Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has renewed her membership in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) after it lapsed in 2019. The organization announced this development amid discussions regarding her potential candidacy for the 2028 presidential election. Ocasio-Cortez rejoined DSA in August 2026, according to a statement from the organization reported by NOTUS and shared with City & State New York.
"Democratic Socialists of America confirms Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member in good standing of our organization, having recently rejoined in August 2026," DSA stated. "Previously, the representative joined DSA in 2018 with a one-year membership, which DSA’s national leadership recently noticed had lapsed, in 2019. She has since renewed her membership as of this month."
Ocasio-Cortez originally joined DSA in 2018, the same year she defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District. Although her original membership lasted one year before lapsing in 2019, DSA continued to refer to Ocasio-Cortez as a "member" on multiple occasions during the following seven years, according to NOTUS.
The organization indicated that discussions surrounding the next presidential election prompted it to clarify her membership status. "While it is atypical for DSA to address the membership status of individuals, ongoing discussions about the 2028 presidential campaign have prompted this release," DSA said.
Some DSA members have begun considering the prospect of running a presidential candidate in 2028, with Ocasio-Cortez being mentioned among potential candidates. She has led some recent polling involving possible Democratic presidential candidates, as reported by the Washington Post in August, according to NOTUS.
The congresswoman did not respond immediately to NOTUS’s request for comment. This announcement follows a primary season in which DSA-affiliated and DSA-endorsed candidates have recorded several victories, including against incumbent Democrats.
Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York and Melat Kiros in Colorado, both DSA-endorsed, won their Democratic primaries this year, while other candidates linked to DSA have also experienced electoral successes, according to NOTUS.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DSA-backed victory last fall raised the organization’s national profile. During his campaign, however, Mamdani sought to distinguish parts of his platform from some of DSA’s national policy positions.
Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship with DSA has not always been consistent politically, in addition to the lapse in her formal membership. DSA withdrew its endorsement of her 2024 House campaign before conditionally reinstating its support, citing her vote for a resolution that equated the "denial of Israel’s right to exist" with a form of antisemitism.
Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez attended a private DSA meeting where she stated she would not authorize any military aid to Israel and referenced her record of voting "no" on the issue. "The Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves," Ocasio-Cortez said, according to an April report from City & State New York.
Ocasio-Cortez defended democratic socialism earlier this month during an appearance on ABC’s This Week, stating that Democratic Socialists are "fundamentally pro-democracy," "believe in the ballot box," and respect the outcomes of elections. She compared DSA chapters to local union chapters.
In May, Ocasio-Cortez expressed that her ambitions extend beyond running for president in 2028, telling Democratic strategist David Axelrod, "[M]y ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country." She added that "Presidents come and go," but priorities such as "single payer healthcare," "a living wage," "worker’s rights," and "women’s rights" are "forever."