By Ben Wynd
The rise of Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez to political stardom was unprecedented in American politics. 28 years old at the start of her campaign, AOC began her run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s 14th district. However, this would be a great challenge seeing that in order to win, she had to unseat Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley. Crowley was a well respected member of the Democratic party, and was even in talks to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House at one point. AOC had to do this while working as a bartender in New York’s union square. Carrying out a long, inspirational campaign of knocking on doors, refusing corporate donations, and making countless phone calls, AOC was able to secure the Democratic nomination. She faced Republican Anthony Pappas in the November 2018 midterms, and swept the election. This made Ocasio-Cortez the youngest woman to ever serve in the United States congress. The views of AOC make her one of the most progressive members of congress and she has consistently shown her support for former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Her leftist ideology has made her a target for conservative news outlets like Fox News and Breitbart. I admire Ocasio-Cortez because of her resilience. In her election campaign everything was stacked against her but through grassroots organization and honest work she was able to secure elected office. After being sworn in she faced vicious attacks from the right, who sought to disparage everything about her, from her policies all the way to her looks. However she always continues to fight for working people regardless of the obstacles in her way. That level of determination is something I think about every day.