‘My ambition is to change the country,’ AOC says when asked about seeking higher office in 2028

New York’s Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brushed off question about run for presidency

The New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez answered a question about potentially running for higher office in 2028 by declaring: “My ambition is to change the country.”

The Democrat delivered that remark at a political forum in Chicago on Friday amid widespread belief that she is positioning herself to run for the White House in 2028 or challenge her party’s leader in the US Senate, fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer.

Democratic strategist David Axelrod directly asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she planned to run for either while he hosted a conversation at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.

“What’s funny is they assume my ambition is a title or a seat,” the Bronx US House representative replied. “My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go. Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go.