Bronx-Girl in Congress: ¡Ocasio!

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28 year old political newcomer, just secured a seat in the House of Representatives, and is soon to become the youngest over woman to hold a seat in Congress . She won the Democratic primary for the 14th district of New York in a landslide victory, in an election in which her campaign was largely overlooked.

The incumbent, Joseph Crowley, previously held the seat for 14 years and was the fourth most powerful Democrat in the Congress. He was predicted to take over for Nancy Pelosi should she retire. What’s more, Crowley had never had to face a primary challenge before Ocasio-Cortez. In fact, he has never had to take on a legitimate challenge for his seat, having first taken office in 1999, due to political loophole in which he was appointed by his political mentor. The elections in New York primaries are set in an offseason to encourage low voter turnout and help machine-backed politicians like Crowley.

What’s most impressive is that Ocasio-Cortez was outspent by her competitor by about five to one. Although both candidates are on the left of the political spectrum, their political views and methods are starkly different. Crowley was a fixture of the political machine, something Ocasio-Cortez vigorously denounced on the campaign trail. He was the president of Queens Democratic Party, essentially making him in charge of the election he was running in. He also had more than a million dollars in funds to campaign in this election, made up largely of corporate funds.

Perhaps it was this lack of change that lead Ocasio-Cortez to soundly defeat Crowley, by double digits, in her first campaign for elected office. She ran for office as a working class fellow New Yorker, who had also been affected by the financial crisis. Instead of focusing on party issues, like Trump or Russian interference in the election, like many centrist democrats and career politicians, she spoke to the issues that she felt were important to her future constituents. She ran her campaign on abolishing ICE, free trade school and higher education, as well as removing money from politics. Her tireless and strategic campaigning raised voter turnout by about 68% in a normally low-energy election.

Ocasio-Cortez will be the youngest woman ever to hold a seat in Congress when she defeats her Republican competitor in the next election. The media were taken off-guard on Tuesday when she won in a landslide victory. Most dismissed her campaign due to her radical politics, as well as the power and money of her competitor.

Ocasio-Cortez was tapped to run in two years ago by Justice Democrats, with the goal of getting money out of politics. She ran solely on small individual donations and grassroots organizing. New York City political primaries are designed to create low voter turnout in Congressional races. Ocasio-Cortez focused her campaign on increasing voter turnout and was able to reach out to people in her district who are normally not expected to vote with a compelling and focused message

Alexandria, a third generation Bronx native, will soon represent the 14th district, which includes Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and large parts of the Bronx. The district, in which she also resides, is majority minority, almost half Hispanic and about 20% Asian. She put a strong emphasis on the fact that her competitor, Joseph Crowley has resided in Virginia for almost twenty years, and sends his kids to private school there.

Some might write off Ocasio-Cortez’s success, and other Democratic socialists like her, as a leftist backlash to the Trump administration. However, if the momentum Ocasio has been riding on can be sustained, there is hope for real and lasting political change in a stagnant Congress. Ocasio-Cortez’s success as an idealistic newcomer, who is genuinely not interested in the money, and party squabbling, gives us some hope for a Congress beholden to the people. In video that made up her incredibly effective social media campaign, Ocasio-Cortez boldly states, “A girl like me was never supposed to run for office.” One can only hope that more girls like her do.