AOC changes fundraising team as supporters lay groundwork for potential 2028 presidential bid

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is reshaping her political operation as an outside group recruits supporters to encourage her to run for president in 2028, though she has not announced whether she will seek the White House or pursue a Senate bid.

A Senate run would put her in contention for the seat held by Sen. Chuck Schumer, the party’s Senate leader, which comes up for election in 2028. Schumer has not announced whether he will seek another term.

Ocasio-Cortez has parted ways with her longtime online fundraising firm, Middle Seat, and hired Aisle 518 Strategies, Axios reported Nov. 12, citing three people familiar with the changes. The new firm is led by Tim Tagaris, the strategist who oversaw record-breaking online fundraising for the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

The change follows an earlier staff shake-up that Axios reported in August, involving the departures of her longtime campaign manager, senior adviser, and creative director, as well as the return of several former aides.

Separately, a newly launched independent group called Ready for AOC is recruiting volunteers and gathering pledges of support to encourage the progressive congresswoman to enter the presidential race. 

The group, which is volunteer-driven and not affiliated with Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, said it recruited more than 10,000 supporters across all 50 states within 24 hours of its launch. 

According to The New York Times, Ready for AOC spokesperson Ravi Sahai said the group’s goal is twofold: “to build the infrastructure of a grassroots 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.’”

The group’s website asks supporters to commit to voting for her, volunteering, and encouraging friends and neighbors to support a presidential bid.

“AOC won't have the backing of billionaire donors eager to line the pockets of candidates they know they can control,” its website states. “If we want AOC to win in 2028, the work starts now, and it starts with us.”

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapters in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago have passed “Run AOC Run” resolutions encouraging Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028, City & State reported Nov. 6. The organization’s Metro DC chapter also announced Nov. 10 that its members had approved a similar resolution with 65% support. 

New York City’s chapter plans to vote Nov. 14 on whether to encourage her to enter the presidential race, according to City & State.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been privately meeting with union leaders to discuss the need for a left-wing presidential candidate to run amid uncertainty about whether Ocasio-Cortez will seek the White House, according to a Nov. 8 Axios report. A source familiar with the matter told Axios that Mamdani “wants the progressive ecosystem to mobilize quickly, strategically and efficiently if a moderate candidate is clearly on the rise.”

Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, has left the door open to either a presidential bid or a Senate run in 2028. She told The Washington Sun this month that she would “be deliberating this privately, but I probably will not be sharing anything publicly for a little while.”