Democrats split on AOC as some battleground candidates distance themselves from 'Squad' lawmaker

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is fast becoming a central figurehead in the 2026 midterm election cycle, and a polarizing one at that.

Some moderate candidates are shunning the progressive rising star's endorsement, Axios reported this week, while others in tight races are welcoming her with open arms.

Several Democratic strategists who spoke with Fox News Digital said they were not shocked that some on the left are keeping her at arm's length.

"It wasn't especially surprising, like, her numbers with independent voters aren't always great, and it's very circumstantial depending upon where you would want to deploy somebody with that type of background and somebody who, you know, a lot of Americans have an impression of already — sometimes positive, sometimes negative," Mike Nellis, a former political advisor for former Vice President Kamala Harris, told Fox News Digital. "I always just encourage people, like, you do what you gotta do, cause it's hard to play coalition politics."

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And there are at least two candidates who appear to think the original "Squad" member is more of a liability.

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Cait Conley, who is running to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in a district near Ocasio-Cortez's, told CNN's "State of the Union," "I'm good" when asked if she would campaign with Democratic socialists like her or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Conley's campaign did not return a request for comment by Fox News Digital by publication time.

And Sam Forstag in Montana reportedly removed all mention of Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement from his campaign website. He told Axios, "I don't intend to be having a lot of folks from out of state campaigning with me over these next 40 days."

Forstag's campaign did not return multiple emailed requests for comment by Fox News Digital.

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"In the final days leading up to an election, you want to make your message specific and local and repeatable and national celebrities just don’t help with that," a veteran Democratic strategist who works on House and Senate campaigns told Fox News Digital.

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said "AOC is more of a celebrity" than most of the other potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders. "I think AOC is one of the few Democrats who has transcended to just culture generally, which makes her visits heavier in the discourse."

And that celebrity status is being used in other key races. Ocasio-Cortez joined forces with fellow progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders to headline a trio of rallies for left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed in July, a couple of weeks before the Democratic Senate primary in the key battleground state of Michigan.

El-Sayed ended up narrowly edging more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in a nomination battle that highlighted the ongoing battle between the left and the center for the ideological future of the Democratic Party.

While Ocasio-Cortez has yet to return to Michigan since the early August primary, El-Sayed’s campaign says they’d welcome her return to the campaign trail.

"There are a lot of Michiganders who can't wait to have AOC back in town," El-Sayed campaign communications director Roxie Richner told Fox News Digital.

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El-Sayed and former House Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., are facing off in the race to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. The midterm showdown is a must-hold for the Democrats as they try to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans.

Ocasio-Cortez also appeared in Florida recently alongside far-left Senate candidate Angie Nixon, who is running an underdog campaign against Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla.

A Democratic victory there is a long shot, but Ocasio-Cortez's campaign trail travels come as speculation mounts about her own future political plans.

The Democratic socialist is widely seen as a potential successor to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., when he is through in the upper chamber. But there's also buzz about a potential 2028 presidential campaign — something Ocasio-Cortez has not confirmed nor denied.

"I think she's a unique political talent. She's clearly got, like, a large group of people in the country who would get behind her, and those are the beginnings of what you need to build an operation to run for president. So I think she'd be stupid not to think about it," Nellis said. "At the same time, you know, do you take a 5% chance of being the Democratic nominee... or do you take like a much better than 50-50 chance of being the next United States senator from New York? If it were me advising her, I'd probably tell her to run for Senate."

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's campaign for comment on the Axios report.