Ocasio Cortez Win
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., skated to victory in the state’s 14th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
The win continued an astonishing rise in political popularity born out of an underdog grassroots campaign that led her to a surprise win in 2018.
Ocasio-Cortez has been working hard to dispel what she sees as a damaging myth: the idea that her win merely reflected the makeup of her district, which is about 50 percent Latino, 40 percent. Michael Kinnucan Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory is a shot across the bow of the Democratic machine. Here's how it happened. The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign office on June 26, 2018 in Queens, NY.
This year, Ocasio-Cortez’s seat was contested by Bronx, N.Y., native John Cummings, who served as a school teacher in the area, as well as a member of the New York Police Department.
He ran as a Republican in the largely Democratic district, hoping to attract voters who were dismayed by Ocasio-Cortez’s ideology – including her identification as a Democratic socialist – and some of her other stances, like speaking out against e-commerce giant Amazon moving to Queens.
While Ocasio-Cortez was largely favored to win the race, it became the second most-expensive House race in the U.S., as reported by The New York Times.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Getty Images)
Ocasio Cortez Win Primary
Democrats were hoping to maintain an advantage in the House of Representatives – where Republicans needed a net gain of 17 seats to win back the majority.
Will Ocasio-cortez Win In November
After Ocasio-Cortez initially won her House seat in 2018 – securing nearly 80% of the vote – she went on to become the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress at age 29.
Her win in the June 2018 primary, where she unseated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley, was considered a major political upset. At the time, Crowley was considered in the running to become House speaker.
Ocasio Cortez Twitter
Prior to her candidacy, Ocasio-Cortez was a waitress and a bartender and has publicly talked about her working-class roots. She is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents.