A bartender from the Bronx defeated a 10-term incumbent with no money and no endorsements. Is that inspiring or terrifying — depending on which side you're on?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grew up in the Bronx, the daughter of a small business owner and a house cleaner. Her father died of lung cancer in 2008 when she was 19 and a sophomore at Boston University. Her family nearly lost their home to foreclosure. After graduating c*m laude, she returned to the Bronx and spent her twenties bartending and waitressing, working multiple jobs to help her mother keep the family afloat.
In 2018, with no political connections, no major endorsements, and a campaign she reportedly ran from a paper grocery bag behind the bar where she worked, she defeated 10-term Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley in one of the biggest primary upsets in modern U.S. history. She was outspent 10 to 1. At 29, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Her supporters call her the embodiment of the American Dream — a working-class woman of color who fought her way into a system built to keep people like her out.
Her critics see it differently. Republicans have called her a socialist and accused her of pushing policies that would bankrupt the country. Her Green New Deal proposal drew ridicule from the right and skepticism from moderate Democrats. Some in her own party have questioned whether her media profile outweighs her legislative record. She remains one of the most polarizing members of Congress — consistently among the most searched, most discussed, and most fundraised-against politicians in America. Whether people support her or oppose her, almost nobody ignores her.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grew up in the Bronx, the daughter of a small business owner and a house cleaner. Her father died of lung cancer in 2008 when she was 19 and a sophomore at Boston University. Her family nearly lost their home to foreclosure. After graduating c*m laude, she returned to the Bronx and spent her twenties bartending and waitressing, working multiple jobs to help her mother keep the family afloat.
In 2018, with no political connections, no major endorsements, and a campaign she reportedly ran from a paper grocery bag behind the bar where she worked, she defeated 10-term Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley in one of the biggest primary upsets in modern U.S. history. She was outspent 10 to 1. At 29, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Her supporters call her the embodiment of the American Dream — a working-class woman of color who fought her way into a system built to keep people like her out.
Her critics see it differently. Republicans have called her a socialist and accused her of pushing policies that would bankrupt the country. Her Green New Deal proposal drew ridicule from the right and skepticism from moderate Democrats. Some in her own party have questioned whether her media profile outweighs her legislative record. She remains one of the most polarizing members of Congress — consistently among the most searched, most discussed, and most fundraised-against politicians in America. Whether people support her or oppose her, almost nobody ignores her.