Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, now widely known by her initials AOC, isn’t your typical US politician. Since her election in 2018, the bartender turned congresswoman has upended traditional politics. Her widespread popularity ranges from her progressive policy making, sassy social media presence and even her power dressing. She was elected at 29, making her the youngest woman to serve in the United States Congress.
AOC lived in the Bronx, part of New York’s 14th district that she represents, until she was five years old. Her family then moved to the prosperous suburb of Yorktown Heights, as her parents were determined to give her and her younger brother a better education. She credits this to be a pivotal realisation that “your ZIP code defines your destiny,” and this would go on to shape her policy decisions when elected.
After high school, AOC took out student loans to study economics and international relations at Boston University. During her sophomore year at college, her father died of lung cancer, ushering in severe financial hardship for her family. Her mother worked as a cleaner and school bus driver, while AOC began working at restaurants and bars after graduation to supplement her work at a non-profit organisation.
The beginnings of AOC’s political career came in college, where she interned for Senator Ted Kennedy’s office, focusing on immigration issues. In 2016, she volunteered for Bernie Sander’s election campaign and he has remained a mentor throughout her political progression.
Although AOC started to immerse herself in politics more and more, her path to Congress is anything but standard. In December 2016, her younger brother Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez sent her information to grassroots political organisation Brand New Congress, who recruited AOC for the 2018 election. They aim to represent the needs of everyday Americans through electing non-career politicians to Congress. As a bartender, AOC certainly fit the criteria.
Challenging powerful Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley seemed at first to be pretty much impossible. After all, Crowley had served 10 terms in Congress and had run unopposed since 2004, before AOC had even started high school.
However, AOC was not deterred. Her campaign started small; a politically inexperienced team and a group of volunteers canvassing the neighbourhood. She ran for New York’s 14th district, encompassing the east section of the Bronx, north-central Queens and Rikers Island.
Throughout the campaign, AOC refused to accept corporate funding and instead relied on small individual donors. In an incredibly rare political feat, 62% of contributions were individual donations of $200 or less.
AOC was still relatively unknown until May 2018, when her campaign video thrust her into the national spotlight within a few days. It emphasised her platform of representing the average New Yorker, “a New York for many” as she says in the video. This viral advertisement helped to spread the issues she ran on; free healthcare, tuition-free public college, a jobs guarantee and criminal justice reform.
On 26 June 2018, the unexpected happened. AOC unseated Crowley in the Democratic primaries, with 57% of the vote. Shock reverberated around the country as people grappled with what this would mean for Democratic politics. Clearly, AOC had not come to play by Washington’s rules.
Since her election, AOC has made waves in Congress, particularly with her controversial climate policy, The Green New Deal (GND). The GND calls for the US to shift towards meeting 100% of their power demand through zero-emission energy sources. Although the proposal was rejected by the Senate in March 2020, it was a powerful political statement for the Democratic party and is likely to be reintroduced.
Social media is another area where AOC shines as the woke politician of the future. She is renowned for writing all her own tweets, which vary from light hearted anecdotes to sharp clap backs. Before the 2018 election, she had 446,000 Twitter followers; she now has 8.5 million.
AOC is not afraid to take this relatable content outside the political realm, from casually building IKEA furniture on Instagram live to sharing her beauty secrets with eager followers. Her trademark lipstick, Stila Stay All Day Liquid in Beso, quickly sold out after she shared it on Twitter.
Authenticity is highly valued in today’s society, and AOC has got it down. Her political messages are infused with personal elements and she shows in many ways that she’s just like the rest of us. This hybrid image of politician and celebrity have made her an icon for millennials worldwide. The rise of AOC feels like a new age for US politics, one that everyone can be part of.
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