Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or more commonly known as AOC, is a politician and activist and, since 2019, a representative of New York’s 14th congressional district. She was the youngest woman to be elected to Congress and is in her eighth year serving parts of the Bronx and Queens.
She is also my choice for the next president of the United States. But this is obviously a personal opinion and depends on my thoughts about her past legislation and the potential change that she could make in our government.
However, when talking about running for president, we all have to be realistic. We have to weigh the options, possibilities, probabilities, and cost. All of these factors have a massive impact on her personal decision to run and also the Democratic Party’s decision.
If we look at her record as a representative of NY14, we can see that she has a good sense of what her constituents want and works hard to achieve those goals. Her first piece of legislation was the co-authored “Green New Deal”. This proposed a 10-year plan to “put millions to work in good-paying, union jobs repairing the nation’s infrastructure, reducing air and water pollution, and fighting the intertwined economic, social, racial, and climate crises crippling the country (house.gov).
Not only has AOC proposed legislation, but she has been successful in securing millions of dollars for opioid addiction treatment, environmental cleanup in Puerto Rico, and “various institutions in NY-14 also received $470M in federal grants.” We are watching as she makes real change in her district and listens to the wants and needs of her constituents.
This is all good work that she is doing as a representative of about 700,000 people in NY14; however, that is 342.2 million fewer people than she would represent as president.
In the fractured political landscape we find ourselves in, there has been much speculation as to who the Democratic Party will nominate as their presidential candidate. This choice has to be made with thought, understanding, and most importantly: the country’s best interests.
Obviously, with the midterms not even behind us, there is a lot of time before the 2028 election. But if we take a look at the polls at the moment (as of September 30, 2026, at 2 p.m.), 53% of registered voters say they would vote for Democratic candidates. We can also see that 7 in 10 voters say that the president is a factor in their voting preference (statistics and polling from PBS News, NPR, and Marist). If that statistic stays the same, it would swing the election in the Democrats’ favor. President Trump’s approval rating is down to just 37% (according to the Wall Street Journal). People are fed up with high prices, extended foreign conflicts, and his leadership style that has seemed to fluctuate day-to-day.
This all seems to add to the pressure on the Democratic Party and its choice of candidate. That is why I think they will not choose AOC.
The party knows that electing a Hispanic, young, outspoken woman is not going to happen in this election. It’s disgusting and disappointing, but the culture in the US is not willing to vote a minority into the highest office.
This is where intersectionality comes into play in the real world. First, AOC is a woman. We have never elected a woman, and there is substantial pushback when attempts have been made.
AOC is outspoken about what she believes is right. There is nothing this culture of male supremacy hates more than an outspoken woman. That is threatening to them.
AOC is also Hispanic. Her mother was born in Puerto Rico, and her father’s family is also Puerto Rican. We have watched as President Trump has repeatedly vilified the Latinx population by playing into racist stereotypes and false statistics. This racism is evident in the rhetoric he is spouting, the policies he has enacted, and the hatred that has festered among those who support him.
It would be ignorant not to take these factors into account when considering her popularity for the presidency. We see the rampant racism against Hispanic people. We see the blatant sexism that is so pervasive in our culture. We are just not ready as a society to vote a proud Hispanic woman into office.
And that’s a f*cking shame.