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Rumors have swirled about “Squad” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political future since she joined Sen. Bernie Sanders’ high-profile “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year.
The youngest woman ever elected to Congress has become a leading progressive voice in the Democratic Party, amassing millions of social media followers and sparking speculation about a potential U.S. Senate run or White House bid in 2028. Her rise to the national stage comes as Democrats look for fresh leadership after losing up and down the ballot last year.
Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff and campaign manager are both alumni of the Sanders campaign. Mike Casca, her chief of staff, was formerly Sanders’ deputy chief of staff and a fixture of Sanders’ political operation, both on the presidential campaign trail and back on Capitol Hill.
Her campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, has worked in politics for over a decade. Prior to joining Ocasio-Cortez’s team in 2023, Hidalgo-Wohlleben was the political director of Sanders’ super PAC, Friends of Bernie Sanders, according to his LinkedIn.
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Hidalgo-Wohlleben also worked on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign before joining former President Joe Biden’s campaign in Iowa, Hidalgo-Wohlleben’s LinkedIn profile revealed.
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“AOC is a pretty savvy politician with a strong operation,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told Fox News Digital. “No matter what she decides to do, they’re setting her up for the future.”
A Sanders alumnus himself, Nellis cautioned against placing too much weight on what it means for former Sanders staffers to lead Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign.
“I think that’s just who she knows and who she trusts,” Nellis, a former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that Ocasio-Cortez has a “really good team around her.”
“It’s strategic in the sense that they have a lot of relationships already,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said, while emphasizing that it can be a “mistake to keep the old guard” when you are trying to build something new.
“I don’t know that somebody is going to inherit the legacy of Bernie Sanders,” Shroff added.
Axios recently reported that, according to people familiar with Ocasio-Cortez’s political operation, her team is positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028.
Schumer is up for re-election in 2028. By then, he will have served 47 years in Congress.
“AOC doesn’t need the Senate,” Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. “The Senate, at this point, is too small for her. I would expect her to run for president 2028.”
Whether she chooses to run for president or the Senate, Nellis said Ocasio-Cortez has the potential to attract voters who don’t typically engage in the political process, much like the coalition President Donald Trump has built.
“When you are an unconventional candidate outside the mainstream, outside the establishment, you can get a lot of people who will tune in and engage that maybe otherwise wouldn’t because you’re giving voice to them in a meaningful way,” Nellis said.
But Shroff said that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t ready for a presidential campaign.
“She absolutely should not run for president,” Shroff said. “It would be way too soon. I don’t think she’s really achieved enough to justify that.”
“For the Senate, I see that as more realistic, especially in a state like New York, that’s obviously more liberal,” Shroff added, arguing that “some very loyal base Democrats have lost their patience” with Schumer, so his vulnerability could boost Ocasio-Cortez’s chances of securing the Senate seat.
Shroff said Ocasio-Cortez’s “media profile and personality and charisma” aren’t enough to win the presidency, especially when running against figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long considered to harbor presidential aspirations.
The New Yorker sparked more campaign buzz this month for participating in an advertisement directly challenging Trump and advocating in favor of California redistricting.
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have both endorsed and campaigned this year for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist.
If Mamdani wins the mayoral election in November, Shroff said it could be a litmus test for the modern progressive branch of the Democratic Party.
“It will be challenging for him because I don’t think he can do a lot of the things that he said, and so how soon will that leftist ideology be debunked on a national level? The sooner that happens, the worse it is for AOC,” Shroff said.
In April, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X that drove rumors she could be mulling a presidential run as the four-term Democrat from New York City and the progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.”
When asked later that month if she was harboring any presidential ambitions, the young Democrat did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations to Fox News Digital.
“Bernie and AOC, one thing they understand is that Democrats need to be more than just anti-Trump,” Gorman said, before adding, “I certainly disagree with Bernie and AOC’s strategy of how to lead the party and where to take America, but at least they have one. That’s more than just, ‘I hate Trump.'”
The Republican strategist said the Democratic Party’s “establishment is not going to be able to stop a united, far-left wing of the party this time,” Gorman said.
Ocasio-Cortez’s and Schumer’s campaigns did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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