Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez formally renewed her membership in the Democratic Socialists of America in August, returning to the organization after her original one-year membership expired in 2019 as speculation grows about her possible role in the 2028 presidential race.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has formally rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America after the organization determined that her original membership had expired seven years ago.
Ocasio-Cortez renewed her DSA membership in August 2026, according to the organization, which publicly clarified her status as political attention increasingly turns toward the 2028 presidential election.
“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 said in a statement. “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 first joined DSA in 2018, the year she defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
Her membership was originally purchased for one year and expired in 2019.
Despite the lapse, DSA continued to refer to Ocasio-Cortez as a “member” on multiple occasions over the following seven years, according to NOTUS.
The organization said it ordinarily does not publicly discuss whether individual people are members but decided to address Ocasio-Cortez’s status because of growing attention surrounding the next presidential election.
“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 members of the organization have already begun discussing what a DSA-backed presidential campaign could look like in 2028, according to NOTUS, citing reporting earlier this month from The Washington Post.
Ocasio-Cortez has been among the political figures discussed in connection with such a campaign and has performed strongly in some recent polling of potential Democratic presidential contenders.
She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NOTUS about her renewed membership.
Her return comes during a year in which DSA-supported candidates have recorded several Democratic primary victories, including contests against incumbent officeholders.
Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York and Melat Kiros in Colorado both won Democratic primaries this year after receiving DSA endorsements, according to NOTUS.
Other candidates affiliated with the organization have also scored electoral victories.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DSA-backed victory last fall further elevated the organization’s national political profile.
During his campaign, however, Mamdani distinguished portions of his own agenda from some positions adopted by DSA’s national organization.
Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship with DSA has also included periods of disagreement even apart from the lapse in her formal membership.
DSA withdrew its endorsement of her 2024 congressional campaign before later conditionally restoring its support.
The organization cited Ocasio-Cortez’s vote for a resolution that characterized the “denial of Israel’s right to exist” as a form of antisemitism.
Her position on Israel later became an issue in discussions with DSA members.
Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez participated in a private DSA meeting during which she said she would not approve military assistance to Israel and pointed to her voting record 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 also publicly defended democratic socialism during an appearance earlier this month on ABC’s This Week.
She said Democratic Socialists are “fundamentally pro-democracy,” “believe in the ballot box,” and support “respecting the outcomes of elections.”
She also emphasized the locally organized structure of DSA, comparing the group’s New York City chapter to “your local union chapter.”
Questions about Ocasio-Cortez’s longer-term political ambitions have increased as Democrats begin looking ahead to 2028.
During a May conversation with Democratic strategist David Axelrod, however, she said her goals should not be reduced to speculation about a presidential campaign.
“[M]y ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She added that “Presidents come and go,” while policy objectives such as “single payer healthcare,” “a living wage,” “worker’s rights,” and “women’s rights” are “forever.”
Ocasio-Cortez has not announced a 2028 presidential campaign.
Her formal return to DSA nevertheless comes as members of the organization increasingly discuss the next presidential race and as several DSA-backed candidates demonstrate electoral strength in Democratic primaries.
The development also resolves an unusual discrepancy surrounding her relationship with the organization.
Although DSA had publicly described Ocasio-Cortez as a member for years, its national leadership recently determined that the membership she began in 2018 had technically expired in 2019.
With her August renewal, DSA now says Ocasio-Cortez is once again formally a member in good standing.
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