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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to campaign for New York Governor Kathy Hochul a long way from deep blue New York City as speculation grows about her ambitions toward higher office.
Ocasio-Cortez has already confirmed she will decide her next move following the midterms, with many speculating she could run for the Democrat nomination for President, or challenge Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2028.
uncertain
she → sign → 2028
In a possible first step toward testing her appeal statewide, Hochul has asked her to campaign at various events in right-leaning upstate New York as the governor runs for reelection against Republican Bruce Blakeman.
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governor → test → Blakeman
Her team is set to hold events in Buffalo, Syracuse and Ithaca, a long way from the lone event Ocasio-Cortez participated in in Queens on Election Day 2022.
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Cortez → set → Day
'I think she brings a lot of energy to the process, engages young people in particular,' Hochul told WNYC earlier this week.
'
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Hochul → think → WNYC
I've encouraged this.
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I → encourage → this
I have asked her and others to go statewide to create the momentum we need, the energy around this next election.
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we → ask → election
So I think she'll be very well-received.'
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she → think → ?
Hochul long had a reputation for being a moderate Democrat but has sidled up to socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez in recent years.
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Hochul → have → years
While upstate New York tends to vote Republican - a recent poll shows Hochul trailing Blakeman there by three points - there are AOC-friendly areas within those three cities.
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Hochul → tend → cities
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to campaign for New York Governor Kathy Hochul a long way from deep blue New York City as speculation grows about her ambitions toward higher office
In a possible first step toward testing her appeal statewide, Hochul (pictured) has asked her to campaign at various events in right-leaning upstate New York as she runs for reelection against Republican Bruce Blakeman
Both Buffalo and Syracuse have elected Democratic Socialists of America members to citywide and statewide office, while Ithaca is home to Cornell University.
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Ithaca → set → University
Hochul has said she will be with Ocasio-Cortez at some events but has not specified which as of yet.
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she → say → which
Blakeman relishes the chance to use AOC as a contrast between himself and Hochul.
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Blakeman → relish → himself
'The more she campaigns for Kathy Hochul, the greater chance of my election,' he said Tuesday, per Gothamist.
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he → campaign → Gothamist
Ocasio-Cortez will decide after this year's midterm election about whether she'll run for president, US Senate or stay in her House district representing the Bronx and Queens.
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she → decide → Bronx
But there are also two deeply personal factors she says she has to consider: her race and gender.
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she → be → ?
'Every element of this is something that's within consideration,' she told the New York Times.
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she → tell → Times
The 36-year-old Latina lawmaker who is unmarried also told the Times age is part of her calculation as well as plans to start a family.
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age → tell → family
Blakeman (pictured) relishes the chance to use AOC as a contrast between himself and Hochul
Ocasio-Cortez will decide after this year's midterm election about whether she'll run for president, US Senate or stay in her House district representing the Bronx and Queens
Ocasio-Cortez has recently publicly discussed freezing her eggs, a decision she announced in August, while filming injecting herself.
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she → picture → herself
She split from her longtime fiancé, Riley Roberts, although she has declined to comment publicly on her relationship status.
'
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she → split → status
I am 36, I'm about to turn 37 years old… and what that means for my life,' she told the Times.
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she → turn → Times
'Pretty candidly, I think about my identity,' Ocasio-Cortez noted.
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Cortez → think → identity
'I'm not naïve to the fact that we are living under a very regressive administration, and I happen to be a woman, and I, you know, happen to be Latina.'
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you → live → administration
Ocasio-Cortez said she often hesitates to talk about race and gender because people can treat such comments as an excuse for why a politician might lose.
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politician → say → excuse
But if she is seriously considering a presidential campaign, she said she can't simply pretend those questions do not exist.
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questions → consider → campaign
'It's funny because it's kind of like, everyone else is allowed to talk about it, but I'm not?
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I → allow → it
Her argument is rooted in the fact that the US has never elected a woman president.
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US → root → president
Hillary Clinton came closest, winning the popular vote in 2016 but losing the Electoral College to Donald Trump.
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Clinton → come → Trump
'That doesn't make it impossible,' she said.
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she → make → ?
Ocasio-Cortez also pointed to how women in politics are covered.
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women → point → politics
She cited a video of herself fixing her hair this summer in the Bronx that drew 25 million views on X and a flood of sexualized comments.
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that → cite → comments
That, she said, is the 'most brazen' version of a bias she says she faces 'from the right and from the left.'
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she → say → left
Race factors in too.
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Race → factor → ?
The daughter of a Puerto Rican immigrant, Ocasio-Cortez is one of the party's most prominent Latina politicians and its most recognizable progressive voice — and she doesn't dodge questions about whether that hurts her electability.
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that → dodge → electability
She's also watching history: Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris are the only women to win the Democratic nomination, and both lost.
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both → watch → nomination
'I absolutely empathize with the heartbreak people feel around that,' she said, 'and how those women were treated.
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women → empathize → that
She hasn't ruled out challenging Schumer, and rejects the idea she owes anyone deference.
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she → rule → deference
But a presidential bid is binary for her: 'If I were to run in this cycle, and not win, I would be done.'
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I → run → cycle
The numbers also show just how complicated Ocasio-Cortez's national political picture could be.
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picture → show → ?
The numbers underscore the challenge.
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numbers → underscore → challenge
In a recent New York Times/Siena poll, fewer than 1 percent of Republicans viewed her favorably, versus 75 percent unfavorably.
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percent → view → percent
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
