Polls show AOC is an early Democratic frontrunner for 2028

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is a current frontrunner for the Democratic Party for the next presidential election.

Pollsters and pundits are buzzing about the progressive New Yorker as a potential candidate after a Yale survey showed Ocasio-Cortez with a 62% favorability rating. Yale’s undergraduate-led Spring 2025 Youth Poll surveyed 4,100 “self-reported registered voters,” nearly half of which were aged 18-29.

Nate Silver, founder of polling aggregate and election forecaster FiveThirtyEight, predicted in a podcast with political podcaster Galen Druke that Ocasio-Cortez would be the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominee, as reported by Fox News.

The poll showed that Ocasio-Cortez has “broad appeal across the Democratic party and there’s a lot of people who could potentially get on board with her,” Druke said.

While Kamala Harris had the greatest name recognition of the Democrats provided in the survey, both she and Ocasio-Cortez received favorability ratings “at about net +60.”

Election forecaster Race to the White House has calculated an average of 18 polls from 11 pollsters since January 2024 on the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. It shows Harris leading by over 16 points. When Harris is removed, those same polls show former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the lead with 17% and Ocasio-Cortez not far behind with 14%.

Ocasio-Cortez gained national attention in 2018 when she beat incumbent Joseph Crowley in a race for the House of Representatives. She has held the seat since then. A self-proclaimed socialist, she has been speaking across the country with U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, since late February in a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.