Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or better known by her initials, AOC, is currently serving as the United States Representative for the 14th congressional district of New York. Elected into the House of Represetatives in June of 2018, AOC has only been a member of congress for just over two years. However, she has already made a name for herself in Washington D.C.
She is a member of the Democratic party, as well as the Democratic Socialists of America and frequently speaks out on topics such as medicare for all, the green new deal, federal job security and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. AOC is a shameless, powerful woman of color making a name for herself day by day in American politics. Her moral compass and determination have made her a role model for Americans and people everywhere.
- She is the youngest woman ever elected to congress
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Taking office in the House of Representatives at age 29, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman to ever be elected to the United States Congress. In doing so, she instantly caught the attention of young women and women of color everywhere and became someone to look up to.
- She’s not afraid to stand up to Trump and his supporters
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On October 23, 2020 AOC posted a photo of herself to Instagram alongside congresswomen Omar, Pressley and Tlaib which she captioned, “When your sisterhood is so powerful the President of the United States can’t stop thinking about it.” This was in retaliation to an endless back and forth between Donald Trump and these four congresswomen of color who have become known as “The Squad.”
While Donald Trump, backed by his supporters, has continuously challenged and attempted to belittle AOC and her beliefs, she continues to stand strong and make her voice heard.
- She was heavily underestimated
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Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic Party’s primary election for New York’s 14th congressional district by defeating her opponent, 10-term incumbent, Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley. This win was labelled as the biggest upset victory of the 2018 midterm election primaries. AOC found herself 36 points behind Crowley three weeks prior to the election yet won by 15, and did so despite only spending 10 percent of Crowley’s campaign budget.
“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” AOC posted to Facebook in 2017. “I wasn’t born into a rich or powerful family. My dad died when I was a teenager. I’ve waitressed my way through hard times and dealt with disappointment. The dress im wearing is from a thrift shop. The ring on my hand is my mother’s – a reminder of every floor shes mopped so that her daughter could have a chance.”
- She consistently stands up for herself and fights for what she believes in
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AOC has described democratic socialism as “part of what I am. It’s not all of what I am. And I think that that’s a very important distinction.”
In line with this title, she supports many progressive policies. These include such policies as medicare for all, tutition-free public college, student debt relief, federal job guarantee, abolishing I.C.E., ending privitization of prisons, guaranteed family leave and 100% renewable-relient energy and gun control.
She has also called climate change “the single biggest national security threat for the United States and the single biggest threat to worldwide industrialized civilization.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is proud to support these policies and not ashamed to fight for them and recieve hate from opponents. In her two and a half years in Congress she has already created a stir amongst Wasington D.C. in doing so.
- She’s real
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has continuously proven herself to be down-to-Earth and has recognized her equality with all other American citizens despite her political position. She has a strong and supportive social media presence and uses it to reach her young audience and make them feel heard.
When a video surfaced of Ocasio-Cortez dancing in a student film from college, her opponents attempted to use it as smear content against her. AOC retailiated with a new video of her laughing and dancing outside of her office captioned “congresswomen can dance too.”
Following a similar fashion of steadfast character, in July of 2020, Republican Representatives Ted Yoho and Roger Williams verbally-accosted Ocasio-Cortez on the steps of the capitol calling her “disgusting,” “out of her freaking mind” amongst shouting profanities at her. AOC walked away and later gave a formal response to the attack in which she condemned male privilege, systemic sexism and verbal violence against women.
In this address, the congresswoman stated “I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”
Within her two-and-a-half years serving as a congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has earned the attention and respect of young people, women, people of color, the LGBTQ community and Americans everywhere. She is expected to have a long career in politics to come with increasing support from those around her. Meanwhile, she continues to make her voice heard and stand tall for what she believes in, fighting for what she knows is right for the American people.