By Madelynn Martinez

For most of American history, change was gradual, occurring over generations.

Now there’s new kids on the block, and they’re looking to progress (pun intended) at a break-neck pace. 

The name alone would have made Ronald Reagan quiver: the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA is among the oldest progressive organizations in the United States. Presently, it has two de facto leaders: Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Mamdani’s success in the New York City mayoral election and AOC’s near-decade long tenure in Congress have generated mass speculation that the DSA may thrust its party members into the 2028 election. Mamdani is not eligible to run for president, but AOC is, and she has begun to hint at a potential run.

However, AOC’s track record is concerning at best. The Congresswoman from New York began her tenure in the House with a bang, attempting to pass the ambitious Green New Deal. At the time, AOC was the ideal progressive candidate, until her bill was shot down in the Senate in a landslide defeat of 0-57. 

As time went on, she shifted to the center. In recent years, AOC has pushed for “building bridges” and working within the current political climate; in 2023, she voted in lock-step with the centrist Democratic President Joe Biden 94 percent of the time. 

If AOC 1.0 was an expansive wind farm, AOC 2.0 is a natural gas plant with a pride flag painted over. 

When the Green New Deal failed, it became clear to AOC that establishment Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer would not support her progressive policies, thus leaving her socialist agenda dead in the water. 

With the death of her socialist policies and capitulation to the status quo, AOC’s presidential nomination would fail to stick out in comparison to her establishment counterparts. If she were to become president, her term could be akin to those of Presidents Biden and Obama before her.

This leaves the DSA in a predicament: Run a bridge candidate and lose out on key policy goals, or don’t run at all and let the status quo continue.