AN UNEXPECTED VICTORY In June 2018 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez waited for the results of a Democratic primary election A crowd of her supporters waited with her The 28-year-old was running to be a Democratic nominee for the US House of Representatives She hoped to represent New York’s 14th District This district included parts of Queens and the Bronx Ocasio-Cortez had lived in the district for much of her life Before the 2018 race for New York’s 14th District Ocasio-Cortez had never run for office 5 CHAPTER 1
However she was facing Joe Crowley This powerful Democrat had served in the House of Representatives for 20 years He had not faced a primary opponent in 14 years Most experts thought Ocasio-Cortez had no chance against Crowley She had much less experience and campaign money than he did But Ocasio-Cortez thought she could represent the 14th District better than Crowley could That district was one of the most diverse areas of New York City It was also a very low-income district Ocasio-Cortez was of Puerto Rican descent She knew what it was like to work for little pay She shared struggles with many in her district The primary results came in on TV Against all odds Ocasio-Cortez had won the election News reporters called it one of the biggest upsets of the 2018 elections 6
With the win Ocasio-Cortez became the Democratic candidate for New York’s 14th District The district was heavily Democratic That made Ocasio-Cortez the clear favorite to win the general election in November NEW YORK'S 14TH DISTRICT Bronx Manhattan Brooklyn Queens 7
