Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is now officially the youngest woman elected to US Congress. Ocasio-Cortez a democratic socialist who rose to fame after upsetting Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley earlier this year, easily won her race for New York’s 14th Congressional District on Tuesday, with over 75 percent of the vote.
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Ocasio-Cortez first stunned many in June when she unseated Crowley — a top leader among House Democrats — by running a campaign decidedly to the left. She’s since raised the profile on a number of progressive priorities, including efforts to abolish ICE, establish a federal jobs guarantee, and promote Medicare-for-all — not to mention joining a chorus of Democrats who have withheld their support for Nancy Pelosi as a potential speaker of the House.
As a 29-year-old Latina, Ocasio-Cortez is part of a groundbreaking wave of women of color who are set to join Congress this term, including Sharice Davids and Ilhan Omar.
Additionally, she’s helped campaign for a swath of other progressive candidates, including Ayanna Pressley, who’s also captured her Massachusetts district. Ocasio-Cortez is set to shake up everything from how the Democratic Party approaches campaign finance (she won by forsaking big-money donors, after all) to its relationship with the establishment.
“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” Ocasio-Cortez said in one of her campaign videos. As she’s proven this cycle, it’s clear they can win.
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