If you want a clear picture of just how far the Democratic Party has drifted from the American mainstream, look no further than the name Vice President J.D. Vance expects to carry their banner in 2028: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Speaking Tuesday on The Michael Knowles Show, Vance was asked who would inherit the Democratic mantle once President Donald Trump's second term concludes. His answer said everything about the state of the opposition party.
"I think it's got to be AOC," Vance said. "I know that's probably conventional wisdom."
And why wouldn't it be? A party that has spent years indulging open borders, runaway spending, and identity-obsessed politics was always going to elevate its most fluent practitioner of that agenda. Ocasio-Cortez didn't rise in spite of the Democrats' leftward lurch, she rose because of it.
When Knowles floated the idea that California Gov. Gavin Newsom remains the presumed frontrunner, Vance wasn't buying the Sacramento hype.
"I don't buy that," Vance said flatly.
His skepticism is well earned. Newsom, ever the political chameleon, managed to embarrass himself at a February event in Atlanta, where he tried to charm the crowd by making light of his own academic record.
"I think he hurt himself with his comment to an audience full of black Americans that I'm low IQ, just like you," Vance noted.
Newsom's actual words were their own kind of revealing: "I'm just trying to impress upon you: I'm like you. I'm no better than you. You know, I'm a 960 SAT guy." It was a cringe-worthy attempt at relatability that told voters less about his humility and more about a governor grasping for connection he simply doesn't have. Adding to the spectacle, early reports framed the gathering as a predominantly Black audience, only for later photos and video to reveal a racially mixed crowd with plenty of white faces, another reminder of how quickly the preferred narrative can unravel.
The larger point is hard to miss. As the 2028 jockeying begins, the Democratic bench has narrowed to a choice between a gaffe-prone West Coast progressive and a democratic socialist from New York who has never met a government program she didn't want to expand. That Ocasio-Cortez, of all people, is now considered the natural heir tells you exactly where this party is headed, and it isn't back toward the center.
