If AOC Doesn’t Run for President, Run a Union Worker
The Left can’t sit out the 2028 Democratic primary. If AOC chooses not to run for president, Eric Blanc argues that socialists should run a working-class candidate — even an unknown one — who can inject anti-billionaire politics into the race.
In 2024, the Left sat out the Democratic primary, and it was a disaster. If no big-name socialist elected officials run in 2028, how about a charismatic union member and socialist who can speak to the crises facing working people on the national stage? (Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)
What do we do if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decides not to run for president in 2028? It makes sense that many leftists are currently focused on calling on her to take the plunge. But the absence of a Plan B, or even much discussion about one, is worrisome.
The US left can’t afford to sit out the 2028 Democratic primary. Doing so in 2024 was a disaster: our abstention self-marginalized anti-billionaire politics from the national conversation and thereby gave space for Harris to pivot to the “center” (i.e., to the policy preferences of corporate donors, establishment hacks, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC]).
Abstaining again in 2028 would be especially counterproductive since democratic socialists now have so much wind in our sails after our big electoral wins in New York City and across the country. It’s time to deepen our momentum, organization, and profile — not to retreat to the margins during America’s single most important political battle.
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