 million to Democrats during the midterms. The memo asked supporters to answer questions about her future by saying she plans to 'look for ways to do the most good for the most people.'

Midterms and the wider field

Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 3 November midterm elections, handing a defeat to the Republican Party of President Donald Trump. Democratic candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America also gained visibility. John Anzalone, who was chief pollster for Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, said there is no front-runner among the Democratic contenders for 2028. Gustavo Gordillo, co-spokesperson of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, shared the launch post, and a vote on backing her candidacy was expected at a local NYC DSA congress.

What comes next

The organizers frame the coming year as a build-up before the Democratic primaries begin, with the presidential election set for November 2028. The campaign aims to build a movement over the next year before those primaries start. Ocasio-Cortez's team has not said whether she will run for president or the Senate.