28-year-old who took out Joe Crowley

Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old who took out Joe Crowley

By GLORIA PAZMINO and JIMMY VIELKIND

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old former Bernie Sanders organizer who defeated Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a stunning primary upset Tuesday, made her Queens-Bronx district's diversity — and the hot-button issue of immigration — a central part of her insurgent campaign.

Ocasio-Cortez, a 2011 graduate of Boston University, bested Crowley 57-42 after campaigning on abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and pushing the Medicare-for-all bill carried by Sanders, the independent Vermont senator. But above all, she argued that a 50-something white man with close ties to the real estate and pharmaceutical lobbies should no longer be representing one of America’s most ethnically diverse congressional districts.

“We met a machine with a movement,” the stunned Ocasio-Cortez said on NY1, rendered speechless by the strength of her returns.

Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, and her mother hails from Puerto Rico. Ocasio-Cortez told POLITICO earlier this year that after the recession hit she waitressed and bartended while her mom cleaned houses and drove school buses to stave off foreclosure on the family home. During her time in Boston, she worked for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, helping to handle foreign affairs and immigration casework for constituents in the district.

After college, Ocasio-Cortez worked for the National Hispanic Institute and was an organizer on Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid. PACs linked to Sanders’ bid supported Ocasio-Cortez, including Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. She was endorsed by Our Revolution, Democracy for America and the New York City Democratic Socialists of America.

She contended that Crowley’s donations from corporate PACs and Wall Street interests make him beholden to corporate interests. And although Ocasio-Cortez and Crowley shared most ideological views, the two had a clear split on immigration.

Ocasio-Cortez was among the first primary candidates in New York to call for the abolition of ICE — which proved to be a crucial point of connection for the heavily immigrant electorate she targeted throughout her campaign. In the waning days of the race, Ocasio-Cortez traveled thousands of miles to El Paso, Texas, to join protests at the child migrant detention facilities as the crisis over separated families at the border unfolded. The move had ripple effects back home. As she visited with voters on Tuesday several of them mentioned the presences of ICE in their conversations expressing their support.

Crowley for his part, stopped short of calling for ICE’s abolition, saying instead that the agency needed to be reformed despite describing it at one point as a “fascist” organization.

During the race, she often talked about how her family’s experience nearly losing its home to foreclosure opened her eyes to how the Queens Surrogate Court system works. That experience, she said, led her to learn about Queens County machine politics; she argues that the Queens power structure forced families like hers into foreclosure with little recourse.

“I started this campaign with a paper bag and a clipboard,” Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday the morning after her win.

New York’s 14th district, which straddles Queens and the Bronx, is a melting pot of Latino, South Asian and other minority voters. According to 2016 census data, out of an estimated total population of 691,715 people, the district was 50 percent Hispanic, 22 percent white, 12 percent Asian and 9 percent black.

Ocasio-Cortez stressed the district's diversity and told POLITICO recently that "there is a profound mismatch between the community and its representation. ... What is new about candidates that are not people of color, that are not women, that aren’t working-class, that don’t advocate for progressive policies?”

In debates, Ocasio-Cortez attacked Crowley for spending most of his time living outside of the district and for accepting money from Wall Street firms and other corporations. In one scheduled forum, Crowley sent a surrogate to debate Ocasio-Cortez.

On Monday, actor Cynthia Nixon — who is mounting her own insurgent primary challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo — cross-endorsed Ocasio-Cortez.

“She represents the future of the Democratic Party,” Nixon stated. “Alexandria and I are joining together to take on the old boys club, rejecting corporate money and run people-powered campaigns that envision a progressive New York that serves the many, not just the few who can afford to buy influence.”