A day after President Trump was sworn into office women across the country marched in protest and to have their voices heard. The movement didn’t stop with the protest it spilled over into the voting booth. A record-breaking number of women are running for Congress this year and have garnered attention in primaries across the country. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the woman that proves the movement might just work.
Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
One thing that instantly stands out about Ocasio-Cortez is her age. She’s only 28 and will undoubtedly be the youngest person in Congress. The newest New York elected official was born in the South Bronx to a working-class family. Only a year ago Ocasio-Cortez was a bartender and waitress.
Campaigning for Bernie Sanders inspired Ocasio-Cortez to run for office. She even admitted that she was a “long shot” to win, but still felt the need to run. Alexandria is a registered member of the Democratic Socialists party and ran on a far-left platform.
Her campaign revolved around the issues of affordable housing, health insurance, and access to tuition-free college. She is also committed to making a federal jobs guarantee program and criminal justice reform.
When the race started, she was near the bottom of the list of candidates but found the forrmula to win.
How did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win?
Alexandria’s opponent, Joe Crowley, was the definition of an establishment Democrat. Crowley was a ten-time incumbent and hadn’t been challenged in over a decade. Many experts thought he would eventually take over Nancy Pelosi’s position, but he also made mistakes throughout the race.
Crowley missed a debate and had to send someone in his place, an opportunity that his opponent pounced on. Alexandria also continued to point out the large donors Crowley had. Crowley spent 16 times more than Alexandria, but it didn’t matter.
Alexandria’s platform and grassroots attracted more voters and brought out people that may not have voted in the past. Despite the attacks during the campaign it ended in a civil way. Shortly after celebrating her victory, Alexandria got on twitter and thanked Crowley for his many years of service.
