Could the Democrats’ 2024 equation be AOC = POTUS? A new ranking of possible contenders for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination makes that a serious question.
The list, compiled by The Washington Post, included a hefty dose of names from the 2020 scrum that ended with President Joe Biden’s nomination.
There were some surprises, however, including 10th place, which went to left-wing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
As the Post noted Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez is among those who have not said they will be behind Biden in 2024.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” she said in an interview with CNN last month when asked about supporting the president for a second term.
The congresswoman said an endorsement might come “if the president has a vision, and that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes.”
Later last month, Ocasio-Cortez gave rumors of her possible candidacy a giggle when she appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The CBS late-night host noted that she will hit 35 — the minimum age for being president — one month before the 2024 election.
“I don’t know about all of that,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The Post cautioned not to take “posturing for a run; she also has an interest in assuring Biden caters to her wing of the party, after all.”
The idea of an AOC presidential run generated discussion on social media.
If this is the real list, their only chance is to steal it. AOC number 10? She’s irrelevant. 31 of her inane bills didn’t pass! https://t.co/LhA3b9LCDS
— Jules (@julievriahi) July 17, 2022
So who is your first choice? AOC?, Bernie, Kamala, or perhaps you prefer the governor of one of the states that thousands of people are fleeing? Which keen intellect from that deep democratic bench suits your fancy?
— snaboo (@PlainPond) July 13, 2022
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but AOC is not running for President in 2024. And even if 2024 is an open primary, she’s not winning the nomination.
I barely see her cobbling together the Bernie 2016 coalition, let alone the lackluster sequel coalition in 2020.
— A Very Annoyed INTP (@DMC0821) July 10, 2022
The Post, which listed Biden at the top, had another surprising choice at No. 2: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. It said the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor, who would be the nation’s first gay president, was “the guy able to go on Fox News and combat the right’s talking points in a calm and steady manner.”
Third place on the list went to Vice President Kamala Harris, with the Post explaining why she might struggle.
“Historically, vice presidents have been able to craft images somewhat apart from the presidents they serve. But Harris has seen her image decline right alongside Biden’s. Just as Biden appears to be the most unpopular president at this point in his first term since Harry S. Truman, she is one of the most unpopular modern vice presidents at this point,” the Post wrote.
“She has a bigger pedestal than anybody on this list in the event of a post-Biden race. But the way things are going right now, she would need to somehow differentiate herself. And that’s not an easy trick when you’ve still got your day job,” it said.
Will Ocasio-Cortez run for president in 2024?
Nos. 4, 5 and 6 on the list are also 2020 retreads: Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
After that came a trio of governors: Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.
The Post dropped a few more names as “worth mentioning”: Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California.
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