U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is trying to remain the darling of the Democratic Party while keeping one foot in the socialist movement that made her famous. If the rumors of a 2028 presidential run are real, that balancing act is about to get much harder.
The Democratic Socialists of America draw the fault line. The word “socialism” still repels plenty of mainstream voters, and recent candidates have discovered how quickly old radical rhetoric can become a liability. Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong lost after her old “Cancel Thanksgiving” post resurfaced. In Minneapolis, Omar Fateh’s mayoral campaign took heat over a video in which he appeared to pledge loyalty to Somalia.
For years, Ocasio-Cortez made socialism look glamorous to young progressives. Now the socialists are asking whether she is still socialist enough.
The DSA’s celebrity ecosystem is not helping. Hasan Piker, the radical-left streamer, went viral again for saying “America deserved 9/11” and calling himself a “terrorist supporter.” Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, once friendly with Piker, has since tried to downplay that relationship.
AOC is trying to hold onto the movement without letting it dictate the terms of a national campaign. That is becoming difficult because the DSA itself keeps moving left.
Its new platform calls for abolishing the presidency, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, along with police and prisons. Last month, the organization celebrated Fidel Castro as an “organizer,” a “fighter,” and “a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination.” DSA co-chair Ashik Siddique was unable to offer much of a defense when CNN asked how the Castro tribute would play with Florida voters.
The tension burst into the open after a recent interview in which Ocasio-Cortez emphasized her membership in New York City DSA rather than the national organization and brushed aside questions about why she had not endorsed other DSA candidates such as Hong.
The DSA’s Liberation Caucus, which openly embraces Marxist-Leninist-Maoist politics, fired back. It withdrew support for a hypothetical AOC presidential run, accusing her of a “retreat from socialist politics,” insufficient solidarity with Palestine, and failure to participate in the group’s “Federal Socialists in Office” work. It warned that a presidential campaign would bring “even more capitulations to the imperialists.”
That is AOC’s problem in miniature. The politician most responsible for making democratic socialism fashionable now risks becoming too mainstream for the people who helped build her brand.
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The DSA has grown quickly. Membership doubled from roughly 50,000 in 2020 to more than 100,000 by 2026 and reached about 120,000 by July. Growth, however, has exposed factions: a national organization, local chapters with different political incentives, and ideological caucuses competing to define what socialism is supposed to mean.
That makes national politics awkward. The DSA wants influence without compromise, but influence in a coalition party requires compromise almost by definition. The more successful one of its politicians becomes, the more likely activists are to accuse that politician of betrayal.
AOC is now caught in the trap she helped build. To become a plausible national Democrat, she must reassure voters who recoil from communism, Castro nostalgia, police abolition, and revolutionary theater. To keep the DSA left happy, she must prove she has not been domesticated by Washington.
For years, Ocasio-Cortez made socialism look glamorous to young progressives. Now the socialists are asking whether she is still socialist enough.
Democratic party, Democratic socialists of america, Fidel castro, Francesca hong, Omar fateh, Opinion & analysis, Hasan piker, Alexandria ocasio-cortez, 2028 presidential election, Abdul el-sayed, Abolish police, New york
