Ocasio-Cortez on possible White House bid: ‘Pretty candidly, I think about my identity’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), one of the most prominent Democrats of the last decade, discussed a 2028 presidential run and reflected on how her identity may impact her potential campaign.

“I think about it personally,” Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times in an interview published Tuesday, talking about a bid for the presidency. “I am 36, I’m about to turn 37 years old — and what that means for my life.”

“Pretty candidly, I think about my identity,” the New York Democrat added. “I’m not naïve to the fact that we are living under a very regressive administration, and I happen to be a woman, and I, you know, happen to be Latina. And I think that there’s a lot of conversation about electability, and I don’t kind of shy away from those realities.”

Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most-discussed names as a possible 2028 White House contender. And the ascendancy of fellow democratic socialists and progressives in recent Democratic primaries could bolster a case for her presidential candidacy.

In the Times interview, Ocasio-Cortez said she’ll make a choice on whether to make a presidential bid following this year’s midterms.

Some influential Democrats’ confidence has recently increased about Ocasio-Cortez’s chances in the upcoming presidential race. Multiple members of her party have even compared her rise to former President Obama’s insurgent 2008 campaign and the on-the-ground support that sent him to the White House.

The New York Democrat has also been notably vulnerable in the political spotlight recently, announcing a decision to freeze her eggs and documenting the process on social media.