In an shocking upset, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated ten-year incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th Congressional District. A woman of color and socialist activist, she previously organized for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and worked as a staffer for Senator Ted Kennedy, demonstrating both tenacity and political experience. Though her previous contributions to campaigns must be noted, her personal experiences being raised and living in the district she campaigns in offers a greater insight to her character and leadership ability.
Born in the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez grew up in a working class household, learning quickly about the income inequality that plagued the region. In a popular campaign advertisement, she says that she learned that the “zip code a child was born in determined much of their destiny,” especially through the issues of schooling, economic opportunity, and health outcomes. Studying at Boston University, she earned degrees in Economics and International Relations, which eventually put her back in the Bronx, where she worked as an Educational Director. As for her candidacy, Ocasio-Cortez conquered a number of firsts for a candidate of her stature. She became the first NY-14 Democratic challenger in a generation, the first NY-14 candidate to run without any lobbyist money in modern history, and the first woman of color to run in a district that is seventy percent color.
“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” says Ocasio-Cortez in a campaign video that spread rapidly through social media. But, her quick popularity and dedication to her community has made her a likable candidate against Rep. Crowley. In fact, the incumbent refused to make an appearance at several debates and even sent a Latina surrogate in his place to debate Ocasio-Cortez.
Of her campaign issues, she supports a number of left-leaning positions. Citing it as an “ethical, logical, and affordable path,” Ocasio-Cortez supports Medicare for All, as it helps the the United States expand the notion of universal healthcare that most other developed nations offer. She stands against those who use housing as a “playground for wealthy developers” and hopes that Congress will fight for accessible housing by extending tax benefits to working and middle-class homeowners. With a minimum $15 wage, full healthcare, and paid child and sick leave, Ocasio-Cortez hopes to life thousands out of crippling poverty.
Additionally, she hopes to end private prisons, release individuals sentenced for nonviolent drug offenses, end cash bail, and investigate places where individuals are killed in exchanges with law enforcement. She wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as she believes it’s “founding was part of an unchecked expansion of executive powers that led to the widespread erosion of Americans’ civil rights,” which can be seen through American hands splitting immigrant families. She lists a number of other issues on her website that align with Democratic and Democratic-Socialist views.
All in all, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents a new, refreshing point of view, as she has lived through the hardships she now advocates for.
Though her campaign may have been small in comparison to the incumbent’s, she demonstrates that experience and empathy goes farther than any cent spent on advertisements or campaigning. As we head into the midterms, we have little knowledge of what lies ahead, but we do know this: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened the door for so many to follow.
