'Life doesn't wait': AOC sets timeline to weigh her political future

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she will seriously weigh a possible 2028 presidential run after the November midterm elections, adding a personal note to her political deliberations.

The New York Democrat said she is considering the opportunity, timing, and personal implications of a White House campaign at age 36.

Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times published on Tuesday, September 22, as she prepares to campaign for Democrats ahead of the midterms.

AOC says the decision will come after midterms

“There’s an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot,” Ocasio-Cortez told the newspaper.

She followed that with a more personal reflection: “Life doesn’t wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who was the youngest woman elected to Congress at 29, is nearing the end of her eighth year representing New York’s 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of the Bronx and Queens.

She said she has been open about considering her next political step but intends to wait until after the November elections before making the decision. 

“I’ve been pretty open about the fact that I’m going to be weighing this decision, but I’m going to be weighing it after the midterm elections,” she said. 

Ocasio-Cortez says she weighs age and identity

Ocasio-Cortez also spoke candidly about the personal considerations surrounding a potential presidential campaign, including her age and identity.

“I think about it personally,” she told the newspaper. “I am 36, I’m about to turn 37 years old — and what that means for my life.”

She also said she is considering how being a woman and Latina could affect the political calculation surrounding a presidential campaign.

“Pretty candidly, I think about my identity,” she said. “I’m not naïve to the fact that we are living under a very regressive administration, and I happen to be a woman… and I happen to be Latina.”

Ocasio-Cortez said electability is also part of what she considers. 

“I think that there’s a lot of conversation about electability, and I don’t kind of shy away from those realities,” she said.

When asked specifically about running as a woman, she added: “If you’re asking me about the things that I weigh, of course, that’s part of what I weigh. It’s funny because it’s kind of like, everyone else is allowed to talk about it, but I’m not?”

AOC pours $300k into New York House races

Ocasio-Cortez is expected to campaign with Democrats in the final weeks before the midterms and has donated $300,000 to a coordinated campaign fund run by Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul for voter-organization activities, according to a Daily Wire report.

The report said that competitive races across New York could affect which party controls the House. 

Rep Mike Lawler faces a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley, while Republicans are attempting to pick up a seat on Long Island.

The presidential speculation comes weeks after Ocasio-Cortez publicly documented her egg-freezing journey.

She has said freezing her eggs was partly about gaining more control over her personal and political future.

For now, Ocasio-Cortez has placed her stated decision point after the November elections, when she plans to weigh whether to pursue her next political move.