Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could generate momentum and money in a 2028 Democratic primary but would likely lose the swing states that decide the presidency, arguing her policy positions do not fit the states that matter.
In a video commentary, Concha said: "I think in primaries, in this case, we're going to see a lot of energy behind an AOC. Let's say she does run for president because that's where all the momentum and money is right now between the Socialists, the Democratic Socialists of America. However, if she gets to a general election, Taylor, the problem is that in swing states, her policy positions do not jibe with winning those states. She wouldn't win in swing states just as Kamala Harris did not."
He added: "Therefore, yes, she could win primaries, a general election. I don't see her winning in those states, and those states are the only ones that matter. Those seven states, including Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina, I just don't see how a Democratic Socialist wins there in a general election."
The commentary was posted by the Washington Examiner account @dcexaminer on Thursday evening, hours after the same account posted a separate video in which Concha criticized a Vanity Fair article in which California Gov. Gavin Newsom described himself as a "disruptor at heart."
In that second video, Concha said: "Sycophantic is the only word that comes to mind. He still has the highest homeless rate in the country. That is disruptive to communities in places like San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles. Also has the highest poverty rate in the country. And nothing has been more disruptive than those California wildfires. They don't call this publication Vanity Fair for nothing, where this pup piece obviously was published. But vanity is what Gavin Newsom is all about. And if you look up status quo in the dictionary, literally his picture is probably right there."
The Newsom comments came in a Vanity Fair profile in which the governor, who is widely seen as a potential 2028 contender, described his political posture. The Washington Examiner video was published hours later. The Examiner account followed the earlier post with the Ocasio-Cortez commentary, framed around her potential 2028 presidential campaign.
The claim that Ocasio-Cortez would lose swing states is a projection, not a declared candidate position. She has not announced a 2028 campaign. Her recent travel has nonetheless fueled speculation. Over a four-day swing, she made stops in Buffalo, Ithaca and Syracuse, her office confirmed, as part of what was described as an upstate tour.
Centrist Democrats running in swing states have not been welcoming to the prospect of an Ocasio-Cortez-led ticket. According to recent coverage, those candidates have largely avoided embracing the New York congresswoman, a posture that puts her potential 2028 run in doubt. The dynamic mirrors the tension Concha described: primary energy concentrated among progressive and Democratic Socialist voters, while general-election candidates in battlegrounds keep their distance.
Concha's argument rests on the electoral map. He named seven states, listing Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina among them, and said those are "the only ones that matter." He compared the hypothetical Ocasio-Cortez result to that of Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election. Concha did not offer polling or state-by-state data in the clip; he presented the assessment as his own analysis.
The two Examiner posts landed within hours of each other, both attributed to the same columnist. One targeted the California governor over his self-description as a disruptor. The other targeted the New York congresswoman over her potential general-election viability. Together, they show a conservative commentator working two angles of the same theme: how the Democrats' left flank plays outside deep-blue states.
The Newsom segment used the Vanity Fair profile as a hook to argue that California's problems -- homelessness, poverty and wildfires -- undercut the governor's branding. "Vanity is what Gavin Newsom is all about," Concha said, adding that the governor's picture belongs next to a dictionary entry for "status quo." The clip was posted by the Examiner's account early Thursday afternoon.
The Ocasio-Cortez segment followed roughly four hours later. In it, Concha framed a potential primary as a contest where "all the momentum and money" sits with socialist and Democratic Socialist organizations, while the general election is decided in a handful of battlegrounds where those positions are less popular. He said the congresswoman "could win primaries" but that he does not "see her winning in those states."
The Examiner posts join a broader stream of coverage. Centrist Democrats running in swing states have been slow to welcome an Ocasio-Cortez presidential bid, recent reporting shows. Her upstate tour drew its own round of speculation about her political future. And Concha's commentary added a cable-style prediction to the mix: primary strength, general-election weakness.
None of this verifies the underlying premise that Ocasio-Cortez will run or that she would lose the states Concha named. It is a columnist's projection based on his reading of the electoral map. Next News Network could not independently verify the claim that Ocasio-Cortez would lose the seven swing states in a general election.
What is verifiable is the sequence: the Vanity Fair profile, the Examiner's critical video on Newsom, the Examiner's subsequent video on Ocasio-Cortez, and the wider coverage of centrist Democrats' hesitation about her. The reaction among conservative commentators and the pushback it draws from the left will continue as 2028 speculation builds.
Our Take
Joe Concha's read is blunt and probably right: the Democratic primary electorate and the general-election electorate are two different animals, and the states that decide the presidency are not the states that decide the nomination. Ocasio-Cortez can fill arenas and raise money from the party's activist base. That is not the same as winning Georgia, North Carolina or Nevada, where a Democratic Socialist label is a drag, not a draw. The centrist Democrats refusing to embrace her already understand this. The question is whether the party's primary voters do.
