Here we are, with the 2026 midterms not even in the bag yet, and already contenders may well be casting a covetous eye at the Oval Office. The Republican field is wide and varied, but smart money says that the GOP will pick either Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as their standard-bearer. For the Democrats, things aren't nearly so clean-cut. They will likely have a bunch of lefties running with nary a moderate among them; mind you, if it were a moderate they are looking for, the only option they have now in elected officials is Pennsylvania's Senator John Fetterman (D-PA).
One of those lefties who is rumored to have presidential ambitions is the card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), or AOC. Now, on Friday, there was reportedly a major shake-up in AOC's campaign staff. Signs of trouble? Or a reshuffling ahead of a run for higher office?
The longtime campaign manager and senior adviser to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., will leave in September, Axios reported Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The departure of Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben is part of a staff shake-up that comes as speculation swirls over whether the progressive leader will mount a presidential run or challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in 2028.
Fiorella Bini, a longtime aide to Ocasio-Cortez, took over as interim campaign manager this month, according to Axios.
Axios points out two possibilities for the possibility of AOC seeking higher office:
The personnel changes come months before the progressive leader will decide whether to launch a presidential campaign. She's also weighing a run for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's seat, which is also up in 2028.
Neither of these is a shoo-in for AOC. The Democrat Party in general is underground in polling, although the GOP, candidly, is not polling any better. Polls, though, are little more than curiosities. They are fun to pick apart and attempt to look at the averages and prognosticate, but that's about all they are good for. What does count is elections, and we have seen that primary elections in general are not favorable to far-left candidates when they are not in safe districts. We have a few commies running for statewide office, like the detestable Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, but it's not at all clear he can win a statewide race. Then we have the guy who is without doubt the softest candidate for the Senate in this cycle, James Talarico, who is contending for a Texas Senate seat against Attorney General Ken Paxton; Talarico is trying to sell himself as a moderate, and nobody with enough brains to pound sand is buying it.
AOC may well face the same problem if she tries to appeal to the entire state of New York, much less the whole country. At least, she would with her current rhetoric and public positions. Could that be the reason for the shakeup? Is it a credible notion, AOC trying to sell herself as a moderate? No, not with her history, and frankly, not with what we have seen of her statements and her history so far. Far-left nut and commie she may be, but you have to give AOC one thing: She's sincere. She really seems to believe the nonsense she spews. She's in earnest about all this, and seems inclined to run for any future office on that basis. And that is precisely what is likely to sink her.
No, if the Democrats were smart, in 2028, they would be going hat-in-hand to someone like Joe Manchin, and asking, "Please, Joe, save us!"
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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