Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has emerged as the early front-runner for the 2028 Democrat presidential nomination in New Hampshire.
But polling analyst Patrick Allocco told Newsmax on Monday the progressive lawmaker might instead use a White House bid to strengthen a potential challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Allocco, founder of the Zoose Political Index, told Newsmax's "Finnerty" that the latest University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll reflects the direction of the Democratic Party's activist base.
"If there's one thing that you can be certain of, anything can happen in today's Democratic Party," he said. "That poll shows exactly where the progressive base is headed."
The survey found Ocasio-Cortez leading the prospective Democrat field with 22% support among likely 2028 New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, narrowly ahead of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 21%. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was a distant third at 9%, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 8%.
Allocco said his organization had been tracking Ocasio-Cortez's rise for months.
"We've been saying since last year that AOC was the one to watch when she showed up around 10% in a poll back in May," he said. "We said that was her floor, not her ceiling."
He argued that Democrats' lack of established national contenders has boosted her prospects.
"Since the Democrats have a spectacular bench problem, that puts her in real play," Allocco said.
Still, Allocco questioned whether Ocasio-Cortez is ready for the presidency, pointing to her appearance at the Munich Security Conference.
"She proved in Munich, however, she lacks experience to be president," he said.
Instead, Allocco predicted Ocasio-Cortez's political ambitions might be focused closer to home.
"We believe she'll choose to take on Schumer instead," he said. "But the presidency could be her 2028 bargaining chip in the party."
The Granite State Poll was conducted July 15-20 among 1,458 New Hampshire residents. It had a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points overall and +/- 3.8 percentage points for the 648 likely Democrat presidential primary voters.
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