Our favourite representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the New York 14th Congressional District smoothly achieved a landslide victory on Tuesday, November 3, amid the US election. The news came alongside progressive congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, a quartet of progressive congresswomen who supporters refer to as “The Squad”, and were also re-elected into The House. The politicians represent New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Michigan.
Ocasio-Cortez reached victory against John Cummings, a 60-year-old first-time Republican challenger who is a Catholic high-school teacher and former NYPD officer. Despite Cummings having raised over $10 million in his campaign - making it the second more expensive House race in the country - Ocasio-Cortez's victory was a smooth win, with the 31-year-old congresswoman having raised $17 million in campaign contributions, and winning 68% of votes in the 14th Congressional District.
"Serving NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life. Thank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more." Ocasio-Cortez stated via Twitter shortly after her win.
Cummings reportedly gathered support from donors around the country, using many Republicans disagreement of Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive seat in the Democratic Party’s left.
As for "The Squad", Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib are consistently targeted with racist sentiments, but this hasn't prevented them from reaching victory. In a post-win tweet for all four candidates, Omar stated, "Our sisterhood is resilient." carrying on to say, "We are building a movement that sees my struggle as inherently tied to your struggle, and sees a world where all workers can be uplifted. Together. Today’s vote - the results of this election - are not the end. This is just the beginning." In a second tweet.
In Ocasio-Cortez's case, her victory is no surprise, and we can't see her stopping there any time soon. As the youngest woman to be elected to Congress in history, there is speculation the congresswoman may have her sights set on a higher office in the future, telling Vanity Fair in her recent interview, “I don’t know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like,”. She confirmed she would only seek a higher position should it make her more effective, and not just for the sake of it.
In the meantime, we can't wait to witness what the Congresswoman's success means for New York in the future.
