A new poll has examined whether Americans prefer the policies embraced by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or President Donald Trump.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive firebrand from New York, has been floated as a potential presidential White House candidate for 2028. There has also been speculation that she could attempt to primary Senator Chuck Schumer, the longtime party leader in the upper chamber.
She would likely be a favorite among the party’s more progressive voters in a White House bid, but some more moderate Democrats have raised concerns that the self-described “Democratic-Socialist” could be less electable in the general election against a Republican, such as Vice President JD Vance who could run to succeed Trump.
The latest poll from the Napolitan Institute could be an early indicator of how voters are feeling about the 2028 race and whether they are inclined to back Ocasio-Cortez or a similarly progressive candidate over a Republican.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
The poll of 2,000 registered voters, conducted from June 9 to June 12, asked Americans who they would support in a four-way race between a Republican supporting Trump’s policies, a more traditional Republican, a Democrat supporting Ocasio-Cortez’s policies or a more traditional Democrat.
The poll asked respondents to assume “equal skill and temperament” among all candidates and to focus more on which policies they would cast a ballot for.
The largest number of voters said they would be inclined to support a Trump-aligned Republican, with 35 percent making that choice. Just 17 percent said they would be likely to vote for a Democrat supporting Ocasio-Cortez’s policies.
Seventeen percent said they would also back a more traditional Republican, while 22 percent said they would support a more traditional Democrat. An additional 9 percent said they were unsure who they would vote for in the scenarios presented.
The poll could be an indication of which ideas Americans gravitate toward, but it doesn’t account for factors like candidate quality—or how voters who prefer more traditional party candidates would sway in an election against a Trump-aligned candidate against Ocasio-Cortez. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
The Napolitan poll comes as other recent polls have gauged how popular Ocasio-Cortez is compared to Trump.
A YouGov poll, which surveyed 1,610 adults from May 30 to June 2, found that 44 percent of Americans said they view Trump favorably, compared to 51 percent who view him unfavorably. Only 4 percent did not have a clear opinion of the president.
The same poll found that 34 percent view Ocasio-Cortez favorably, compared to 40 percent who view her unfavorably. However, more than a quarter—26 percent—of respondents said they did not know how they viewed the New York lawmaker.
Meanwhile, an AtlasIntel poll last month showed Ocasio-Cortez with stronger numbers than Trump. Forty-six percent of respondents viewed her favorably, while 44 percent viewed her negatively. Trump was viewed positively by 44 percent and negatively by 55 percent of respondents. The poll included 3,469 respondents and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. It was carried out from May 21 through May 27.
What People Are Saying
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Fox News in April when asked about her future plans: “This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting 2-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important.”
Monica Crowley, a former official in the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, told Fox News last November: “Just a word of warning to the Republicans, to my party: Do not underestimate AOC. She’s young, she’s vibrant, she’s attractive.”
What Happens Next
Ocasio-Cortez has not made her future plans clear, and most White House candidates are unlikely to announce their bids until after the 2026 midterms.
