Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Youngest Woman Elected To US Congress

On November 6, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, became the youngest woman in history to be elected to the US Congress. Ocasio-Cortez earned support from 78 per cent of voters in the congressional race for New York's 14th District.

There have been a number of men elected to Congress in their 20s, but not women

Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned on a platform that included Medicare for all and free college tuition, attained national spotlight earlier this year after a grassroots campaign and primary victory over 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley.

Crowley, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, represented the Bronx and Queens district for 10 terms and had not faced a primary challenger since 2004.

"This is what is possible when every day people come together in the collective realization that all our actions — no matter how small or how large — are powerful, worthwhile and capable of lasting change," Ocasio-Cortez said in a speech after her victory

About 50 per cent citizens in her district are immigrants

In addition to becoming the youngest woman elected to the House, Ocasio-Cortez is also the first representative to fully reflect the demographics of the 14th District. "Our district is 70 per cent people of color, and we have never had a person of color represent us in American history," she said.

Know more about Ocasio–Cortez

• Ocasio-Cortez is a progressive and a member of Democratic Socialists of America. She supports Medicare for All; a Jobs Guarantee; tuition-free public college; ending the privatization of prisons and enacting gun control policies.
• She was born on October 13, 1989, in New York. Her mother is from Puerto Rico and her father is from South Bronx.
• Ocasio-Cortez has a degree in economics and international relations from Boston University.
• After college, she returned home and found work as an educational director for the nonprofit National Hispanic Institute. But she was compelled to take on another job when the recession hit.
• Ocasio-Cortez has worked as a waitress and bartender to help her mother who used to work as a house cleaner. Her father was a small business owner who succumbed to cancer.

Words cannot express my gratitude.

The people of the Bronx and Queens, and countless supporters across the country, elected us on a clear mandate to fight for economic + social justice in the United States of America.

And that is what we will do. pic.twitter.com/kMYu804v4r

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 7, 2018

Picture Credit: Indian Express