AOC and Ro Khanna 2028? What Polls Show Amid Progressive Push for Campaign

Progressive organizations are calling on Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ro Khanna to run in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

The groups RootsAction and Progressive Democrats of America announced a new campaign urging the two progressive lawmakers to run for president after the 2026 midterm elections. Progressive Democrats of America notably launched the “Run, Bernie, Run” campaign back in 2013, ahead of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run, which was seen as a pivotal point in the progressive movement.

The groups wrote that it is “crucial” for progressives to be at the top of the ticket, in a joint statement published on Monday.

“Without a progressive populist advocate atop the ticket, the Democratic response would be woefully underwhelming — enabling right-wing demagoguery to push voter unrest in dangerous and divisive directions,” the groups wrote.

They said they did not give either lawmaker advance knowledge of the campaign but that they “definitely want to see one or both of them in the race.”

Newsweek reached out to spokespersons for Ocasio-Cortez and Khanna for comment via email.

Typically, candidates do not start announcing presidential runs until after the midterms, but potential candidates are already traveling to key primary states to build up their name recognition, test their message and make inroads with voters who may be decisive in how the 2028 contest plays out.

Early polls are not always predictive of final outcomes, but they do have major implications for candidates. Donors and voters use polls to gauge whether a candidate is viable, so the numbers matter to a candidate's ability to fundraise and garner media attention. They also measure initial name recognition among potential candidates.

Most recent polls show former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is already well known among Democrats, with an early lead among primary voters.

Other top contenders include California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Ocasio-Cortez received 11 percent, while Khanna polled at 1 percent in the latest survey from Echelon Insights. It found Harris in the lead with 18 percent, followed by Buttigieg and Newsom at 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

It surveyed 1,002 likely voters from August 13 to 17, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, a FocalData poll showed Ocasio-Cortez with 10 percent and Khanna with 1 percent. Harris also led that poll with 31 percent support, while Newsom placed second with 13 percent.

It surveyed 2,178 adults from August 28 to September 2, 2026.

Ocasio-Cortez addressed presidential speculation in May in a conversation with David Axelrod, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama.

"My ambition is to change this country,” she said. “Presidents come and go. Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go. But single-payer healthcare is forever. A living wage is forever, workers' rights are forever, women's rights, all of that, and so anyways...to a finer point to your question is that when you aren't attached, when you haven't been like fantasizing about being this or that since the time you were 7 years old, it is tremendously liberating."

Khanna has said he is “thinking seriously” about running in 2028, telling NPR in August that the country could “break” if it does not “do something dramatically different.”

I'm the nice guy. I just want a new social contract. Have you met these folks in their 30s? They want pitchforks and torches. They want your scalps… politically,” he told NPR.

He said Ocasio-Cortez’s decision would have “no bearing” on his own choice.

“I have a vision called economic patriotism, which calls for having the greatest economic mission in generations to build a future economy that's going to be working for people I grew up with, deindustrialized communities, the black South. How do we bring economic success, not just in Silicon Valley, across this country?” he said.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas