The Case For NYC-DSA Endorsing AOC in 2026

Written By Groundwork Towards a Socialist Future

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at an NYC-DSA 101 meeting, January 2025

March 30, 2026

J Kraush

After hosting over a dozen endorsement forums in the last few months, including the high profile debate over Chi Osse, NYC-DSA is set to close out the endorsement season with a bang – the re-endorsement forum for congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

AOC is beloved by the Democratic party voter base, especially its progressive wing, with some of the highest favorability of any active politician among registered Democrats. She is one of the top fundraisers in the House, and accomplishes this primarily through a network of small donors. The Oligarchy Tour rallies she held with Bernie Sanders last year consistently drew massive crowds, sometimes equaling 10% of the population of the closest city. But while AOC remains a political phenomenon, she has also become a contentious topic among members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – the largest and most powerful socialist organization in the country. 

AOC is one of just two members of Congress currently endorsed by DSA at the local or national level, and appears to be emerging as a potential frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. If she runs, the energy around her race would likely match or even exceed the peak of what was seen in the Bernie 2016 and 2020 campaigns. It would be a massive strategic mistake for DSA to sit this race out; and a failure of NYC-DSA to re-endorse her for Congress now would shut the door on a DSA-endorsed presidential race down the line. 

We will use this article to argue in favor of re-endorsing AOC on the grounds of her track record, her prominence and what we feel is most important – the exigencies of the upcoming 2028 presidential race as a point of intervention.

AOC Is Our Best Hope For An Arms Embargo

The issue of the US-funded genocide in Palestine is the wedge issue on the “AOC question” within DSA. Her record on Palestine has been harshly criticized by DSA members and Palestine solidarity organizers since 2021, when she abstained on a vote over defensive funding to Israel. It has since become more contentious following her vote for the IHRA definition (H. Res. 888) conflating anti-Zionism with anti-semitism in 2024. This culminated in national DSA failing to re-endorse her in summer 2024 following tensions between the National Political Committee and NYC-DSA, the largest chapter, over how to proceed. Her speech at the 2024 DNC, where she claimed Kamala Harris was working tirelessly for a ceasefire in Gaza despite the Biden-Harris administration’s record of enabling the genocide, led to open criticism even among her supporters. Most severely, in 2025 she expressed support for providing funding for so-called ‘defensive weapons’ to Israel, a position she has not reversed.

However, AOC is our best chance to achieve an arms embargo against Israel.

This may feel contradictory, but it needs to be examined in context. Neither of the other frontrunners, Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris, will be ideologically willing to even consider an arms embargo against Israel. More importantly, they can not be swayed on the topic, precisely because there is no political or financial benefit for them to move. We can expect them to receive millions in funding from Zionist organizations such as AIPAC, especially if AOC remains a frontrunner. Only a mass political movement that commits to working-class dignity and international solidarity can defeat the Israel lobby, but that movement needs people in power who are not already bought in order to succeed. AOC, for whatever else about the contradictions and incoherence of her positions on Palestine, remains both unbought and in broad strokes ideologically aligned. While her shortcomings on the issue remain an endless source of frustration, she is not precluded from ever coming to our position the way the rest of the field would be. In fact, she has been out in front, trying to stop the transfer of bombs, shells, rifles, and ammunition to the genocidal Israeli state- an important first step that vanishingly few others in politics can point to on their resume.

Even her halfway position on arms embargo places her in danger. Following the primarying of Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman in 2024, AOC and the remainder of the Squad are likely to be the Israel Lobby’s top target in 2028. And from their perspective they have more than enough reason to oppose her - she has one of the best records on Israel in Congress, with an A ranking on the 2024 USPCR scorecard. Among other things, AOC was a co-sponsor of Cori Bush’s No Money for Massacres bill and backed Not On Our Dime in 2025. AOC’s contributions to our movement, and specifically to NYC-DSA, are often undervalued - we now meet with her team regularly, her office has hosted DSA 101s, and she has spoken at major events, including our post-Trump response call and May Day 2025. She also has a history of supporting NYC-DSA’s priorities, such as endorsing Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral primary and working with chapter leadership in the wake of 10/7. 

We should not have illusions about AOC. While she is one of the furthest left politicians in the country, she is still a politician. AOC is often, but not always, aligned with our movement, and while her positions have evolved over time she has proven difficult to move in certain areas. She cannot be considered a ‘cadre candidate’ in the way Zohran Mamdani was, and, like Mamdani, if she is in executive office she will inevitably make decisions we vociferously disagree with. However - she has consistently held positions to the left of the majority of the country, and the range of outcomes an AOC administration represents are exponentially better for our movement and for the world than the alternatives

On The Issues

AOC Is The Anti-War Candidate

AOC has one of the best records in Congress on foreign policy. In particular, she is an outspoken critic of punitive actions taken by the US against Cuba. While by the standard of the left her record is imperfect, it is still often underestimated - while she issued a press release in favor of Cuban protestors in 2021, she also used it to highlight the cruelty of the embargo and voted against a more extreme statement by Congress condemning the Cuban government. She has spoken against the embargo throughout the Biden and Trump administrations, and made a statement in support of the Biden administration's late term removal of Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terror list. She also recently explicitly tied the Trump administration’s escalated blockade on Cuba to the genocide in Gaza as examples of depravity ignored by world powers.

Similarly, she was one of the loudest voices in Congress in opposition to Trump’s illegal abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. While the average Democrat merely criticized Trump for acting without authorization, AOC directly stated that he had no right to capture another world leader. AOC has also spoken out against recent US actions on Iran, stating that they were a deliberate choice of aggression. Overall, while her foreign policy may be distinguishable from many in DSA, she remains substantially to the left of nearly all other non-DSA politicians.

The most notable boon to her resume is the fact that she has never voted in favor of a National Defense Authorization Act, and has consistently voted against US military spending and military aid to Israel. AOC has taken real stands and thus stands out as one of the most principled politicians in the country, aside from Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. This means she stands to be the most credible anti-war candidate in 2028, in a race where many Democrats will suddenly find their anti war scruples, and one of the only candidates who would have any intention of reversing course on the Trump administration’s barbarism abroad.

AOC Is the Strongest likely Candidate On Nearly Every Issue

AOC has consistently taken strong stances on almost every existential issue facing the country. To cite a few examples:

  • She has an excellent record on immigration and loudly opposed legislation designed to punish undocumented immigrants, such as the Laken Riley Act and Biden’s proposed asylum ban. Her office has also hosted large Know Your Rights trainings.

AOC’s well rounded strength on the issues is especially key as the polycrisis that is Global Warming continues to escalate. Immigration and climate in particular are inextricably linked, as climate change is projected to fuel greater regional destabilization and through it create more immigrants and refugees. Climate change will also remain a key issue, as it is a rarely acknowledged driver of the ‘cost of living crisis’ and is predicted to get worse even under optimistic scenarios. AOC is the only likely presidential candidate who is credible on climate, has consistently advocated for immigrant rights, and who can potentially merge them with a Zohran style platform on affordability at a national scale.

There Is No Alternative: We can not be stuck with a regular democrat

While the 2028 race is 2 years away, current polling suggests the likely frontrunners to be Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and AOC. Aside from AOC, none of these options can credibly occupy the progressive lane - and there are few possible candidates who could even attempt to so outside of a Ro Khanna or a Jon Ossoff. But Khanna is known for his erratic voting record and had a D rating on the USPCR scorecard in 2024, while Ossoff voted to advance the Laken Riley Act. There is no one else walking through that door.

As it stands, a potential Newsom or Harris administration would be a disaster for the working class. Not only can neither boast the strength of AOC’s record, both are severely compromised if not outright antagonistic to the Left’s biggest priorities-

If the field boils down to Newsom, Harris or AOC, then there can be no doubt that AOC would be the best option for DSA, for the left, and for the nation writ large. We have an unbelievable opportunity to take a swing at the highest office in the land with someone who is definitively of, from, and by the Left as it exists. Better yet, AOC is pinned down by her ongoing association with the Left: she will be grouped in with DSA by voters and the media no matter the status of her and our relationship. She will be forced to rely upon us.

We have looked at this for too long as a burden- we need to instead see it as an opportunity, one that will not be presented to us by any other candidate in this race or others going forward. The path for DSA under yet another middling and failing Democratic presidency is more of the stagnation that confronted us during the Biden years- and a regular Democrat will indeed fail, fail to defeat the MAGA threat, fail to deliver or even seek transformational changes for the working class, and in doing so fail to reshape the world into the more egalitarian one we all seek. AOC in 2028 is an opportunity for us to get our foot in the door of remaking the world in our image- any other Dem is an opportunity for the next Trump acolyte to win in 2032.

She Can Win, But It Will Be A Fight

But for any of that to be possible, AOC would need to win. She would need to pick up early primary states, run through the whistle on Super Tuesday, and quickly deploy resources to a national general election. Centrist ‘third way’ Democrats are already looking to block a potential AOC run in 2028, likely in favor of a Newsom, Harris, or even Rahm Emmanuel. While AOC is polling well, she usually ranks 3rd while Newsom and Harris vie for top position. And though it's too early to really know the field, early opinion polls of presidential primaries have more predictive value than one might expect. The takeaway is that AOC is a serious contender but will need to run a strong campaign to have a chance.

Thankfully she is well-positioned to do so - as previously established, she has high favorability among Democrats and can draw massive crowds. Her recent high-profile endorsements, including Analilia Mejia and Zohran, have established her as something of a kingmaker. She has a massive social media profile, including 10 million followers on Instagram, and is known as one of the most effective fundraisers on the left – both of which would be essential to compete with what could total tens of millions of dollars of AIPAC spending leveraged against her. What she will need to win, and where DSA can help, is a strong nationwide field operation to make the difference. Canvassers, localized comms, literature, rallies- all the tools to create and develop local support can be drawn from a mass movement, 100,000 strong, with chapters all over the country. That is the value we provide, and in holding it we hold power, power not just over her agenda but over the futures of millions if we succeed.

The Strategic Case For DSA

AOC is how we get to 500k Members

DSA recently surpassed 100,000 members, a milestone for the organization which we would likely not have reached without Zohran’s mayoral run. In fact, DSA’s spikes in growth over the last year and a half are strongly correlated with Zohran’s two victories, along with specific moments of horror associated with the Trump administration, such as ICE’s full scale incursion in Minneapolis. This tells us that our growth is fueled by big moments, but also that we can ‘create’ such moments under the right conditions.

A precursor to Zohran’s 2025 mayoral race, Bernie’s 2016 presidential race was the origin point for modern DSA. This is demonstrated by the rapid demographic shift the organization underwent between Bernie’s 2016 and 2020 presidential runs - going from under 10,000 members with an average age in the high 60s to around 80,000 members with an average age in the low 30s. AOC’s 2018 congressional victory also led to a massive membership spike, making her partially responsible for the resurgence of modern DSA alongside Bernie 2016. The left grows when we run big races that seriously challenge power.

Conversely, we have seen many examples of races which do not grow the broader left, such as Jill Stein’s repeat presidential runs on the Green Party ballot line. What this tell us is that our power is driven by what are felt to be credible interventions into politics, not simply the act of running for office alone. Voters respond to competency and reputation- they will not just fall in line if we put any old left challenger out there.

These interventions have also demonstrated the ability to affect lasting shifts in national politics. Bernie 2016 popularized Medicare For All for years, and Zohran’s race moved the conversation on the genocide substantially as he was able to win major office without backing down to the pro-Israel lobby. Zohran’s victory made it clear that Israel-Palestine was no longer the ‘third rail’ of American politics. It is hard to imagine, for example, politicians like Gavin Newsom swearing off AIPAC funding had Zohran not won. These are the second order effects of serious campaigns- the entire landscape is forced to re-orient, and out of the reorientation comes political awakening, conversions, growth, and power.

We Need To Grow To Learn

A common argument made when DSA is considering major races is that we shouldn't endorse because we don’t yet have the power to exert discipline. But under the right conditions, these major races have shown to be our most reliable source of growth and thus our best way of building power. This matters in more ways than it seems. We will not have the strength necessary to force electeds to reckon with our organized demands if we refuse to get involved in these types of races. We are materialists: we understand politicians have to respond to practical interests. We as DSA can not rely on loyalty or ideology alone- we must instead be able to dictate the operating conditions of politics itself. That only happens with organized people (or organized money, which we are largely ideologically precluded from). But people are only organized into DSA by bold swings in the first place. We have seen that there are diminishing returns to staying in our comfort zone - a chapter’s first state house race is energizing; its 10th is just another campaign. Ultimately the left has to accept the work of navigating through these contradictions rather than taking the safe route of avoiding them.

This is nothing new - despite NYC-DSA having one of the most advanced electoral programs and Socialist in Office Committees to coordinate with our electeds in the country, our electoral program has always run ahead of us. Julia Salazar’s 2018 race and our 2020 slate predated our Socialist In Office committee. We are still working out in real time how to relate to the Mamdani mayoral administration. This approach may be messy at times, but it is also part of the reason we have been able to grow into one of the strongest left organizations in US history. We can only mature when we continue to face the contradictions of being electoral socialists in a capitalist system head on, through experience- and maturation is what will get us to the level of organizational discipline we all seek.

Opportunity Cost

A reasonable concern voiced by many of our comrades is the cost of AOC winning the presidency but failing to deliver on her promises. We are still cautiously evaluating the Mamdani administration’s ‘deliverist’ approach, and an AOC administration would likely face significant obstacles to success. Failure to deliver is not, however, a political death sentence in itself. What is a death sentence is a failure to politicize, to know and name your enemy, and to build trust with voters. That’s what happened to the Biden administration, and that’s the fate that awaits a Newsom or a Harris presidency. Their fundamental misunderstanding of politics and tactical sloppiness would lead to a repeat of the Biden administration, where the right became culturally ascendant and DSA experienced a gradual decline. As ‘the left’, we are going to risk the downsides of a Democratic administration regardless of who wins - it may as well be on terms we can actually intervene upon.

There is also a significant opportunity cost to not endorsing AOC, which most detractors have not yet picked up on. Regardless of whether or not we endorse, progressive organizations such as the Working Families Party (WFP) almost certainly will. While we are often in coalition with the progressive movement and they are traditionally close allies, they are still a rival political movement which we are increasingly in competition with, such as in the current congressional race between Claire Valdez and Antonio Reynoso. We saw substantial growth from Zohran’s mayoral race compared to WFP because we backed him heavily and early, while WFP contributed relatively little during the primary. If AOC wins with the backing of progressive organizations but without DSA’s endorsement, those organizations will function as the leaders of the political moment. If we fail to take leadership by endorsing AOC, we will have marginalized ourselves relative to the progressives, an abdication of our responsibility to cohere left wing energy into the socialist project.

In effect, if AOC runs without us we become exposed to the risks of marginalization, big tent collapse, stagnation, and backlash. All of that is baked in, and much of it would be driven by a media environment that would not distinguish the minutiae of DSA’s by then decade long up and down relationship with her. We risk much of these ills anyway- even in the event of endorsement, failure, infighting, or a misidentification of forces would be catastrophic. We thus are a difficult crossroads: the storm is upon us either way, but the potential benefits, including the ability to influence the trajectory of an AOC administration, only exist if we endorse, first in 2026 and then again in 2028.

If this is an article about why NYC-DSA should re-endorse for congress in 2026, why have we spent the entirety of it talking about 2028?

AOC is not a ‘cadre’ candidate in the way that Zohran Mamdani was - the extent of her involvement with our movement is often underrated, but she does not coordinate with us as closely as an average SIO. Despite this, we continue to gain from our association with her, and she is easily one of the most left wing politicians in the country. A failure for NYC-DSA to endorse in 2026 would damage this relationship, and would likely shut the door for a national DSA endorsement for 2028. Public rebukes and painful divorces rarely create the best conditions to re-unite just a year later, this time for a far bigger project. Unlike the potential Chi Osse congressional race against Hakeem Jeffries, AOC is not in a situation where she needs DSA to be the primary driver of her campaign in 2026. But we could still be a tremendous asset in a tough race, priming her to coordinate and rely on us in a more substantial way come the 2028 primary. 

An AOC presidency would be a tremendous victory for the left, and a stunning repudiation of the Israel Lobby which has dedicated enormous effort to trying to stop her or co-opt her since the very start of her rise. Every campaign, every legislative body, every race, every person is a battlefield, a collection of warring interests, motivated by incentive structures. This is the game we play in politics. Taking our ball and going home on the best shot we have ever had for federal intervention just because we lost a couple skirmishes is effectively giving up on the idea of advancing the socialist project out of its pimply teenage years. To do so at a time where we have just begun to mature into ourselves would be a massive loss. The strategic case is clear- to prepare the nation-wide socialist movement for 2028, NYC-DSA must endorse AOC in 2026.

Groundwork Towards a Socialist Future
Next

Can We Onboard The Working Class?