Does AOC have a realistic chance to become U.S. President one day?

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

Let's look at some of the young Representatives who made big splashes:

Rep. Richard Nixon (R-CA) was the REAL face of anti-Communism.  Not Joe McCarthy.  Nixon actually nailed a REAL Communist (Alger Hiss) instead of making a lot of noise and getting slapped down at a hearing (as Joe McCarthy ultimately did) on the way to dying young due to alcoholism and drug addiction (as Joe McCarthy ultimately did).

I can't think of any young Representative who made a big splash in his/her first 2 years that went on to be President, other than Nixon.  Nixon did it because (A) he saw an open Senate seat coming in 1950, (B) used the Communist issue to frame the terms of the General Election, and (C) after getting elected to the Senate, was smart enough to do everything to hitch his wagon to Eisenhower's star.  (Nixon angered a number of conservatives in the California delegation, which was pledged to its favorite son, Gov. Earl Warren, by vocally downplaying Taft's chances in the General Election, which shifted California's delegation to Eisenhower, who was the sort of unknown quantity that Trump was in 2016.)  Nixon got on the fast track, and even his defeats in 1960 and 1962 did not diminish his role as a Republican contender.  Nixon got near the top, missed by a hair, but managed to stay relevant in his years out of office.

The key for AOC to become President is to get on a fast track to the US Senate.  That will be easy if Gillibrand is the nominee, but tough if she's not.  The biggest obstacle to AOC getting elected to the Senate is (A) if Gillibrand is not elected President, she and Schumer will be in office for several more 6 year terms, and (B) if Gillibrand IS elected President or Vice President, Gov. Cuomo gets to appoint her successor, and he's not likely to pick AOC (although her star status will put her in the mix).  She's not likely to become President directly from the House, and she's not likely to become President if she were elected Mayor of NYC (although that would make it a tad more possible). 

That being said, if Schumer or Gillibrand were to suddenly NOT run for re-election, AOC has a very good chance of being a Senate nominee and would likely be elected if nominated.  New York isn't shy to elect stars, and AOC is now a star in her own right.  Should Schumer retire in 2022 (he'll be 72 then), AOC would, indeed, be a leading contender.  Her chances of becoming President are small, but we can say that of any elected official.  She's a star, and stars get a boost in the world of NY electoral politics.  Her chances are much better than the chances of, say, Rep. Jared Goldin (D-ME) who's NOT a star, but who may have a better chance at being Senator sometime in the near future.  There is certainly something to be said about star power.  Nobody much has heard of Jared Golden.  Everyone has heard of AOC.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

She has to first prove she can appeal to upstate New Yorkers in any statewide race at home before she can even think of running for President.  

She actually doesn't though... that's not how running for president works.

You declare you are running - officially, filing paperwork and with the blessing of your party, unless you're an independant - and then you're in the race. That's what Trump did.

New York is Democratic enough these days to where AOC would be elected to the Senate if she got the Democratic nomination.  She wouldn't carry the small town and rural counties, but she's likely carry Erie County (Buffalo) and Albany County (Albany).