Democratic Socialists of America chapters from Los Angeles to Wichita have passed resolutions calling on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028, and the organization's national leadership has quietly built a process that could let it make that call months before its own convention. Ocasio-Cortez has not announced any campaign. She has said only that she will weigh the decision after the 2026 midterm elections.
The scale of the push inside DSA is notable. According to Jacobin, chapters in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Ithaca, Wichita and Sonoma County have all passed resolutions urging Ocasio-Cortez toward a 2028 run, and Los Angeles DSA has gone so far as to make “Run, AOC, Run!” one of its three top priorities for the coming year. The same report notes that DSA's national leadership has approved a process that could allow a formal endorsement as early as the beginning of 2027, well ahead of the group's planned summer convention.
That timeline shift was confirmed in more detail by City & State New York, which reported that DSA's 27-member National Political Committee finalized a 2028 presidential endorsement process giving the organization the option to consider a candidate early next year rather than waiting for its summer gathering. The decision followed internal friction: the National Political Committee voted 15-12 on a Sunday in September 2026 to reject a proposal for a special presidential endorsement conference, the outlet reported.
AOC Says the Call Comes After the Midterms
Ocasio-Cortez herself has been far more cautious than her grassroots backers. The New York Times reported in September that she has said she will weigh whether to run for president only after the midterm elections. The same report lays out her options for 2028 beyond keeping her House seat: a presidential campaign, or a primary challenge to Senator Chuck Schumer's New York Senate seat. The Independent has separately reported that if she skips the presidential race, many progressives hope she will instead take on Schumer.
That dynamic has split DSA internally as much as it has energized it. Axios reported that national DSA voted to retain more control over its 2028 endorsement process, a move that drew pushback from some local chapters that want more say in how — and whether — the group backs Ocasio-Cortez.
A Movement Riding a Winning Streak
The push toward 2028 comes on the heels of real electoral gains. TIME reported that DSA's membership surged past 120,000 by early August, around the time of the group's national summit in Chicago, while Jacobin's October reporting put the figure above 130,000 — a discrepancy the dossier does not resolve. Either way, the growth has coincided with a string of primary upsets; TIME reported that DSA candidates and allies toppled establishment-backed Democrats in congressional primaries stretching from New York to Colorado to Florida.
Among the clearest wins: Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier both won Democratic primaries for the U.S. House in New York, according to The 19th, which also reported that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned alongside both women ahead of their primary wins. TIME additionally reported that Chris Rabb defeated party-backed rivals in a Democratic congressional primary outside Philadelphia. Angie Nixon beat establishment favorite Alex Vindman in Florida's Democratic Senate primary despite being outraised more than 16 to 1, and Francesca Hong narrowly lost the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
131 Candidates on the November Ballot
DSA's electoral footprint is also showing up on next week's ballot. Per Ballotpedia News, the organization and its local chapters have endorsed 131 candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot across 30 states and the District of Columbia, including 10 candidates for the U.S. House, 52 for state legislatures spanning 25 states and 31 chambers, and 69 for local office. Ballotpedia's report notes that the number of DSA-endorsed members of Congress could rise from two to at least seven after the election, or to nine if both of the organization's California candidates win.
The push to draft Ocasio-Cortez reflects how far DSA believes its organizing has already carried national politics, even as the group remains divided over the endorsement process and the right moment to act. For now, the only certainty is the one Ocasio-Cortez herself has offered: no decision until after voters weigh in on the midterms.
