Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (via Twitter)
Nov. 6, 2018 By Christian Murray
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has just been elected to U.S. Congress, making her the youngest woman to win a Congressional seat in the country’s history.
Ocasio-Cortez, 29, will represent the 14th District of New York , which covers north west Queens and a southern portion of Bronx, in the House of Representatives beginning in January.
Her victory, with roughly 80 percent of the vote and 72 percent of scanners reporting as of press time, comes on the heels of her stunning victory over longtime Rep. Joseph Crowley in the June primary that rocked the political establishment.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Socialist who ran on a platform of Medicare-for-all, free public college and abolishing ICE, beat Crowley by nearly 15 points—57.1 percent to 42.5– in the primary. She railed against the Democratic machine and refused to take corporate money, and set herself apart from Crowley, claiming he was the embodiment of the machine and special interests as head of the Queens County Democratic Party.
Despite Crowley’s defeat in the primary, his name remained on ballot—listed under the Working Families line. Some supporters, additionally, were campaigning for him, despite his numerous announcements that he wasn’t running.
A map showing Congressional District 14
Last week, ads were placed in the Woodside Herald, Queens Gazette and elsewhere telling residents to cast their votes for him.
Supporters were also handing out flyers in Sunnyside and were urging people to support him on Facebook.
But the likelihood of Ocasio-Cortez, a resident of Parkchester in the Bronx, winning the Nov. 6 midterm election was already high, given her astounding triumph in the Democratic primary.
Indeed, Crowley received 6 percent of the vote as of press time, with roughly 6,450 votes counted so far.
The first-time candidate, who had roughly 82,000 votes in tonight’s election, came with little political experience when she started her campaign at the beginning of the year. At the time she was working as a waitress in a Manhattan restaurant.
She had helped Bernie Sanders with his 2016 presidential run, and worked for the National Hispanic Institute. She also handled constituent issues for Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts while attending college in Boston, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations from Boston University.
Her progressive agenda, dislike of the political machine and humble beginnings, however, resonated strongly with constituents. Her campaign, while steadily gaining traction, was elevated to the spotlight shortly after releasing an online video that went viral, with the opening line being– “Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office.”
