Well, there you have it.
I’ve already written that the Obama Bros have been flogging AOC as a presidential candidate, placing a bet on the Democratic Socialist wave that has been taking over the party, and now the polls say that they are on to something.
David Axelrod, in particular, has been a key player behind the scenes, helping the DSA candidates rise, mainly but not only through his proxy, Morris Katz—the boy wonder behind Zohran Mamdani and… Graham Platner, who was something of a misfire for the movement. But I doubt you could blame that on Axelrod himself, except insofar as he has given guidance to a slimeball like Katz.
Sen. Ted Cruz predicts Zohran Mamdani will replace Chuck Schumer in the Senate, arguing the New York socialist has become the most powerful Democrat in America:
“Chuck Schumer, I believe, can never again win a Democratic primary in New York. I don’t think he’ll even run for… pic.twitter.com/PUpGyCPcl1
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) July 23, 2026
Sen. Ted Cruz predicts Zohran Mamdani will replace Chuck Schumer in the Senate, arguing the New York socialist has become the most powerful Democrat in America:
“Chuck Schumer, I believe, can never again win a Democratic primary in New York. I don’t think he’ll even run for re-election. I’ve joked that Schumer will be the inaugural member of the AOC for President campaign because he’s terrified AOC will primary him. I don’t think it’s a joke anymore. There’s a poll out today that has her winning in New Hampshire. She’s the number one Democratic candidate in the country in New Hampshire. That’s today’s poll. I think she’ll run for president. I don’t think she’ll run for Senate. But I’m going to make a prediction for you, Sean. My prediction is that Comrade Mamdani will be the next Democratic senator from New York—that Mamdani will replace Schumer. I think Mamdani is the single most powerful Democrat in the country.”
The University of New Hampshire has begun polling in the state to determine presidential preferences among voters, and AOC is at the top of the list, with Pete Buttigieg trailing by only one point.
Needless to say, they are in very different “lanes,” and Buttigieg isn’t likely to expand beyond 25-30% because, well, he’s gay, and a significant number of minority voters will either reject him because of that, or because the condiment he prefers most is mayonnaise. He has the nerd vote locked up, and if he can’t do better than 20% in one of the most white bread states in the nation, he’s not going to blow the lid off of South Carolina or Nevada.
UNH poll | 7/15-7/20
2028 Democratic presidential primary (New Hampshire)
🟦Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 22%
🟦Pete Buttigieg 21%
🟦Mark Kelly 9%
🟦Gavin Newsom 8%
🟦Bernie Sanders 6%
🟦Kamala Harris 5%
🟦Jon Ossoff 2%
🟦Josh Shapiro 2%
🟦Ro Khanna 2%
🟦Cory Booker 2%
🟦Amy… pic.twitter.com/1gyGzQTck5— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) July 22, 2026
UNH poll | 7/15-7/20
2028 Democratic presidential primary (New Hampshire)
🟦Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 22%
🟦Pete Buttigieg 21%
🟦Mark Kelly 9%
🟦Gavin Newsom 8%
🟦Bernie Sanders 6%
🟦Kamala Harris 5%
🟦Jon Ossoff 2%
🟦Josh Shapiro 2%
🟦Ro Khanna 2%
🟦Cory Booker 2%
🟦Amy Klobuchar 1%
🟦Andy Beshear 1%
🟦J.B. Pritzker 1%
🟦Rahm Emanuel 0%
🟦Gretchen Whitmer 0%
🟦Wes Moore 0%
🟦Ruben Gallego 0%
Don’t know/undecided 12%
Link to poll: https://scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/983/
Gavin Newsom polling at 8% despite spending two years running for president, and Kamala Harris at 5%, only 1/4 the popularity of AOC, tells you where the energy of the party is right now.
Of course, now is not the winter of 2028, when things really kick off, and New Hampshire is not going to determine who becomes the nominee, but AOC would do very well indeed in Nevada, which is in the running to be the first in the nation primary for the Democrats, and a victory in South Carolina would not exactly give Kamala Harris a major boost beyond what she already had as the most prominent and obvious successor in the next presidential race.
Mark Kelly’s performance at 9% might be enough to entice him into the race, and I suspect that a chunk of the establishment would flock to him on the basis of his being normal enough to have crossover appeal.
Of all the top candidates on the Democratic Party side, AOC has by far the most charisma, and charisma gets people to the polls.
Of course, we don’t know that AOC will run, whereas Buttigieg, Newsom, and Harris are almost sure things. Harris is trying to cozy up to the Mamdani wing of the party, but if AOC is in the race it seems a bit unlikely that Harris would be his preferred candidate.
Kamala Harris forms power pact with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani – as their lengthy phone call emerges https://t.co/Wcepp2wvtW pic.twitter.com/14Ybrkab4l
— California Post (@californiapost) July 1, 2026
Mamdani’s victory, and more importantly his own charisma, has completely shaken up the Democratic Party. He is, objectively speaking, their best politician, whatever his flaws as an actual public official are. If he could run for president, he would be the candidate over the objections of the party establishment.
Don’t laugh at an AOC candidacy. She legitimately could win the nomination.
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