Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejoins DSA after membership lapse of seven years

Then House candidate joined Democratic Socialists of America in 2018 but didn’t renew membership after a year

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America after not renewing her membership for seven years, amid speculation that she might run for president in 2028.

The 36-year-old New York representative and one of the country’s most prominent democratic socialists renewed her membership in the group’s national organization after reports emerged earlier this month that it had lapsed. Ocasio-Cortez initially joined the group in 2018.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the DSA announced: “Democratic Socialists of America confirms Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member in good standing of our organization, having recently rejoined in August 2026,” according to a report in City & State New York.

It added: “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.”

The DSA said it decided to disclose Ocasio-Cortez’s membership details amid reports that she could run for president in the next election cycle.

Interest in the congresswoman’s status comes as the organization has seen its ranks grow exponentially across the country, following a string of election victories from New York to Florida .

“While it is atypical for DSA to address the membership status of individuals, ongoing discussions about the 2028 presidential campaign have prompted this release … With chapters and members campaigning to draft Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential Presidential Primary candidate, we believe that the status of her membership is essential information for members to have in their deliberations and discussions,” the statement said, City & State New York reported.

The Guardian reached out to the DSA for additional comment, but the organization declined. The Guardian has also contacted Ocasio-Cortez’s office.

According to City & State New York , annual DSA membership cost $60 when Ocasio-Cortez joined in 2018, with members required to manually renew their dues each year. The organization has since moved to automatic renewals and introduced a range of monthly membership options, with dues ranging from $5 to $50.

Despite Ocasio-Cortez having been a lapsed member of the DSA over the last seven years, in November 2020 the DSA offered its “congratulations to DSA member AOC on officially being re-elected to Congress” on X.

Similarly, in March 2024, the DSA wrote on X : “We commend DSA members Rep @CoriBush and Rep @AOC for upholding our democratic values by voting against this authoritarian legislation,” referring to the now-former Missouri representative Cori Bush and Ocasio-Cortez voting against a TikTok ban.

Earlier this month, in an interview on ABC, host Jonathan Karl asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she was still a member of DSA. She responded: “Of the New York City chapter.”

“Not the national chapter?” Karl asked, to which Ocasio-Cortez replied: “No.”

Asked to elaborate on the distinction, Ocasio-Cortez said: “Every DSA chapter is formed locally. And so the New York City DSA chapter, those are folks that you know, it’s kind of like your local union chapter.”

In July 2024, the DSA withdrew its endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez at the request of NYC-DSA, according to the organization, citing her decision to vote for a House resolution that described “denial of Israel’s right to exist” as an example of antisemitism, as well as her participation in a recent panel discussion on antisemitism.

“A national DSA endorsement comes with a serious commitment to the movement for Palestine and our collective socialist project … To build a socialist movement that’s capable of defeating capitalism, we must demand more from leaders in our movement,” the DSA said at the time.

It added: “AOC recently hosted a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lobbyists for the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism. On this panel, anti-Zionism and antisemitism were conflated and boycotting Zionist institutions was condemned. This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past.”