A new national poll released on April 22, 2026, shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York receiving 10 percent support among Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters for the 2028 presidential nomination. She placed fourth in the survey conducted by Echelon Insights.
The poll, taken April 17-20 among 1,012 likely voters, included a subsample of 525 Democrat or Democrat-leaning voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris led with 22 percent, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom stood at 21 percent. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received 12 percent.
Ocasio-Cortez followed at 10 percent. Other names, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 5 percent, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker at 4 percent, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly at 3 percent, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at 3 percent, trailed further back. Ten percent of respondents were undecided.
The survey was led by pollster Kristen Anderson Solis of Echelon Insights. Ocasio-Cortez has faced rumors of a possible 2028 run but has made no announcement.
Democrats Divided on Strategy and Economics
The results pointed to splits inside the Democratic Party on how to move forward after the 2024 election loss.
Forty-two percent of respondents said the party should move toward the political center. Twenty-four percent wanted a shift further to the left, and 18 percent said the current position was right.
On economic views, 68 percent of Democrat respondents chose “democratic socialism,” which the poll defined as a system in which government provides basic needs.
Twenty percent favored capitalism with sensible regulation.
Eighty-six percent said Democrats should take a more combative approach in national politics, with 62 percent calling for a much more combative stance, particularly toward President Donald Trump.
These numbers show Democrats expressing interest in moderation for electoral reasons while holding left-leaning economic preferences and favoring stronger opposition tactics.
Why This Matters
The poll captures a Democratic Party still adjusting to its position out of the White House in 2025 and 2026. Harris and Newsom remain the best-known names, but neither has pulled away from the pack more than a year before any formal primary activity begins.
Ocasio-Cortez’s double-digit support gives her a foothold in early conversations without an active campaign.
The mixed signals on direction, calls for centrism alongside strong backing for democratic socialism and aggressive politics, highlight tensions that could influence which candidates rise and what messages they use in the years ahead.
With the 2028 contest still distant, these early numbers reflect a party weighing trade-offs between broadening appeal and satisfying its core ideological base. The fragmented field suggests room for more contenders to emerge as Democrats test different approaches to regaining power.
