New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come out ahead of JD Vance for the first time in a 2028 presidential election head-to-head, according to a new poll.
A poll from The Argument magazine and Verasight showed that the self-described democratic socialist, a Democrat from New York, would beat the vice president 51 percent to 49 percent.
Ocasio-Cortez later quote-tweeted the post on X, saying simply “Bloop!”
When The Independent asked her about why she posted about the poll, Ocasio-Cortez offered a simple response as she walked to the House floor.
“Because JD Vance is a goober, man,” she said.
Bloop! https://t.co/By2kl8LnWY
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 17, 2025
After spending much of her career as a backbencher and insurgent ever since she came to Washington, Ocasio-Cortez has become an increasingly influential voice in the Democratic Party.
Her endorsement of Zohran Mamdani helped her fellow socialist win the Democratic nomination to become mayor of New York City. She also sent out a fundraiser for Abigail Spanberger, who criticized progressives like Ocasio-Cortez while in Congress, to support her successful run for governor of Virginia.
At the same time, she has withheld her endorsement of progressive challengers running against incumbent Democratic members of Congress in her home state.
While some have speculated she would run for president, many more want her to challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2028.
Lakshya Jain, who runs The Argument’s polling and is a more mainstream Democrat, broke down on X why Ocasio-Cortez leads Vance.
“We polled this at The Argument, and I'm the pollster, so here are the crosstabs. AOC/Vance is 1 point more Democratic than the generic ballot is.”
OK, lot of questions about subgroup breakdowns. We polled this at The Argument, and I'm the pollster, so here here are the crosstabs. AOC/Vance is 1 point more Democratic than the generic ballot is. https://t.co/vJaIMuIoZL pic.twitter.com/vsHLIowd06
— Lakshya Jain (@lxeagle17) December 17, 2025
The poll surveyed 1,521 registered voters between December 5 and December 11.
Jain said the poll revealed some truths about the coming 2028 election, specifically regarding Ocasio-Cortez and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another potential 2028 presidential candidate.
“ 1) Vance is weak,” he tweeted. “2) AOC/Newsom are very similar electorally but with slightly different coalitions. Newsom's better with whites, AOC with Latinos.”
Ocasio-Cortez also cut an ad during the Proposition 50 campaign in California in both English and Spanish to support the initiative that would allow for a one-time redraw of California’s congressional districts.
So far, Ocasio-Cortez has not indicated what she will do in 2028. Despite not earning the top spot on the House Oversight Committee, Ocasio-Cortez earned a position on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles energy as well as health care.
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