Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Socialist who beat Rep. Joe Crowley in NY primary?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Defeats Rep. Joe Crowley in NY Primary Upset

A 28-year-old Democratic Socialist defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, a high-ranking Democrat, in Tuesday's New York primary, stunning election onlookers.

Here's what we know about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won with more than 57 percent of the vote:

1. The Bronx-born Latina activist said she "grew up in a working-class household." According to her campaign website, Ocasio-Cortez's mother, who is from Puerto Rico, cleaned houses and her father owned a small business before his death in 2008. She went to public school in Yorktown before attending Boston University, graduating in 2011 with degrees in international relations and economics. She later worked as a bartender, a waitress and an educational director for the nonprofit National Hispanic Institute, the Intercept reported.

2. She worked on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

Sanders congratulated Ocasio-Cortez in a tweet Tuesday night.

"Congratulations to @Ocasio2018 on her extraordinary upset victory tonight!" Sanders wrote. "She took on the entire local Democratic establishment in her district and won a very strong victory. She demonstrated once again what progressive grassroots politics can do."

>> See his tweet here

3. She ran on a progressive platform, backing universal health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and protections for immigrants.

>> See a roundup of her positions on key issues here

"What the Bronx and Queens needs is Medicare for all, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee and criminal justice reform," she says in a campaign ad. "We can do this now. It doesn't take 100 years to do this."

4. If elected, she would become "the youngest person ever elected to Congress," according to The New York TimesOcasio-Cortez, who will face Republican Anthony Pappas in November, would take that title from Republican Elise Stefanik, who became a congresswoman at age 30, the newspaper reported.

5. Crowley tweeted his support for Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday night. 

"I want to congratulate @Ocasio2018," he wrote. "I look forward to supporting her and all Democrats this November. The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don't win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love."

>> See his tweet here

Ocasio-Cortez replied: "Thank you, @JoeCrowleyNY, for your support and longstanding service to our community. I look forward to working towards a takeback of the House on a strong platform of economic, social, and racial justice for working class New Yorkers & Americans. Let's do this."

>> See her tweet here

6. Trump reacted to the results on Twitter, slamming Crowley without mentioning Ocasio-Cortez.

"Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi's place, just LOST his primary election," Trump tweeted Tuesday night. "In other words, he's out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!"

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He added: "The Democrats are in Turmoil! Open Borders and unchecked Crime a certain way to lose elections. Republicans are for Strong Borders, NO Crime! A BIG NIGHT!"

>> See the tweets here