Midterm elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat rock star on the cusp of power
- Overnight, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went from total unknown to the toast of coastal America
- On Tuesday, she is virtually certain to be elected to Congress
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic superstar on the cusp of making history as the youngest woman elected to Congress, is a poster child for the left and a surge in minority women running for office.
The 29-year-old, blessed with telegenic looks, charisma and bursting with youthful idealism, is both a media darling and a lightning rod for criticism.
She has championed her working-class and Puerto Rican roots as the daughter of a cleaner and a father who died in his 40s, embodying a different generation of politician. She also shuns corporate donors.
“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” she said in a campaign video that helped her defeat a 10-term, Democratic Party grandee in her first political race in a New York primary in June.
Overnight, Ocasio-Cortez went from total unknown to the toast of coastal America, profiled in Vogue, a guest on late-night chat shows and jetting around the country lending her rock-star status to other insurgent candidates.
On Tuesday, she is virtually certain to be elected to Congress – an astonishing achievement for a woman who was working this year as a bartender – in a safe Democratic seat in diverse Queens and the Bronx.