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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Personal details
Born (1989-10-13) October 13, 1989 (age 35)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Justice Democrats
Brand New Congress
DSA USA
EducationBoston University (BA)
Websiteocasio2018.com

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989) is an American activist, community organizer, and politician. On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district, defeating incumbent Democratic Caucus Chair Joseph Crowley in what has been described as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election season.[1][2][3][4][5] Ocasio-Cortez is a member of Democratic Socialists of America and has been endorsed by a variety of politically progressive organizations and individuals.

Early life and education

Ocasio-Cortez was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City.[6] Her mother is from Puerto Rico and her father was born in The Bronx.[7] She attended Yorktown High School in suburban Yorktown Heights, New York, from 2003–2007.[8] As a high school student, she won second prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, with a microbiology research project. As a result, MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory named a small asteroid after her, 23238 Ocasio-Cortez.[9]

While a student at Boston University, she interned in the immigration office of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy.[10]

Her father died in 2008. Following his death, her family became "locked in a years-long probate battle with the Westchester County Surrogate's Court, which processes the estates of people who died without a will."[11]

Ocasio-Cortez graduated from Boston University in 2011, where she majored in economics and international relations. After college, she moved back to the Bronx and supported her mother by bartending at Flats Fix taqueria in Union Square, Manhattan, and working as a waitress. She also got a job as an educator in the nonprofit National Hispanic Institute.[12][13]

She worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders in his 2016 presidential campaign.[14]

2018 U.S. House campaign

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2018 § District 14

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America,[15] she was endorsed by MoveOn,[16] Justice Democrats, Brand New Congress, Black Lives Matter, and Democracy for America.[14] Two days before the primary election, she attended a protest at an ICE child detention center in Tornillo, Texas.[17] Her campaign video began with her saying "women like me aren’t supposed to run for office."[18]

Ocasio-Cortez was the first Democrat to challenge Crowley to a primary race since 2004. Though she faced a significant financial disadvantage as a challenger, she was not dissuaded from running, saying: "You can't really beat big money with more money. You have to beat them with a totally different game."[11] The Ocasio-Cortez campaign spent only $300,000 in comparison to the $3 million spent by her opponent.[19] She won with 57.5% of the vote to Crowley's 42.5%, defeating the 10-term incumbent with a full 15 percentage point vote advantage.[20]

Time called her June 2018 primary victory "the biggest upset of the 2018 elections so far."[15] CNN echoed similar sentiments.[2] Crowley's loss was described in The New York Times as "a shocking primary defeat on Tuesday, the most significant loss for a Democratic incumbent in more than a decade, and one that will reverberate across the party and the country."[14] In the United Kingdom, The Guardian called her victory "one of the biggest upsets in recent American political history".[21] She has not previously held an elected office.[7]

At age 28, she is one of the youngest nominees for Congress; if elected, she could become the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. That distinction is currently held by New York Republican Elise Stefanik, who was elected at age 30 in 2014.[22][a] Ocasio-Cortez will be 29 at the start of the 116th Congress.

Political positions

Ocasio-Cortez is a democratic socialist, supporting Medicare for All, a Jobs Guarantee, ending the privatization of prisons, and enacting gun control policies.[23] Ocasio-Cortez has criticized Israel's foreign policy, calling the killing of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on May 14, 2018, a "massacre".[24] She supports abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has said that ICE is running "black sites".[25]

Ocasio-Cortez campaigned on a platform of Medicare for all, a federal jobs guarantee, and tuition-free public college.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ "A progressive insurgent just pulled off the biggest Democratic primary upset in years". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  2. ^ a b CNN, Gregory Krieg,. "A 28-year-old Democratic Socialist just ousted a powerful, 10-term congressman in New York". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-27. ...in the most shocking upset of a rollicking political season. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ CNN, Dan Merica and Eric Bradner,. "The biggest night so far for progressives and other takeaways from Tuesday night's primaries". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-27. It was the most shocking result of 2018's political season so far... {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Resnick, Gideon (2018-06-27). "Young Progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Topples Old Boss Joe Crowley in Democratic Primary Shocker". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-06-27. In one of the most shocking upsets in recent political history...
  5. ^ Seitz-Wald, Alex (June 26, 2018). "High-ranking Democrat ousted in stunning primary loss to newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez". NBC News. Retrieved June 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "Meet Alexandria". Ocasio 2018: Vote June 26th.
  7. ^ a b Wang, Vivian (June 27, 2018). "Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? A Democratic Giant Slayer". New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  9. ^ Malloy, Daniel (June 23, 2018). "This Berniecrat Aims to Unseat a Queens Power Broker". Ozy. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Joyce, A.P. (February 28, 2018). "Meet the young progressive Latina trying to oust one of the most powerful Democrats in the House". Mic. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "A Primary Against the Machine: a Bronx Activist Looks to Dethrone Joseph Crowley, The King of Queens". The Intercept. May 22, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  12. ^ Ma, Alexandra (2018-06-27). "Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the millennial, socialist political novice who beat her establishment Democrat rival in a huge electoral upset". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  13. ^ Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah (June 4, 2018). "How This Young Latina Candidate Is Shaking Up A New York Congressional Race". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c Goldmacher, Shane; Martin, Jonathan (June 26, 2018). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Defeats Joseph Crowley in Major Democratic House Upset". New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Elliott, Philip (June 26, 2018). "How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pulled Off the Biggest Upset of 2018". Time. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  16. ^ Chamberlain, Samuel (June 26, 2018). "Rep. Joe Crowley defeated in Democratic primary upset by newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez". Fox News.
  17. ^ Neuman, Scott (June 27, 2018). "Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?". NPR. Retrieved June 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  18. ^ Weigel, David (June 27, 2018). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Democrat who challenged her party's establishment — and won". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  19. ^ "New York District 14 2018 Race". Open Secrets. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ^ "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Millennial beats veteran Democrat". BBC. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  21. ^ Jacobs, Ben (June 26, 2018). "Democrats see major upset as socialist beats top-ranking US congressman: Joe Crowley, 10-term Democrat expected to be party's next House leader, loses to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, in New York". The Guardian. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  22. ^ a b ABC News. "Elise Stefanik, the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress – ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  23. ^ "A top House Democrat just lost his primary — to a socialist". Vox. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  24. ^ "Democrat Who Slammed Israel for Gaza Killings Is Shock Winner of New York Primary". Haaretz. June 27, 2018.
  25. ^ Crookston, Paul (27 June 2018). "Dem Candidate Who Beat Crowley: DHS Operates Border 'Black Sites'". Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  26. ^ Pazmino, Gloria (June 15, 2018). "Crowley, Ocasio-Cortez argue future of the Democratic party in first and only primary debate". Politico. Retrieved June 26, 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |pagesfillv= (help)
  27. ^ Stein, Jeff (2018-06-27). "Analysis | Ocasio-Cortez beat Joe Crowley campaigning on Medicare for all, guaranteed jobs and abolishing ICE". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  1. ^ Stefanik won the election at age 30. Prior to Stefanik, the youngest woman to win an election to Congress was Elizabeth Holtzman, who was 31 when first elected in 1973.[22]

Further reading

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