Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has laid the groundwork for a re-election campaign in 2024.
Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, filed the required forms Thursday to establish a campaign with the Federal Election Commission, according to Fox News.
In 2024, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York will seek her third term in the Senate, The New York Times reported this week. The newspaper cited Ocasio-Cortez as a potential primary challenger of Gillibrand, but a representative of Ocasio-Cortez did not comment on the speculation.
Although 2024 is a presidential election year, President Joe Biden has offered broad hints that he expects to run. Further, when speaking about the possibility of running for president, Ocasio-Cortez offered a pessimistic view of her chances, according to GQ.
“Literally day one, even before day one, I’ve experienced a lot of targeting diminishment from my party. And the pervasiveness of that diminishment, it was all-encompassing at times. I feel a little more steady on my own two feet now. But would I say that I have the power to shift the elected federal Democratic Party? No,” she said.
She said she has two strikes against her.
“My experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color,” she said.
“Misogyny transcends political ideology: left, right, center. This grip of patriarchy affects all of us, not just women; men, as I mentioned before, but also, ideologically, there’s an extraordinary lack of self-awareness in so many places.”
“I admit to sometimes believing that I live in a country that would never let that happen.”
She told GQ she had no other office in mind, but she also said: “This is something that I routinely revisit.”
Although Ocasio-Cortez cruised to re-election in 2020 and 2022, she and the state’s Democratic Party do not see eye to eye, according to the Times.
“It’s no secret that an enormous amount of party leadership in New York State is based on big money and old-school, calcified machine-style politics that creates a very anemic voting base that is disengaged and disenfranchised,” she said.
She said she feels rejected by the party.
“Not once has the New York State Democratic chair ever called me. All he has done is antagonize myself and any progressive candidates. We need to get together as a team. This idea of pure moderate politics that seeks to defeat both a progressive grass roots and a Republican Party at the same time very often isolates itself and makes itself smaller,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said New York is in a transitional phase.
“New York politics, especially in New York City, is going through a very strong generational upheaval. Overall the performance is disappointing, and this old-school machine politics could well have cost the House majority,” she told the Times.
“I feel very clear-eyed about what the path should be ahead. We should rebuild the New York State Democratic Party, and if that is a structure that refuses to be reformed, we rebuild and replace.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
