Yes, AOC Could Run and Win the White House According to the Law: If Joe Biden decided not to run for president again, one name continually makes the shortlist of those in the Democratic Party who could run: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the “firebrand” Democratic Socialist congresswoman from New York.
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Her political career hasn’t been all that dissimilar from former President Barack Obama, and AOC – as she is widely known – went from being a 29-year-old bartender in Queens to the House of Representatives.
What is even more remarkable is that she successfully defeated Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, for New York’s 14th congressional district.
Crowley clearly had underestimated AOC, and Republicans would be wise not to make a similar mistake. Already, AOC is being touted as the fresh blood the Democrats might need following just four years of Joe Biden.
“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is less of a personality and more of a movement. Yes, the smart, photogenic congresswoman is the face of the rising progressive movement, but she is also the future of the Democratic Party. AOC has cultivated a following beyond politics.
She’s an influencer in its purest form. Her ability to relate to her supporters and allow them a glimpse into her private life is a blueprint for Democrats trying to act less like mannequins and more like humans,” wrote Democratic political strategist Michael Starr Hopkins for The Hill.
AOC Will be Old Enough
Comments across social media, as well as those on 19FortyFive, have called into question whether Rep. Ocasio-Cortez would be old enough to run for the highest office in the land.
So, we thought it was crucial to tackle this question head-on, as, yes, AOC can run and win the White House as she will indeed be old enough.
According to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.
AOC checks all the boxes
She was born in the United States on October 13, 1989, and has spent her entire life in the country.
She was just 29 years old when she took office as the representative for New York, becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress.
More importantly, however, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez will turn 35 in 2024 – a full 23 days before the election and more than three months before inauguration day.
Article II is quite specific: the president needs to be 35 years old, yet Ms. Ocasio-Cortez could be 34 throughout the campaign season, and that wouldn’t preclude her from running. While her age could be a concern with voters, she would meet the criteria of the Constitution.
The more significant issue is that while 19 former presidents had served in the House of Representatives, most in the 20th century were elected to the U.S. Senate or were elected governor of their home state before seeking the highest office in the land.
The two notable exceptions were Gerald R. Ford, who had been appointed vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned, and George H.W. Bush, who had been Ronald Reagan’s vice president. You’d have to go back to James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, who served just six months in 1881, dying two months after being shot by an assassin.
Yet, despite the talk from pundits and strategists, AOC has given no indication that she’s even considering a White House Run.
In fact, it is more likely that she would make a run for the U.S. Senate, and follow the path of past presidents such as Barack Obama and Joe Biden. It is also likely she’s not in a significant rush, as readers keep pointing out she’s not exactly all that old.
Yet, old enough still to be president, however – something we learned years ago in our civics classes.
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A Senior Editor for 1945, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
