Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is testing the political waters ahead of 2028 with an upstate New York voter-outreach tour in areas friendly to the Democratic Socialists of America, The Post has learned.
The progressive Democrat is launching the tour in Buffalo, where she plans to rally potential supporters ahead of the midterm elections. The trip comes as speculation continues over a possible White House bid in two years. According to Gothamist, Ocasio-Cortez will also join Gov. Kathy Hochul in an effort to build upstate support.
Ocasio-Cortez’s team said the itinerary includes stops in Syracuse and Ithaca, home of Cornell University. Several members of the Democratic Socialists of America serve on Ithaca’s city council, while Tompkins County was one of only two counties in New York to back Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.
Both Buffalo and Syracuse elected DSA members to local offices and state Assembly seats in June elections.
“I think she brings a lot of energy to the process, engages young people in particular,” Hochul said in an interview with WNYC. “I’ve encouraged this. I have asked her and others to go statewide to create the momentum we need, the energy around this next election. So I think she’ll be very well-received.”
Along with a series of speaking engagements, Ocasio-Cortez’s upstate tour will feature an “inactive voter training” session Thursday night. Her team also said she plans to contribute $300,000 to the state Democratic Party.
Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez described 2028 as a make-or-break election year. She told The New York Times that if she loses a bid for her House seat, the Senate or the presidency, she will leave politics.
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Despite the growing speculation, Ocasio-Cortez has not announced a campaign for either the Senate or the White House.
Still, New York Republican leaders are signaling that they do not want her political operation taking hold upstate.
“We warned you about NYC socialism spreading upstate,” Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra [R-Nassau] wrote on X. “Turns out it’s Kathy Hochul driving the bus.”
Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker also cautioned that Ocasio-Cortez’s effort could push the Democratic Party further to the left.
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is coming to Erie County to establish herself as the true leader of the New York Democratic Party, and local Democrats are falling in line, embracing her extreme socialist agenda without question,” Kracker said. “They don’t have to go along with it.”
Joe “Baby Joe” Mesi, a former Golden Gloves boxing champion and lifelong Democrat, also criticized the congresswoman’s visit.
“The party I know fights for working people, not for radical politics that hurt them,” Mesi said. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t speak for me, and she doesn’t speak for the Buffalo I grew up in.”