Several Democratic candidates are shunning Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) before the general election, according to a new report.

They are keeping the progressive firebrand off their campaign trails to appeal to more centrists in the November showdowns against Republicans, Axios reported on Sunday.

Read the full story here.

The outlet asserted that the “snubs” could compromise a potential AOC presidential run in 2028. She was tracking fourth in an aggregation of polls published by The New York Times on Sept. 25, well behind leader Kamala Harris.

She told the Times last week she’ll decide whether she runs after the midterms. But the way some fellow Dems are reportedly avoiding her might pour cold water on those aspirations.

Ocasio-Cortez, who is heavily favored to win her district for the fifth time, campaigned for many Democrats in the primaries, but that’s apparently not the case for November.

Axios cited progressive Democrat Sam Forstag, a House candidate in Montana, as a prime example of someone who’s seemingly avoiding the progressive star. He appeared with Ocasio-Cortez at a rally in late May, but seems to have cooled the association. He even scrubbed AOC’s endorsement from his website, Axios wrote.

“I don’t intend to be having a lot of folks from out of state campaigning with me over these next 40 days,” he told Axios when asked about AOC.

Other Dems are taking the same approach because surveys indicate that she may be an albatross in some races, one party official told Axios.

“The polling is atrocious for her,” a senior Democratic strategist said. “She’s a lightning rod.”

But reps for one of the more prominent progressive candidates, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Senate race, said he plans to rally with her at some point.

HuffPost has reached out to AOC’s camp for comment.

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