Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has officially rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America this month after her membership expired seven years ago.
The New York Democrat, who first signed up for an annual membership in 2018, is the most prominent politician affiliated with the organization despite having let her official affiliation lapse for seven years.
DSA-linked candidates have amassed a string of wins this primary season, knocking off some long-standing Democratic incumbents in the process — sometimes to the chagrin of moderate lawmakers on the left. But as Ocasio-Cortez leads some recent polling among potential Democratic presidential candidates, her decision to reestablish membership with the DSA could further boost the progressive political organization’s relevance beyond this midterms cycle.
“Democratic Socialists of America confirms Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member in good standing of our organization, having recently rejoined in August 2026,” DSA wrote in a statement shared with City & State New York. “Previously, the representative joined DSA in 2018 with a one-year membership, which DSA’s national leadership recently noticed had lapsed, in 2019. She has since renewed her membership as of this month.”
Trending
Some DSA members have been considering what putting up a presidential candidate in 2028 could look like, The Washington Post reported this month, and Ocasio-Cortez is currently one of their best chances at reaching the country’s highest office.
“While it is atypical for DSA to address the membership status of individuals, ongoing discussions about the 2028 presidential campaign have prompted this release,” the organization said.
DSA has referred to Ocasio-Cortez as a “member” several times in the past seven years, despite her lapsed membership.
The congresswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ocasio-Cortez won her first U.S. House race in 2018 by toppling 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District. Although she appears to have only been an official card-carrying member of the DSA for one year, her four terms in the House spurred a movement for other congressional hopefuls hoping to upset candidates they considered to be part of the Democratic establishment.
DSA-endorsed nominees like Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York and Melat Kiros in Colorado clinched breakthrough victories in their primaries this year, while other candidates linked to the DSA have also seen some success. And New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DSA-backed victory last fall further elevated the organization’s national profile, though the progressive politician tried to distinguish his platform from some of the DSA’s national policy goals while on the campaign trail.
Ocasio-Cortez has at times endured a rocky relationship with the organization. DSA withdrew, then conditionally reinstated, their support for the congresswoman’s 2024 U.S. House campaign, citing her vote for a resolution that equated the “denial of Israel’s right to exist” as a form of antisemitism.
At a private DSA meeting earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez said she would not authorize any military aid to Israel and cited her record of voting “no” on the issue.
“The Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves,” Ocasio-Cortez said, City & State New York reported in April.
Author
