AOC is pushing the Democrats to take her seriously. Munich could launch her rebirth

Once seen as an insurgent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a team player for the Democratic Party, Eric Garcia writes. Now, she wants to remake what that team looks like

Many, many years ago, as a young reporter, I covered an event with former Sen. Chris Dodd, who explained to the audience that people could always tell which senators wanted to run for president — they were the ones who joined the Senate Foreign Relations or the Armed Services committees.

It’s a good barometer: Dodd, a former presidential candidate, had sat on the Foreign Relations Committee. John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee, served as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Dodd’s friend Joe Biden served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee before becoming the running mate of fellow committee member Barack Obama in 2008.

While New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not a senator — yet — that might be why, during a panel on global populism at the Munich Security Conference, moderator Katrin Bennhold of The New York Times asked her, “So when you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire's tax?”

Ocasio-Cortez responded coyly.

“I don't think that anyone ... we don't have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think that it needs to be done expeditiously,” she said, never acknowledging the thinly veiled effort at a pronouncement about her future aspirations.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seen at a panel on populism at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on Friday, could be making a big move within the Democratic Party this year. (Getty)

Denying a potential bid for president is usually part of testing the waters — for running for president. But Ocasio-Cortez is more likely to run for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s seat, either in a primary challenge fueled by progressive anger or if Schumer retires.

Still, AOC, as she is better known — initially a progressive insurgent who knocked off a Democratic incumbent — is now seeking to become a major power player, both in the 2026 midterms and in 2028.

The four-term, self-described democratic socialist from the Bronx and Queens occupies a peculiar spot. She holds formal leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus. In fact, after Trump’s victory, she attempted to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, but Democratic leadership elbowed her out.

But she’s become the leading voice for Democrats on pushing back against the cruelty and brutality exhibited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Trump-ordered enforcement operations.

A video interview withThe Independent where she was asked about ICE and said, “The cuts to your healthcare are what’s paying for this” and “You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face,” went viral and would later be circulated by the Democratic National Committee’s official X account.

Paris Hilton listens as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks in support of the DEFIANCE Act at the Capitol last months. AOC has been steadily raising her profile in the Democratic Party after distinguishing herself from the more far-left Squad. (Getty)

She has yet to pass any major legislation with her name on it, though she’s on the precipice of passing a crackdown on deepfake AI porn with the help of Republicans and celebrities like Paris Hilton. Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump stalwart, has endorsed it.

Ocasio-Cortez initially came to Washington when she knocked off entrenched House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in a primary. During her talk, she spoke about how many in her party leadership elbowed her out because her ideas about tuition-free college, Medicare for all and a $15 per hour minimum wage were deemed unrealistic.

“And these are all the things that I, as a waitress, had campaigned on and had been major pain points in my life, and then they said, ‘We have to listen to working class people more,’”” she said.

No clearer example of this came than in the 2020 Democratic primary when many working-class voters rejected her political ally Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s candidacy for president, while Latino voters embraced her endorsed candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders. But the party still elected Biden.

In the wake of Democrats shedding House seats, some moderates like Abigail Spanberger famously denounced slogans from AOC and her far-left allies in Congress — collectively known as The Squad — such as “Defund the Police.”

Asked at a panel in Munich, “So when you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire's tax?” Ocasio-Cortez responded coyly. (Getty)

But times have changed. Ocasio-Cortez used her massive fundraising prowess to raise money for Spanberger’s run for governor last year, and her leadership PAC sent $5,000 to Sen. Jon Ossoff’s re-election campaign in Georgia.

But she’s also seeking to remake what the party looks like.

Her endorsement of Zohran Mamdani played a key role in his support among Hispanic voters in the New York City mayoral primary. And she endorsed Analilia Mejia for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s former House seat in New Jersey’s 11th district.

Last week, Mejia pulled off a shocking win after the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee poured in millions of dollars worth of ads against former congressman Tom Malinowski.

All of this makes her an important player in those hallowed halls within Democratic Party leadership that once tut-tutted her.

Even if she doesn’t run for the White House, whom she endorses in a Democratic presidential primary will be an important weathervane for both left-wing and Latino voters.

And among the potential 2028 contenders in Germany this weekend? None other than frontrunner and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.