Group backing AOC for 2028 White House run recruits 10,000 supporters in 24 hours

A grassroots group backing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for president in 2028 says it signed up thousands of supporters in its first 24 hours. “Ready for AOC” recruited “over 10,000 supporters from across all 50 states” in its first 24 hours, a spokesperson told The Independent Wednesday. The group is not affiliated with the congresswoman’s campaign.“AOC is the only candidate who can lead the working class movement to fight the oligarchy and transform America,” the group wrote in its inaugural social media post Monday. “We’re organizing across the country to build the grassroots support we need to win in 2028.”About 4,000 of those supporters have committed to attending welcome calls over the next month. “People are clearly ready to be a part of something transformational,” a group spokesperson also told Politico. “They’re ready to put in the work.”The recruitment push comes after Democrats romped to victory in a string of red states, reclaiming control of the House and the Senate in last week’s midterm elections.A group backing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for president in 2028 has racked up over 10,000 supporters in 24 hours (Reuters)Ocasio-Cortez, a 37-year-old New York progressive Democrat, has long been seen as a potential White House contender, with polls placing her near the top of the prospective Democratic field.An outspoken Trump critic, she frequently uses social media to explain her policies and talk candidly to her millions of followers. She has also traveled the country with Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has also left the door open to a presidential bid. Asked about running in August, she said: “I haven’t ruled out the possibility. And I’m very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there.” When questioned about a theoretical match-up against Vice President JD Vance last year, she said she would “stomp him.”Other potential Democratic contenders for 2028 include Jon Ossoff, Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg (Reuters)Other Democrats floated as potential 2028 contenders include California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Kamala Harris.One Democrat whose national profile has risen sharply is Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, who won re-election last week with 59 percent of the vote.Over the past month, Ossoff’s odds of winning the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination have surged in online prediction platforms. He now leads the field on both Kalshi and Polymarket, putting him at least 10 percentage points ahead of Ocasio-Cortez on each platform.Ossoff would be “a slam dunk number one pick,” polling analyst Nate Silver said last week. “He seems like the uniformly ‘compromise candidate’ between the progressive and the more centrist factions of the party. And he seems very talented.”