Scoop: AOC shakes up team again as 2028 decision looms
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is shaking up her team for the second time in the past few months as she prepares to make the biggest decision of her political life.
Key points
- AOC is close with Sanders, and if she decides to run for president, progressives say, she would be able to quickly staff up with his former advisers.
- Middle Seat, the firm AOC is leaving, has Sanders roots as well: It was founded by alumni of the Vermont senator's 2016 campaign.
- The Washington Sun reported this week that AOC had hired Freeland Ellis, a Sanders alum, as a communications aide.
Why it matters: The overhaul comes as the democratic socialist leader is debating whether to run for president in 2028 — or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's seat, which is up the same year.
Zoom in: Ocasio-Cortez has parted ways with her longtime digital fundraising firm, Middle Seat, according to three people familiar with the decision.
Additional details
- At the same time, sources said, she's brought on Aisle 518 Strategies — the company led by Democratic strategist Tim Tagaris, who oversaw Bernie Sanders' record-breaking online fundraising strategy in his two presidential campaigns.
- Over the past two years, she has paid the firm more than $6 million — about a quarter of her operation's disbursements during that period.
- They included parting ways with her longtime campaign manager and creative director, as well as bringing aboard a few former aides.
- Flashback: Ocasio-Cortez's reorganizing follows several changes she made to her staff this year, as Axios previously reported.
- But Ocasio-Cortez's latest move doesn't necessarily signal that she's leaning toward a presidential run or a Senate bid.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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