{"id":2642985,"date":"2026-08-11T07:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T11:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aoc-2028-and-the-coming-of-woke-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T07:43:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T11:43:58","slug":"aoc-2028-and-the-coming-of-woke-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aoc-2028-and-the-coming-of-woke-2\/","title":{"rendered":"AOC, 2028, and the coming of woke 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Faoc-2028-and-the-coming-of-woke-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2642985&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) signals she does not plan to remain in the House indefinitely and may pursue a presidential bid in 2028, despite downplaying her ambitions. Recently, she has distanced herself from her past progressive positions, criticizing &#8220;peak woke&#8221; politics and redefining her stance on issues like policing and family planning, including publicly freezing her eggs.She has also refused to endorse the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial front-runner, Francesca Hong, and declined to support Bernie Sanders&#8217;s involvement in gubernatorial races, reflecting strategic positioning. Ocasio-Cortez has suggested that her past rhetoric was shaped by the political climate during COVID-19, acknowledging that some of her previous radical views have evolved. She remains open to a presidential run, possibly challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in New York, and has hinted at a potential 2028 campaign, indicating her desire to carry the socialist banner forward. Her recent actions and shifting rhetoric highlight her efforts to appeal to a broader electorate while navigating intra-party dynamics and ideological debates within the Democratic Party.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-NY) may be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4680428\/aoc-not-ruled-out-possibility-2028-bid\/\">downplaying<\/a> her 2028 ambitions, but she has left little doubt that she doesn\u2019t plan to remain in the House indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/politics\/4680628\/what-does-woke-1-mean-what-to-know\/\">triangulated against<\/a> fellow Democratic Socialists of America members who remained <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4659456\/wisconsin-governor-primary-democratic-party-proxy-war\/\">bedeviled<\/a> by the excesses of \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4640395\/will-peak-woke-social-media-posts-haunt-texas-democrat-talaricos-senate-bid\/\">peak woke<\/a>,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4680435\/aoc-lockdown-rhetoric-defund-the-police-support\/\">distanced herself <\/a>from her own 2020 positions, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4680448\/aoc-freezes-her-eggs-i-think-its-bada\/\">advertised<\/a> her family planning in a way that instantly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4680544\/katie-miller-praises-aoc-egg-freezing\/\">divided conservatives<\/a> online.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/4682228\/aoc-2028-woke-1-socialist-democrats\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>AOC, 2028, and the coming of woke 2<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/4681135\/pete-buttigieg-south-carolina-democrats-headline\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Pete Buttigieg to headline major South Carolina Democrats conference<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/4678932\/will-newsom-vance-last-2028-front-runner\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Will Newsom and Vance last as presumed 2028 front-runners? Experts weigh in<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The congresswoman\u2019s only possible misstep was using a progressive buzzword to imply a second iteration of wokeness is coming, possibly under the leadership of her political faction.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Ocasio-Cortez <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/6019083-ocasio-cortez-declines-hong-endorsement\/\">declined to endorse<\/a> state Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/francesca-hong\/\">Francesca Hong<\/a>, the Democratic front-runner in the Wisconsin governor\u2019s race, even as she defended her fellow socialist\u2019s evolution on the issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\">Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-VT) has also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/08\/06\/bernie-sanders-francesca-hong\/91200369007\/\">begged off<\/a>, similarly saying he hasn\u2019t been involved in many gubernatorial races.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Socialists believe they can win back the working-class voters Democrats lost to President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> over the past decade by shedding their cultural radicalism and focusing on the economy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the DSA platform is anti-borders and anti-police, while many of the socialists younger than Sanders, including Ocasio-Cortez, have extensive track records trafficking in woke tropes earlier in this decade. Socialists running as Democrats have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4641805\/radical-socialist-democrats-pretend-blue-collar-allies\/\">yet to demonstrate<\/a> they can actually win working-class voters without <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4657193\/dsa-dumbed-down-definition-working-class-designed-to-deceive\/\">redefining what it means<\/a> to be working class. Talking about whiteness and canceling Thanksgiving won\u2019t help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of these Democrats who are now campaigning outside deep-blue congressional districts are abandoning or modifying their old positions on issues such as defunding the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/week-transcript-8-9-26-rep-alexandria-ocasio\/story?id=135487690\">said<\/a> on ABC News\u2019s <em>This Week<\/em> on Sunday, adding that Hong has \u201cmoved away from\u201d her past radical views. \u201cAnd I have a local city councilman who has this saying, \u2018Woke 1 was crazy,\u2019 and I think that what\u2019s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOf course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today,\u201d she said of 2020 and defund the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It wasn\u2019t a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sister_Souljah_moment\">Sister Souljah moment<\/a>, exactly, and the Clinton-era \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.currentaffairs.org\/news\/2024\/05\/the-toxic-legacy-of-martin-peretz-and-the-new-republic\">in-flight magazine of Air Force One<\/a>\u201d published a piece <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/214147\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-woke-1-comments-good-things\">rebuking <\/a>Ocasio-Cortez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it did differentiate Ocasio-Cortez from unreformed wokesters in the DSA and gave her more of an explanation for her own changing rhetoric than former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a> ever mustered in her losing 2024 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether voters find this convincing could go a long way toward deciding how the 2028 elections go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 36, Ocasio-Cortez is better equipped to carry the socialist banner in the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries than Sanders, who is older than octogenarians Trump and former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a>, or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is constitutionally ineligible to run because he was born outside the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI haven\u2019t ruled out the possibility,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez told ABC News\u2019s Jonathan Karl when asked about running for president in 2028, adding that she was \u201cvery humbled\u201d by the \u201ctremendous amount of support\u201d she has received. Karl noted a poll that showed her leading in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ocasio-Cortez could also run for Senate, possibly setting up the latest fight between socialists and the Democratic establishment by mounting a primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) if the incumbent seeks reelection in 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Ocasio-Cortez has not been as supportive of left-wing primary challenges to Democratic incumbents as Mamdani, she won her own House seat by taking out a sitting member of the Democrats\u2019 House leadership team in a 2018 primary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to her comments about wokeness and the midterm elections, Ocasio-Cortez drove the online discourse about fertility and childbirth by publicly beginning the process of freezing her eggs. \u201cDon\u2019t be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be,\u201d she said in a video as she injected herself with the necessary first shot. Whatever this means for her private life, the resulting discussion revealed fissures in the GOP coalition. Both the pro-life movement and female voters, including some who are conservative, have at various points expressed frustration with Trump 2.0, with divisions evident <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3412404\/conservatives-split-over-ivf-white-house-weighs-policy\/\">over in vitro fertilization treatments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If she wanted to pick a fight with Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a>, who needs to reassure both women and anti-abortion groups ahead of 2028, she could scarcely have picked a better topic for doing so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Ocasio-Cortez may be distancing herself from wokeness less than it first appears. Her objection seems to be that too much was said out loud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that during this time, especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton window,\u201d she said, referring to the parameters of mainstream political debate. \u201cWe were shut down, there was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of these shutdowns. And I think that the doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even granting some of these ideas were aspirational, Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s next line suggests the aspirations haven\u2019t changed much.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4679788\/abdul-el-sayed-supported-strict-covid-19-lockdowns-and-school-closures\/\"><strong>ABDUL EL SAYED SUPPORTED STRICT COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS AND SCHOOL CLOSURES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI actually think that the discussions that were had in that time were quite fruitful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether voters agree remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AOC hints at 2028 run, distances from past woke stances<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2642986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/aoc-woke-2.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[11331,8334,36456],"class_list":["post-2642985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-11331","tag-aoc","tag-woke-culture"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/aoc-woke-2.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2642985"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642988,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642985\/revisions\/2642988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2642985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2642985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2642985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}