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
CHAPTER 2 EARLY LIFE Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born on October 13 1989 She was born in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx New York Alexandria’s father Sergio was also born in the Bronx Sergio was from a Puerto Rican family He owned a small architecture company Alexandria’s mother Blanca was born in Puerto Rico She earned a living by cleaning houses Alexandria grew up speaking Spanish and English Approximately 1 5 million people live in the Bronx New York 9
