Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, more commonly known by her initials AOC, came to prominence in the 2018 midterms when she defeated political veteran Rep. Joe Crowley, the overwhelming favourite slated to win the Democratic primary.

The 29-year-old, who was then running her first political campaign, went on to make history when she beat Republican candidate Anthony Pappas in the November midterms, becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in the US Congress.

Born in the Bronx, New York, to working class parents of Puerto Rican descent, Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, rose from obscurity as a community organiser and bartender little over a year ago, to be one of the most high-profile members of the House of Representatives.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez is a progressive politician who has spoken out on a range of social issues including immigration, LGBT+ equality, taxation, environmental policy and healthcare. She sponsored the Green New Deal resolution, aimed at eliminating the consumption of fossil fuels and greenhouse has emissions, advocates for “Medicare for All,” and has called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ocasio-Cortez has garnered a reputation for her passionate speeches at congressional hearings, as much as for her witty and sharply worded Twitter takedowns, where she frequently takes Republicans, establishment figures and President Donald Trump to task. Recently, the congresswoman has schooled Trump on the terms of impeachment, criticised the US administration’s treatment of migrants along the Southern border, and exposed the president’s DOE policies to make it harder for sexual assault survivors to report assault.

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