Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina running her first campaign, ousted 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th congressional district last night.
“The reason I was able to do that is because we have built a legitimately strong grassroots movement of organizers here to hold it down for 24 to 48 hours,” she said, “and I think that’s reflective of the strength of what we have built here. It was an advantage, actually, because our community here really wanted to do something and they didn’t want to feel like they were choosing organizing the campaign over choosing to comment and organize around this moment.”
An activist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez won over voters in the minority-majority district with a ruthlessly efficient grassroots bid, even as Crowley — the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House — outraised her by a 10-to-1 margin.
This was the first time in 14 years a member of his own party has attempted to unseat Crowley, who chairs the Queens County Democrats. His defeat marks a potential sea change in the broader sphere of liberal politics.
Ocasio-Cortez also spent time at the front lines of the battle over US border policy under the Trump administration; last weekend, just days before the primary, Ocasio-Cortez left New York to join protests at an ICE detention center in Texas. She also managed to tie that activism, along with her vocal, unapologetic demand for the full abolition of ICE to the interests of her district’s diverse population.
“We have families and communities here (in the 14th District) from Ecuador and Colombia, Bangladesh, Korea, Pakistan, and I see them every day, many of them are very scared about what’s going on,” she said. “With my campaign, in terms of immigration, we’re trying to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back.'”
Recent Comments