Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a 28-year-old Democratic Socialist you may never have heard of until now.
But tonight, she became one of the biggest names in politics when she took down Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a New York House primary unabashedly, challenging him from the left and pulling off a huge upset.
Ocasio-Cortez was declared the winner around 9:00pm ET tonight, and her reaction when she realized she might win instantly captured the internet’s heart.
“We meet a machine with a movement. That is what we have done today.” @Ocasio2018 looks up at @NY1 screen and realizes how big her lead is. #NY14 pic.twitter.com/SFSLQPqTXP
— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) June 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/SJPalumbo/status/1011791964868677632
She also practically live tweeted her shocking upset.
Almost two years ago, I started what was then a completely ‘impossible’ bid for Congress.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 27, 2018
Since then, everything has changed.
Now, there’s only 20 minutes left.
And it feels great.
Crowley was one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the House and was considered a possible contender for Speaker of the House if Democrats took the House in 2019.
Instead, he lost to the political neophyte who ran far to the left of him. Ocasio-Cortez, a former Bernie Sanders organizer, took an extremely progressive platform, speaking out about abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.
The child detention camps are here – I confronted the border officers myself.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2018
Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for.
One of them made eye contact with me.
I spoke directly to him.
I saw his sense of guilt.
We can dismantle this.#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/QLyc9MAnkt
It was a platform Ocasia-Cortez adopted long before it became messaging for more centrist Dems. She has been an advocate for a federal jobs guarantee and Medicaid for all, positions that, along with her ICE stance, put her firmly to the left of America’s most popular progressive, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.-Vt.).
Crowley’s district, the New York 14th in Queens and the Bronx, has a large Hispanic population and saw an increase in ICE raids that Ocasia-Cortez campaigned against.
WATCH: “The only way you defeat an incumbent is by outworking them.” Back in November, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ocasio2018 gave us tips on how to defeat an incumbent. Tonight she did it. https://t.co/8OVgwsXyWq pic.twitter.com/yTmmU1sX1Z
— WNYC 🎙 (@WNYC) June 27, 2018
Crowley conceded the race on Twitter and said he would campaign for her.
I want to congratulate @Ocasio2018. I look forward to supporting her and all Democrats this November. The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don’t win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love.
— Joe Crowley (@JoeCrowleyforNY) June 27, 2018
After seeing the Crowley defeat, President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter, although it appears he missed the message.
Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018
Somehow it seems unlikely Ocasio-Cortez is planning to run on a promise to be nicer to Donald Trump.
