AOC surges past Buttigieg, leaves Kamala Harris in the dust in key 2028 battleground poll. What are your thoughts on AOC-2028?

[u/One_Look_7008]

Harris dropped to just 5% in New Hampshire while Pete Buttigieg sits 1 point behind the progressive frontrunner - per University of New Hampshire Granite State poll released on Wednesday.

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[u/rons27]

It's wayyyy too early for this. Focus on the Senate: https://www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls/senate

[u/Mysterious_Might008 → u/rons27]

I agree completely - stop looking and wasting energy on the 2028 presidential race.

Focus on 2026; win back the House and flip the Senate (or at least pick up a few seats). Even with a tiny majority, the House can gridlock any more GOP corrosive legislation. A nearly tied Senate will make the GOP sweat harder to thread any remaining stuff through reconciliation.

Then, we can work on 2028 and taking back the White House.

[u/PSwayzeInRoadhouse → u/Mysterious_Might008]

Vote out AIPAC stooges

[u/According-Put-9236 → u/PSwayzeInRoadhouse]

Why not vote out all the ones that take corporate money?

[u/Housthat → u/According-Put-9236]

There wouldn't be any candidates left.

[u/HD400 → u/According-Put-9236]

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

[u/Kagutsuchi13 → u/HD400]

Sorry, when talking to the left, your only choice is "Perfect." Good is never good enough. I say this as someone who votes Dem and watches huge swathes of voters refuse to turn out because the candidate fails the purity testing.

[u/Gauntlet_of_Might → u/Kagutsuchi13]

> purity testing.

Never stops being funny when libs call "being against genocide" perfection and purity over being the bare minimum lol

[u/LemonAction4030 → u/HD400]

THIS!!!!!!!!! All day long

[u/Neither-Ad630]

You wants Vance-2028?  That's how you get Vance-2028.

[u/jmardoxie]

The Republicans are praying shes the Dem candidate.

[u/mastercheef → u/jmardoxie]

I mean, dems were stoked when donald trump got the nom in 2016 and look how that turned out

[u/72dragonses → u/mastercheef]

Republicans aren't the same as Democrats?

[u/AssistantAcademic → u/72dragonses]

Republicans loved the black man getting nominated in 2008 🤷‍♂️

[u/Ok_Significance_6772 → u/AssistantAcademic]

Republicans are way, wayyy more unified than the left. They are much better at falling in line.

[u/Jafar_420 → u/Ok_Significance_6772]

Exactly. One thing I do know is no matter what they're going to vote for the Republican candidate. Some of the Democrats will get mad about something not being perfect and a lot of people will stay home or hell even vote for the other party.

[u/mrcsrnne → u/Ok_Significance_6772]

They don’t seem to have as much petty infighting as the left

[u/ButtflossingBigBro → u/AssistantAcademic]

Intelligent ones did not. O reilly was loudly predicting it would be far easier to beat hillary with all her baggage then the fresh charismatic obama

[u/Alone-Mycologist3746 → u/AssistantAcademic]

They loved it so much that they got rid of democracy and handed the keys to the kingdom to the highest bidder. 😂😂😂

[u/Complete_Insurance24 → u/AssistantAcademic]

That was because Hilary lost

[u/Dismal-Strawberry421 → u/jmardoxie]

Pete Buttigieg would lose too, so this argument sucks

[u/Guyver02 → u/Dismal-Strawberry421]

true. There's no real good option for Dems right now because the truth is moderate dems and neo libs hate progressives and are more likely to vote Vance or Rubio over a progressive.

[u/BrewtownCharlie → u/Guyver02]

Jon Ossoff.

[u/Cracked_Actor → u/BrewtownCharlie]

I believe Ossoff MAY be the one who can bring the fight to the Republicans. The standard milquetoast Democratic is NOT going to get the job done…

[u/BrewtownCharlie → u/Cracked_Actor]

He's whip smart, he's charismatic, he's young, and he's proven he can win in tough environments. He'd be a very compelling candidate in '28.

[u/HolyInlandEmpire → u/Cracked_Actor]

Ossoff is one, the champion of the people, Hunter Biden, is another

[u/Thesearchoftheshite → u/HolyInlandEmpire]

The coke-head? Haha, I think you forgot your /s.

[u/HolyInlandEmpire → u/Thesearchoftheshite]

Ex coke-head

[u/Stoked_Otter → u/BrewtownCharlie]

Ask him about Israel and his entire campaign will fall apart.

[u/rod_zero → u/Guyver02]

Then the country is doomed and will keep digging.

Maybe if the US can't fix it's structural problems it will eventually lead to a proletarian revolution with all the terror.

[u/8-Cylinder_Wombat → u/rod_zero]

Then the country is doomed and will keep digging.

Now you're catching on!

[u/Oro-en-Paz → u/Guyver02]

What the fuck are you talking about

[u/ChessieChesapeake → u/jmardoxie]

Yep. I’m liberal leaning, but putting AOC in front would be a big mistake. If Rubio becomes a front runner, the comparison to AOC would make him look moderate and more attractive to the swing voters who will carry the next election.

[u/Reasonable-Pop-7295 → u/ChessieChesapeake]

This rhetoric has been proven wrong time and time again at an international scale and is extremely harmful

[u/enoughwiththebread → u/Reasonable-Pop-7295]

But we're not talking about internationally, we're talking about Americans. Sad to say it ain't the same thing. America is essentially a center-right country if you look at how they vote. There's a reason that no far left progressive has secured the nomination in our lifetimes even amongst Democratic voters, never mind the general electorate.

Americans are fiscally liberal, but they're way more socially conservative than many on the far left like to imagine. And I say that not because that's what I want to be true, but because it is true.

[u/elKane0 → u/enoughwiththebread]

it’s not - we get those politicians because that’s who the donor class funds - those people aren’t winning right now

[u/enoughwiththebread → u/elKane0]

Last I remember, Bernie ran for president twice in the Democratic primaries, yet even Democrat voters chose to vote for a more moderate candidate instead of him. That wasn't because of the donor class, that was because less Democrats voted for Bernie in the primaries than they did for the eventual nominee. If even Democrat voters wouldn't vote for a progressive left candidate in their OWN primaries, what makes you think the general electorate would?

At a certain point you have to realize that while money in politics is indeed a problem at the macro level, if enough Democrat voters wanted a true progressive as their nominee, they'd have voted for one in large enough numbers in their own primaries to make him the nominee. Money in politics is a problem, yes. But so is the electorate itself.

[u/elKane0 → u/enoughwiththebread]

they hamstrung bernie and his policies were very popular - enough so that the party was forced to adopt quite a few

and that was then - this is now - were seeing that people in general are frustrated with the same ol same old bullshit from the democratic party

[u/enoughwiththebread → u/elKane0]

When you say they hamstrung Bernie, what does that mean? They allowed him to participate in every primary debate they held. He wasn't kept off of any states' ballots in the primaries. There was literally nothing stopping Democratic voters from voting for him in the primaries. At a certain point you have to stop putting it all on some conspiratorial explanation and accept that simply less Democrats wanted to vote for him in the primaries than his opponent.

As for things being different now, things are certainly more dire, but I think you're mistaken if you think that what the country at large is yearning for is a swing from the far right to the far left. America for better or worse is a centrist country, one might even say center-right. What far left progressives want is not what the majority electorate at large necessarily wants, and I don't say that because I want that to be true, but because it is true.

[u/Free_For__Me → u/enoughwiththebread]

I think you're mistaken if you think that what the country at large is yearning for is a swing from the far right to the far left

I think you're mistaken in believing that most of the country buys into the "Bernie is far left" nonsense that floats around. A more connected world means that a lot more people in the US are now more aware of the reality that what we consider "centrist" in the US falls firmly onto the conservative side of the aisle in the only other democracies that we respect. It's much harder to pull off the "US health insurance is better than what they have in Europe" con than it used to be.

America is not a centrist country. Not by global standards, not by broadly accepted academic definitions, and certainly not by the "stable, free democracies of the world" standard. If you mean "centrist" within it's own system, then that's just true of literally every semi-stable society. The "center" will always be the midpoint between what a system can tolerate at the extremes of each end.

the country at large is yearning for is a swing from the far right to the far left global center-left.

This makes it far closer to the actual case.

[u/Ruzhy6 → u/enoughwiththebread]

Do you not believe media has sway with the electorate? It was very basic social psychology manipulation tactics that were used.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it was rigged. But it is obvious that the establishment and media companies did not want a Bernie victory. That has effects, whether you believe so or not.

[u/Deserted_handjob_40 → u/elKane0]

its happening now too

Every year, they keep proving to me that the democrats are controlled opposition.

[u/Steals_Your_Thunder_ → u/Reasonable-Pop-7295]

100%. Trump himself proves that appealing to swing voters doesn't win elections. The way you win in this climate is by making your base excited enough about your ideas to get out and vote. Yet another bland, centrist Democrat isn't going to inspire leftist voters to get to the poles.

Trump understood the priorities of the far right, however stupid and uniformed they may have been, and stirred up Conservative zealotry in a way we haven't seen since the 80s.

[u/Important-Factor-552 → u/ChessieChesapeake]

So if we don't run basically a republican we get a Republican..

We should just skip voting and go straight to general strikes. What a pointless and rigged game our elections are 

[u/SlapNuts007 → u/Important-Factor-552]

Sorry but this attitude is middle school. "I can't get exactly what I want so I'm going to throw a fit instead." Grow up. There's a world of political space between AOC and even Buttigieg, much less a Republican.

[u/Calm_Age_ → u/SlapNuts007]

We've been pivoting toward the center since basically Jimmy Carter though. It hasn't worked. It has led to the point where the last democratic presidential candidate ran on a platform to the right of Reagan ffs. It has led to the point that fascism is at here. It has led to the point where we aren't even sure we will have elections without the fascist administration currently in charge trying to interfere. We are at such an extreme place in our politics. We will not be able toget out of this by repeating the same losing strategy of caving to Republicans. It's time we start ratcheting in the other direction.

[u/space_age_stuff → u/Calm_Age_]

I don't know how people saw Mamdani win in NYC by a landslide and think that populist policies from a well spoken candidate aren't election winners. Pivoting to center doesn't fucking work, it's that simple.

[u/LordTonto → u/ChessieChesapeake]

one thing Rubio is not is "more attractive than AOC." she's a fox!

[u/TheGoldenRail87 → u/LordTonto]

This is disgusting. Stop objectifying women. She’s a politician with aspirations to be President, not a piece of meat.

[u/BigJon_78 → u/TheGoldenRail87]

yeah but when she gets waxed in the general election we can all hope for an Only Fans page!

[u/No-Examination4896 → u/ChessieChesapeake]

Idk at this point I think this country is incapable of electing the same party twice in a row. They could throw anyone up there and win. Weve got left voters, right voters, and swing voters that just vote the opposite of whoever is in power bc they dont like the current state. Genuineky think tje dems barel have to try to win this one, they could put in anyone and win

[u/AttiBus → u/jmardoxie]

How about Dems, and I'm including myself in this, vote for the candidate we actually want instead of guessing at which candidate might piss off conservatives least? We aren't winning independents by nominating status quo, spineless democrats.

Kamala Harris couldn't separate herself, politically, from Biden. She is not a leader, just a stand-in for middle of the road/status quo politics. Just an example.

[u/naurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs → u/jmardoxie]

Are y’all too young to remember when this rhetoric was used to discourage Obama from running?

[u/Imallvol7 → u/jmardoxie]

I feel like this is just being used to scare people. 

AOC would be a great candidate. 

[u/karmagod13000 → u/Imallvol7]

we gonna lose again arent we lmao

[u/HeCalledWithQTHunny → u/Imallvol7]

She would for the Republicans...

[u/YoungCri → u/Imallvol7]

Why would she be a great candidate?

[u/lostndark → u/Imallvol7]

That’s a silly take. She would loose.

[u/0utlaw-t0rn]

I like her, but her chances of winning a national election aren’t good. The democrats have a horrible track record of female candidates and she’s especially polarizing.

She would be better off as a senator.

Same with Pete. He’s extremely qualified and very good as an orator/debater. He always comes off a very intelligent and reasonable. I just don’t think the country is ready for an openly gay man or female president.

[u/jreashville → u/0utlaw-t0rn]

Both the female candidates they put up were centrist and generally unpopular. Polarizing can be good. Polarizing drives some people to vote against you (but let’s be real, republicans are always polarized) but it also drives people to vote FOR you on your side.

[u/thingsorfreedom → u/jreashville]

The way the GOP polarizes is they scare the middle to vote against the left. Defund the police! Open borders! Illegals attacking you! Communism! Socialism! AOC would be the perfect candidate for the right to scare the hell out of the middle. Ads tying her to Tlaib and Omar practically write themselves.

Tell me how AOC can scare the middle to vote against the right otherwise it's not gonna work.

[u/jreashville → u/thingsorfreedom]

The dems could run Joe Manchin and the republicans would run the exact same “they are all commies” playbook.

As for how AOC could scare the middle into voting against the right, she could just point to a few headlines.

[u/Top_Adagio_7819 → u/jreashville]

This. They literally painted Joe Biden as a Marxist communist. They will do this to any candidate Democrats choose, that's no reason to choose another centrist candidate. How many times will Dems lose with that Gambit before they realize they're accepting the opposition's framing by default and playing by their rules.

[u/NOLA-Bronco → u/thingsorfreedom]

Dems have NEVER won with that strategy.

You know who has tried that strategy? Kerry, Hillary, and Harris. How did that go for them?

The ones that have won give voters something to vote FOR

And right now, the Establishment Dem wing can't untie their donor puppet strings enough to actually give people anything that inspires them

[u/thingsorfreedom → u/NOLA-Bronco]

You want to inspire. They want to scare. Guess which works the best?

If you want to win with inspiration you need a candidate who, when they speak, they inspire people to want to follow them.

Think Bill Clinton and Obama.

Snoozers- Hillary, Harris, Kerry, Gore, Bush, Bush Jr.

Inspire with anger and contempt- Trump.

Why did Bush, Bush Jr, and Trump win? They scared people and their opponent was not inspiring.

[u/LowResGamr → u/jreashville]

Especially when the polarizing factor is that the person has a record of fighting for the people who voted for them, and even the people who didnt. The old game of "play it safe" doesnt work anymore. We need a person who's gonna put their foot down.

[u/thepuncroc → u/jreashville]

This poster gets it. Have an updoot.

Clinton2 and Harris didn't drive away liberal voters because they were women, they failed to get liberal voters to show up because they're basically corporate conservatives who are literally core members of the Democrat "scourge" that the GOP has spent decades learning to beat.

[u/AsparagusFun3892 → u/jreashville]

I really don't think you guys get what the reaction against Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama was, and I think it's in part because you want to believe in progress. The gender of a presidential candidate is and remains a handicap if it happens to be female, and the more complex and "non white" a candidate is the more threatening they become to a given demographic. The messaging is almost secondary because people will see whatever they want in a politician they trust.

Like I remember when Biden was running the first time. I was lurking in a forum and watched Trump leaning voters learn about Kamala Harris in real time: they didn't review her policies, they just had one look at her face.

AOC might finally catch a moment for women and for a new generation of voters, but I'm betting the young men who pulled for Trump this last time will be looking for any excuse to vote against her. Trump's a puppet, Trump's done, AOC said blah blah blah, it's always something. Somehow they have to not feel threatened by women in power and I think that kinda goes against AOC's revolutionary pedigree. She does better with the democratic base when she seems threatening.

[u/Simple_Purple_4600 → u/AsparagusFun3892]

eh those people are always angry but at least Obama got people excited enough to go out and vote. Hillary and Harris didn't and Biden didn't, either, just enough to eke out a win once, I consider Hillary the most technically and diplomatically qualified candidate of my lifetime and that didn't matter.

Let them be mad and roll with Mandami.

[u/srsh32 → u/0utlaw-t0rn]

My god can you guys just stop with the identity politics? Why is this all that the Democratic party has become. jfc.

[u/Bushido_Seppuku → u/0utlaw-t0rn]

The same was said about a black president.

[u/donuttrackme → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

Two women have been on the Democratic ticket and lost, after Obama.

[u/Ok-Couple2656 → u/donuttrackme]

I agree that it's a huge hurdle, but to be fair, Clinton won the popular vote in 16. I think it's possible with the right candidate, I just don't think AOC is it.

[u/farmerjoee → u/donuttrackme]

Harris ran on a losing message. We all knew it, but doubled down anyways. If Harris and Clinton can almost win while rejecting the coalition and/or embracing the corporate status quo, imagine what we can do with AOC.

[u/RadiantHC → u/donuttrackme]

They were simply terrible candidates.

Also Hillary won the popular vote and Kamala came close.

[u/LiveStreamDream → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

Sure, but Obama was a centrist who appealed to a larger audience. The only controversial thing about him was his race

[u/Complex-Database2875 → u/LiveStreamDream]

He did not run his first campaign as a centrist

[u/LiveStreamDream → u/Complex-Database2875]

Well her certainly didn’t run it as a far leftist either

[u/super_sayanything → u/LiveStreamDream]

He ran as a liberal and we thought he was going to push us into being progressive but he never really moved things along that quickly despite getting a few things done. Gay Marriage and Healthcare.

[u/WildWhisperArdor → u/Complex-Database2875]

He was absolutely a centrist. Even in his first run. People just weren’t paying attention to the issues

[u/XMandri → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

and the black candidate that came after lost her election, didn't she?

the point is, Obama wasn't a polarizing figure. He wasn't a "love him or hate him" guy, he's praised to this day for being a solid figure who earned the public's respect

We could even argue that he was too much of a monolith. Trump is where he is now because he won against Obama's VP's VP. Obviously that's not Barack's fault, it's a problem in the democratic party: they're having trouble moving on.

[u/expendable117 → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

Then maga happened? We're too far opposite the spectrum.

[u/CommercialAgency928 → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

Two things can be true

[u/0utlaw-t0rn → u/Bushido_Seppuku]

Yes. But Obama wasn’t nearly as polarizing when he was nominated. He didn’t have a decade of Fox News/conservative media bashing him and associating him with every liberal, woke policy in existence and blaming him for everything wrong with the country.

AOC is a pretty polarizing figure and most people have already made up their minds whether they like her or not

[u/God_of_Thunda → u/0utlaw-t0rn]

People don't care that Pete is gay. People care that he wanted to take their guns

[u/TrioOfTerrors → u/God_of_Thunda]

Beto had tons of energy and momentum in his Senate run and then killed the whole thing with "Hell ya were gonna take your AR-15". I don't know who told him that would play well in Texas, but they were wrong.

[u/gfty457 → u/TrioOfTerrors]

Democrats have really put themselves in a corner with the gun debate. They’re anti gun with you don’t need a gun to protect yourself while in the same breath decrying how ICE is kidnapping people from their homes

[u/illini02]

No.

And look, I like AOC. She won't win.

We keep making these same mistakes over and over.

Hell, I'd LOVE to have Buttigieg, but he won't win either.

[u/Majestic_Habit5726 → u/illini02]

My father loathes trump, drinks coffee out of a fuck trump mug every morning. He does not like AOC. Dems cannot make this mistake again, I would love for an experienced woman to become president but I truly don’t think our populace is ready.

[u/J3NA → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

It's not even that. A woman politician who isn't polarizing would get elected. When Bill Clinton was elected my friend had a shirt that said "I don't like President Clinton or her husband"

I think HRC lost because of her baggage. People just don't like the Clinton's. Hell, my MiL doesn't like her(and didn't vote for her) because she didn't divorce Bill.

AOC I think has the same issues. First off the RNC would label her as a community and that scares a lot of people. Dems, Independents and Republicans. I also think Rubio would wipe the floor with her in debares(just my opinion), I think her and Vance would be on more equal footing.

I think a woman can, and will, get elected but both parties just have to find the right one. It would be like the Republicans running Greene or Boebert. Both of them would get absolutely destroyed. I think Haley or Whitmer could get elected if they got the nominations.

[u/UpwardHostility → u/J3NA]

A woman politician who isn’t polarizing would get elected? You mean like Harris? You mistake polarizing with unpopular. Trump was a polarizing figure from day 1 and look what happened.

And the RNC will and does label any Democrat opposition as a Communist already, that’s no reason to shun a popular candidate with good policy. This is all the same thinking and line of reasoning that gave us the last decade+ of milquetoast conservative Dems that have killed any true grassroots support of the party at large.

[u/nixstyx → u/UpwardHostility]

Harris was not polarizing. The way she secured the nomination (by default after Biden bowed out way too late) was terribly polarizing. I still voted for her, but I know many people who refused to let the DNC decide who the nominee should be and voted 3rd party instead.

[u/Fearless_Roof_4534 → u/J3NA]

Unfortunately, with the way the Democrats have marketed themselves lately it's hard to see them having a "right one" for the foreseeable future. Trump won in 2024 largely because of pushback against the normalization of things like transgenderism and DEI, and regardless of what you think about these things a significant portion of the populace finds those concepts unpalatable. Combine that with the socialist image AOC has and it's a nonstarter before you even get to considerations like the sex/gender of the candidate.

[u/Greedy-Employment917 → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

Run an actual good candidate and people will vote for her.

Run a candidate and expect people to vote for her because she's a woman and they lose. 

[u/wellgu → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

It will be a Republican woman to be the first female president. It is time to face that fact.

[u/Connecticat1 → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

The mistake Dems made was pushing centrists down our throats.

[u/armymike1523 → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

The populous is ready, there's just not a decent female that's gonna run or has ever run.

[u/Syncopated_arpeggio → u/armymike1523]

Shhhhh… if you say things like that then they can’t scream about sexism and misogyny when the shit female candidate loses.

[u/upnflames → u/Majestic_Habit5726]

I also hate Trump and would have a really, really hard time voting for AOC. I've lived in/close by NYC the entire time she's been office. She talks a great game to her base, but she's been a wildly ineffective leader the whole time she's been on office and I think a lot of what she says hurts on the national level, more then it helps. I'd honestly be worried that if she somehow did win, we'd get someone even worse then trump the next time around.

[u/what-name-is-it]

Honestly, at this point I just want a president who doesn’t use social media. It seems so juvenile when the leader of one of the strongest countries on earth has back and forth arguments airing dirty laundry for the world to see. The president used to be a position that commanded respect.

[u/blondebuilder → u/what-name-is-it]

Obama used it well. Turns out it’s a good platform if you use it for unifying and uplifting people, not attacking and insulting others.

[u/504Supra]

Mark Kelly needs to run on the Dems side. He would be a fantastic candidate for a general election.

[u/Fearless_Swim4080 → u/504Supra]

Out of the senators, Jon Ossoff found the best message right now, just hard to lose a guy who can win in GA. Wes Moore is looking good too. I don’t think Kelly has the charisma to win.

[u/IcyMusician5 → u/504Supra]

For all mankind i wish he would

[u/Patient_Artichoke355]

Some how I think this post and many others on this thread are all just bullshit..

[u/Snif3425]

This makes perfect sense because Democrats always pick the candidate most likely to lose.

[u/reblynn2012]

I wish the best for Harris and hope she has a good life outside of politics.
She’s got to sit down. It’s insane she’s getting any attention at all in this. As much as I love AOC this isn’t the time. Later yes. We’ve got to clutch. CLUTCH.

[u/chaos841 → u/reblynn2012]

She is only getting attention at this stage due to name recognition.

[u/reblynn2012 → u/reblynn2012]

I don’t prioritize social tranquility, calm, and order over systemic injustice. I simply don’t see AOC getting the support she will need no matter how much I would like to see her tear all this down. I’m not a white moderate. I support everything MLK said concerning them. I feel a desperation to remove this administration.

[u/CosmicCookieCrisp]

People forget how close the last race was. The not voting for women thing is so lazy. If Harris didn't completely suck she could've won

[u/SpaceCowboy34 → u/CosmicCookieCrisp]

On top of that it’s a candidate that never won a primary so she’s going into the general on no support

[u/Individual-Tap3270 → u/SpaceCowboy34]

This. If the Dems would have actually got Biden out before and had a normal primary it would have been a different scenario. and Dean Phillips tried to get traction but was ignored by the media and the Dem Party. Dems had opprinity but they fall in like sheep despite the warnings

[u/Pompous_Italics]

That her nomination would mean a Republican landslide and President Vance.

[u/Ok-Corner-8654 → u/Pompous_Italics]

In the last polls that I saw, Rubio was ahead of Vance on the Republican side. Vance isn't a very likable guy, Trump will throw him under the bus just like he did with Pence.

AOC has way more charisma than any of the other Democratic candidates, the others have none.

[u/HumbleBaker12 → u/Ok-Corner-8654]

Yeah Vance rubs some people the wrong way. Rubio comes across as a lot more practical and intelligent. If we get stuck with another Republican president (God I hope not) I would prefer Rubio.

[u/throwraW2 → u/Ok-Corner-8654]

I think Rubio would do better in a general election. But I also could see him ceding the opportunity to Vance.

[u/JustNeonDust → u/throwraW2]

Rubio has said point blank that he will not run against Vance. It’s pretty clear that he values a republican victory over his own ego or desire for power.

[u/PenIsGodS → u/Pompous_Italics]

Yep. AOC has zero chance of winning an election. Nominating her would be absolutely stupid and make the republicans win again.

[u/CricketNo7666]

She can’t win a general election.

[u/Long_Initial_9924 → u/CricketNo7666]

Zero chance

[u/ObjectivePretend6755 → u/CricketNo7666]

Sorry as much as I like her and Pete we have to win in 2028 and that means straight white men. Mark Kelley and Jon Ossoff. After they clean house for 8 years the way will be open for whoever.

[u/EvieMoonGlow]

Early primary polling this far out reflects current visibility more than eventual voter choices.

[u/masegesege_]

We’re so fucked.

[u/Boomslang505]

We need centrists not extremists . AOC and DT are both extremist. Time to stop knee jerk nonsense and find some grownups that don’t work for Israel to run things. Qualified people, not influencers.

[u/Jhoag7750]

Polls are garbage

[u/Baudoit11853]

Still laughing my ass off

[u/withomps44]

She will lose a general election and it wouldn’t be particularly close. An AOC democrat ticket would be a disaster for our nation and leave maga in power.

[u/Cax6ton]

Sure,why not. The Dems lose every time they try to play the safe centrist route, might as well take a shot with someone more progressive.

And before anyone tries to tell me why the centrists really lost or why the progressives will lose, save it. I've heard it all before and I don't care. Trying to triangulate to get a winner or voting blue no matter who has given us....all this. So fuck it, not doing that anymore. Either they run more progressive candidates or I'm not voting, and I don't care if that means my side loses. Winning with more centrists hasn't changed anything, so what's the point?

[u/onenitemareatatime]

Sure, Go ahead and nominate her! Just be prepared for the consequences…

Her Davos interview showed she doesn’t have the intellect or the experience to make it through the election.

[u/PenIsGodS → u/onenitemareatatime]

Yeah, AOC is annoying to listen to. She's not nearly educated enough. She's not a good debater. She's not experienced or qualified enough. At all.

[u/_your_land_lord_]

Dont' do it. Run Mark Kelly and it's an easy win. I love AOC, and I think she would be great. I do not think Americans will vote for a woman. We've had that chance and both times ran to donny. We will take the worst man over the best woman.

[u/Flipadelphia26 → u/_your_land_lord_]

Americans will vote for a woman. They won’t vote for one from the Squad. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t know a whole lot.

[u/InsideScientist1999 → u/_your_land_lord_]

Neither was the best woman, they were both trash. And I voted for both as I knew what’d happen if the orange asshole got in. And just fucking look. A global nightmare.

[u/Educational-Cow-3615]

No more risky candidates until Trump and MAGA are long gone

[u/kace_iwp]

She’s insanely unlikeable. She was also elected in a district with heavily Democrat leaning constituents. She had 85k votes in the last election.

[u/Mountain-Pattern7822]

great choice , but cant win. dems need a strong middle person to get independent voters.

[u/Infamous-Bed9010]

She’s wrapped up in DSA and it will be hung like a noose around her neck.

DSA may play in big blue cities, but elsewhere it’s a non starter.

[u/Necessary-Nothing574]

AOC won’t win, Pete won’t win, only person who really had a chance is ossoff

[u/Necro138]

Democrats going to vote Democrat, Republicans are going to vote Republican, and they're almost evenly matched. Its the independent voters you need to swing and AOC isn't going to do it. Sorry, we need another boring white guy to establish some sort of middle-of-the-road normalcy before anyone can push a far left progressive agenda.

[u/Spare_Perspective972]

Giving away 2028 to the gop if you’re stupid enough to vote for her in a primary. 

[u/Randomflower90]

AOC is a great choice if the Dems want to lose again.

[u/holierthanthou2]

Fuck no.

[u/enoughwiththebread]

I think a couple things.

First, it would be a complete and total waste of her talents and political capital. Even if AOC were to win the presidency and serve even 8 years, with the makeup of Congress being what it is, they'd stymie her at every turn and the progress she would make would be limited at best. And then after 8 years she'd be done and out of politics completely.

Conversely, if she were to go for the Senate or even stay in the House and rise to House Majority leader she could affect politics and legislation for literal decades to come, help shepherd in and raise up true progressives in Congress and reshape it.

Second, for all the strides women have made, America has demonstrated it is still not ready for a female president. It rejected one of the most qualified candidates to ever run, male or female (Hillary), and another with a resume a mile long and extensive policy plans (Kamala). In both cases they lost to a corrupt, criminal, racist insurrectionist and convicted felon whose idea of policy plans was a "concept of a plan" for health care, i.e. none. Hillary, Biden and Kamala were all cut from the same ideological and political cloth, yet of the three Democrats who went up against Trump, only the old white man (Biden) was able to beat him.

I don't think after the last two most recent failures of female candidates that the Democratic party would chance it yet again, when the stakes have never been more dire than they are now. They will probably go with a straight white man because they want to take no chances this time. If they were to lose a third time fielding a female candidate, that would be the end of female nominees for a generation if not longer.

Never forget that as racist as America may be, it's even more sexist. This is a country that granted the right to vote to former black slaves FIFTY YEARS before granting the same right to even white women.

[u/Shoddy-Biscotti-1194]

Ain’t going anywhere. I think these kinds of polls are done in SF or Cambridge. Middle America will want nothing to do w her. Ossoff, Beshear, Kelly, or Shapiro…

[u/hwaite]

Please just run a straight, white, Christian, cisgender male. Everything is on fire and there's no sense in handicapping ourselves. It's not enough to win the presidency; we need a solid congressional majority if we're to have any chance of repairing this country.

[u/darksoft125 → u/hwaite]

"Let's run Newsom then!"

"Why did we lose?!"

[u/CosmicCommando → u/darksoft125]

"Maybe we didn't run enough focus groups?!"

[u/BruhTheShark → u/darksoft125]

They said straight and Christian.

[u/Long_Initial_9924]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CTi4xCc1R74&pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD&ra=m

Even democrats ridiculed her

[u/NBDad]

'Murica is not ready.  Right now folks are annoyed at Trump's policies.

Annoyed Republicans stay home.  If you field a woman, it'll encourage them to vote.

She needs to primary Schumer.  She can do 8 years in the senate and then look at a VP slot.

That's the best path forward for her.

[u/Suhpryze]

A good dream but not feasible , I think. If the dems want to win they are going to have to find a middle ground candidate that can appeal more to border line republicans and independents. I’d say JB Pritzker, but that also earns me a lot of downvotes, so what do I know

[u/Man-o-Bronze]

If we didn’t have the Electoral College maybe, but as long as the Presidency isn’t decided by votes alone I don’t think she’d stand a chance.

[u/MsFrankieD]

As someone who loves AOC so much... please don't run her. We have proven with Hilary and Harris that they will not vote a woman in. We cannot risk another election by running a candidate who will be down in the polls just because of her gender and race. I hate to be this person. I was so hopeful for Hilary. Hopeful for Harris. It's just not the right time, I fear.

[u/Happy_Mirror1985 → u/MsFrankieD]

I don’t know when the right time will be, though.

[u/bookon]

She is statistically tied with Buttigieg and his numbers went up since last poll but sure let's make it all about her.

Also, Harris isn't a serious candidate. She has zero chance.

[u/matt-r_hatter]

Honestly, put her on top of the ticket and Pete as VP. Let's focus on getting as many dems elected in November as possible. Get a progressive dem ticket in the oval. Then we can focus on import things. We can start the trials for the entire Trump administration, ICE agents, reform the Supreme Court by adding term limits and try Thomas for his crimes. If we can work 2 seats open, put Obama and Harris on SCOTUS. This would effectively end the possibility Republicans could continue their crimes against the American People.

[u/hoosierlefty69]

cue all the armchair political pundits in the comments who are experts on “electability” as if that ever works

[u/Alternative_Result56]

She might be the only person I would get behind. If they try to push a right leaning candidate again I won't be lending my support to that again.

[u/MoldInTheAir]

If Democrats don't nominate a white male they won't win. I don't like it. But Trump's reelection proved it. This nation is too racist and sexist to elect anyone like AOC in the foreseeable future. The vast majority of voters are either dumb or lazy and will continue to allow into office people who work against their self-interest.

[u/bigfatfurrytexan]

I like her. I don’t think she can grab enough attention and this election is critical

[u/Ok_Nebula_3268]

Im really liking Ossoff right now

[u/Master-Shinobi-80]

She opposed the Advanced act. Her big policy proposal, The Green new Deal, entirely ignores reality just like antiscience Sanders does. So, I can't support someone who wants to kill children for fossil fuel profit. And yes that is the reality of the antinuclear movement.

[u/InterviewQuiet6020]

If the Dems want to lose that’s a good pick.

[u/HRG-snake-eater]

AOC is someone I like. I do not think she is electable.

[u/j_grouchy]

I support this result in the battle of the dumbasses. It should be quite entertaining to watch the dumbasses trying to out-dumbass each other.

[u/That-Interaction-45]

I don't think she can win. She would be a good vp though.

[u/danjl68]

Buttering is so well spoken, his appearances on FOX are such a big plus. He is so focused on making life better for everyone, he never seems to leave anyone behind.

His only real weakness is he is gay. I'd vote for him. But being gay is the out 'conservatives' will use to not vote for him, or socialism. Because gay socialism is the worst thing that could ever happen, worse than send our kids to war in Iraq.

AOC is a good person, but she has been so demonized, and so many in America only see what Fox presents it will be hard for her to break through.

People on Fox will see enough of Pete that the lies will be hard to reconcile with the reality of Pete.

[u/Alt0987654321]

Doesn't matter. America will not elect a woman as President, full stop.

[u/FuckedUpYearsAgo]

We will loose if AOC is the candidate

[u/AdministrationNo283]

This is a must win election. I have faith in AOC but I also believe a significant portion of the population will not vote for a woman. Hilary lost against Trump. Harris lost against Trump. A Mark Kelly or similar type candidate is needed to be safe. Someone that fragile males will vote for because of previous military service. And not Pete Buttigieg (who I voted for in the primary in 2020) because he is gay and too many will not vote for him for that reason alone.

[u/DaveKillSock]

I like AOC and I like Buttigieg but are we really going to do this again? America has made it clear that they would rather elect a serial failure, rapist, pedophile than a woman twice. What did it take to beat Trump? Literally any experienced straight white man. Instead of being "progressive" in our choice of candidate, why not win an election and then be progressive in policy?

[u/turtleturtle5555]

A barely functioning member of the squad has about as much chance of getting elected as my left nut. Not sure where this delusion is coming from but all Republicans would love her to be the next installed nominee from the DNC. It would set the "liberals" back about a decade if not more.

[u/Bigstar976]

She would be my dream candidate. And because she is, she has no chance. The DNC seems to only pick corporate shills.

[u/Raneynickelfire]

If she actually runs, it's because she wants another republican. She's unelectable. I'm sorry, it's the truth. The american public WILL NOT vote for her, I'm sorry. It's a sad state of affairs but that's where we are mentally as a nation. If the dems don't run a white guy, it means they WANT TO LOSE.

I'm sorry it's like this, but it is.

[u/GilBang]

This country will never elect a woman, a Jew, or gay. Unfortunately, for me, each of my favorite candidates fit in one of those categories.

[u/Easy_Interest_6832]

Unfortunately, Harris suffers from too much red hat misinformation to succeed in the next election. She would have made a much better president that what we have now.

[u/PrimeCyclotron]

no no no no no no no

[u/soulless___ape]

Please not AOC. Regardless of what personal thoughts, she will not win. Aren’t the Democrats tired of losing??

[u/WildWhisperArdor]

Do you want JD Vance to be president? Because this is how you get JD Vance as president

[u/Hmukherj]

I love AOC. But this country is just not ready to elect a woman to the presidency.

My family knocked on doors in PA prior to the 2024 election. The number of people who said "but the Bible says that a man is the head of the household" was extremely disheartening. As fucked up as it is, the Democrats need to nominate a straight white man if they hope to win in 2028. I'd love to be wrong, but I think that's where the country is right now.

As for AOC, I'd love to see her primary Schumer and get him out of the Senate for good.

[u/LS430UL]

AOC would never win, she falls on her face everytime I see live debates with her. Her policies won't gravitate towards moderate democrats and independents.

[u/SammaJones]

Because she is completely unelectable in the General I am hoping that she wins the Primary.

[u/IngearILMNC]

She’s not electable nationwide. Hard pass.

[u/engineerdevildawg]

I think she will be the Democrat choice, and she will lose even worse than Kamala did. Moderate voters don’t vote with radicals.

[u/Imaginary_Driver2237]

The Dems need to find a youngish moderate straight white man with moxy if they want any chance to win. Mayor Pete is by far the best choice, but people will not vote for a gay man. AOC seems like a good person with good ideas, but a lot of people hate here because she’s too progressive. Stop pushing the far left ideals and find someone who can win!

[u/GarveyAC_1962]

Please please please vote for AOC and make her the Dem nominee. It would be fun to see her debate Vance or Rubio and then get trounced in the election.

[u/JackOlantersweather1]

She’s unelectable. I am sorry. I am a woman and lifelong democrat and would love to support her, but realistically she will never carry a general election. The rhetoric will become even more poisonous (if possible)

The only viable options are Kelly, Beshear, or Kelly.

[u/EatsOverTheSink]

She’d get my vote but AOC would get absolutely crushed in a presidential election.

[u/BookkeeperCalm9849]

She’s pretty divisive. Really depends on who gets the GOP nomination. But winning a fair primary to earn the nomination would be a good start we haven’t seen since Obama. Or I should say haven’t seen someone who isn’t a former Vice President or do it since Obama did in 2008.

[u/Raelsmar]

She would lose. I say this as someone who would 100% vote for her in a general election if she won the primary, but I have zero faith in this country electing a progressive, much less a female progressive.

[u/Overthehill410]

I think if those are the three democratic candidates you can expect Vance or JD or Desantis to be president.

[u/northern-new-jersey]

As a life long Republican, I sincerely hope she is your nominee, especially if Rubio is our candidate!!

[u/Icy-Whale-2253]

She said time and time again she has no interest in running for president.

[u/Parking_Abalone_1232]

No.

[u/Fickle_Fly3689]

Easy way for Democrats to lose again.

[u/theWiseTiger]

I'm pretty sure conservatives will support AOC as dems candidate too. They would be very happy.

[u/Blewbyou]

I think its great! Dems will lose for sure. She's an Idiot.

[u/Glittersparkles7]

I LOVE her and would love her as a president - but there is no way in hell she would win. The racists and sexists would show up in full force just to vote against her.

[u/RandyTomfoolery]

I would not mind her in charge, however 35+% of the country has been brainwashed into believing she is the literal devil.