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AOC, Ro Khanna rivaling for future of Democratic Party?

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by Lindsey Granger, opinion contributor - 05/19/26 2:30 PM ET

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by Lindsey Granger, opinion contributor - 05/19/26 2:30 PM ET

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There’s some drama happening in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party — rivalry between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna ahead of the 2028 presidential race, according to Axios.

It’s been clear to see both position themselves as possible heirs to the Bernie Sanders movement, but they are not in agreement on what that movement looks like. What’s interesting here is that the divide isn’t just about personality. It’s about strategy, staffing and what version of “Bernie-style politics” they’re actually trying to inherit.

Axios reports that on one side, you have what some are calling the “Old Bernie” approach around Khanna. That team includes veterans like Jeff Weaver, Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign manager, Julian Mulvey and Shannon Jackson. These are all people tied to a more traditional populist operation that wasn’t afraid of sharper contrasts and a more moderate brand on issues like guns and immigration.

On the other side is what Axios describes as AOC’s “New Bernie” ecosystem, hiring strategists behind Sanders’s presidential effort in 2020, which leaned further left on social issues and took a less aggressive tone toward Democratic Party rivals.

That split is showing up in how they talk about policy and politics.

Khanna has taken a slightly more centrist posture on issues like crime and immigration, emphasizing electability and broader appeal. Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, is leaning further into a more uncompromising progressive identity, not just on economics, but across social and foreign policy issues as well.

That tension came into sharper focus in the way they each interact with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Khanna’s willingness to collaborate with her on issues like releasing the Epstein files and other bipartisan efforts has drawn attention and pushback from the wing of the party that agrees with AOC. Take a look:

“I personally do not trust someone like Marjorie Taylor Green, a proven bigot and antisemite on the issues of what is good for Gazans and Israelis. I don’t I don’t think that it benefits our movement in that instance to align the left with white nationalists.”

People took that as a direct jab at Ro Khanna.

Khanna has defended his approach more broadly, telling Axios in the past: “I will not yield an inch when it comes to standing for progressive values and for the human rights of every person. But if conservatives are willing to support justice for Epstein survivors or stopping the war in Iran, I will work with them.”

So whose strategy is working? Well, AOC is widely seen as the early frontrunner if Sanders’s progressive coalition consolidates behind one figure. Khanna, while less nationally dominant, has been actively recruiting Sanders-era strategists and trying to build his own parallel infrastructure.

Even within the Sanders orbit, the lines aren’t clean; aides and advisers are reportedly overlapping, talking and in some cases working across both camps.

It seems there is a quiet internal negotiation over what the next version of the progressive movement looks like, who defines it, how broad it gets, and whether its future looks more like 2016, or 2020.

Lindsey Granger is a NewsNation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.

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