136 Facts About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she double-majored in international relations and economics, graduating with honors.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez moved back to the Bronx, becoming an activist and working as a waitress and bartender.

On June 26,2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew national recognition when she won the Democratic Party's primary election for New York's 14th congressional district.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Democratic Caucus chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, in what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was, alongside Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two female members of the Democratic Socialists of America elected to Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a prominent leader of the left-wing faction of the Democratic Party, and a member of "the Squad", a progressive congressional bloc.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx on October 13,1989, the daughter of Sergio Ocasio-Roman and Blanca Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's father was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican family and became an architect; her mother was born in Puerto Rico.

The family lived in an apartment in the Bronx neighborhood of Parkchester until Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was five, when they moved to a house in suburban Yorktown Heights.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said her family raised enough money to buy a small home there so she could go to school, and that her mother worked as a house cleaner in the town.

In high school and college, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went by the name of "Sandy Ocasio".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came in second in the microbiology category of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2007 with a research project on the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that the experience helped her learn "first-hand how attorneys appointed by the court to administer an estate can enrich themselves at the expense of the families struggling to make sense of the bureaucracy".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez later launched Brook Avenue Press, a now-defunct publishing firm for books that portrayed the Bronx in a positive light.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she was first exposed to the Democratic Socialists of America when a friend brought her to a local meeting in Upper Manhattan.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has credited Jabari Brisport's unsuccessful City Council campaign with restoring her belief in electoral politics, in running as a socialist candidate, and in the DSA as an organization.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez began her campaign in April 2017 while waiting tables and tending bar at Flats Fix, a taqueria in New York City's Union Square.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the first person since 2004 to challenge Joe Crowley, the Democratic Caucus Chair, in the primary.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent former New York City Council member Annabel Palma in his place.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by progressive and civil rights organizations such as MoveOn and Democracy for America.

California representative Ro Khanna, a Justice Democrat like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, initially endorsed Crowley but later endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in an unusual dual endorsement.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was outspent by a margin of 18 to1 but won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party's left.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by various politically progressive organizations and figures, including former president Barack Obama and US senator Bernie Sanders.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the Netroots Nation conference in August 2018, and was called "the undisputed star of the convention".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the WEP, which Governor Cuomo created ahead of the 2014 New York gubernatorial election, a cynical, centrist group that endorsed male incumbents over female challengers like her and Cynthia Nixon.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's election was part of a broader Democratic victory in the 2018 midterm elections, as the party gained control of the House by picking up 41 seats.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew a great amount of media attention when she and Sanders campaigned for James Thompson in Kansas in July 2018.

Until she defeated incumbent Joe Crowley in the 2018 Democratic primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received little coverage on most traditional news media outlets.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign was featured on the cover of the June 2018 edition of The Indypendent, a free New York City-based monthly newspaper.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded by posting a video of herself dancing to Edwin Starr's "War" outside her congressional office.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only one of the women featured in the film to win.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared in Lears's 2022 film To the End, which focuses on the effects of climate change.

The American Prospect wrote in October 2020 that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was "spending the 2020 campaign running workshops" for constituents on workplace organizing, fighting eviction, and organizing childcare.

On October 20,2020, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a Twitch stream of the social deduction game Among Us, with fellow congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and many established streamers such as Pokimane, Hasan Piker, DrLupo, and mxmtoon.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez again streamed Among Us on Twitch on November 27,2020, with Hasan Piker, xQc, ContraPoints and Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh to raise money for food pantries, eviction defense legal aid, and community support organizations to assist those suffering economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Republican Tina Forte and Conservative Party nominee Desi Cuellar in the general election.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked those who split their tickets why they did so; some said that they both cared about the working class and were "less establishment", while others cited the Gaza war and the economy.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the most followed user on Bluesky, with 2 million followers as of March 2025.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's colleagues appointed her to teach them social media lessons upon her arrival in Congress.

On November 4,2019, it was announced that the lawsuit had been settled; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued an apology.

In November 2018, on the first day of congressional orientation, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez participated in a climate change protest outside the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In February 2019, speaking at a Congressional hearing with a panel of representatives from campaign finance watchdog groups, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned the panel about ethics regulations as they apply to both the president and members of Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asserted that no regulations prevent lawmakers "from being bought off by wealthy corporations".

When President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen appeared before the Oversight Committee in February 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked him whether Trump had inflated property values for bank or insurance purposes.

David Bauder of the Associated Press wrote that Trump's supporters were thus having "some success" in having "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez be top of mind when people think of" the Democratic Party.

The Guardian David Smith wrote that this is evidence that Fox is "obsessed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, portraying her as a radical socialist who threatens the American way of life".

Stelter wrote that the attention Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is receiving has caused "the perception, particularly on the right, that her positions and policies are representative of the Democratic Party as a whole".

In March 2019, Time Magazine said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the "second-most talked about politician" in the United States, after Trump, and called her "the Wonder Woman of the left".

In March 2019, PolitiFact reported that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "one of the most targeted politicians for hoax claims, despite the fact that she just entered Congress as a freshman".

Rispoli posted the comment in response to a fake news article that falsely quoted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as saying, "We pay soldiers too much".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is known to wear red lipstick, usually by the American makeup brand Stila Cosmetics in the shade "Beso", as a style trait of Latina women from the Bronx.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended the 2021 Met Gala, which had the theme "In America: a Lexicon of Fashion".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore an organza gown emblazoned with the phrase "Tax the Rich".

In September 2021, the American Accountability Foundation filed an ethics complaint against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for attending the Met Gala.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of an informal group of progressive members of Congress called "the Squad", initially including Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continued to make similar comments over the next several days, even though three of the women, including Ocasio-Cortez, were born in the United States.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez submitted her first piece of legislation, the Green New Deal, to the House on February 7,2019.

The group said it was inspired by the Sunrise Movement and the work Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done in the US.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the officer did not self-identify, and said she first believed the officer's voice was that of an attacker.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described sheltering in place in Representative Katie Porter's office and preparing for what she believed would be an assault by rioters on their offices.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave her first major convention speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where she was given a primetime slot.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed support for the Harris-Walz campaign and heavily criticized Trump, calling him a union buster who would "sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaned into her middle-class background and said that Harris would support the middle class because she is from it and understands it.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed the Gaza war, saying Harris was "working tirelessly" for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Politico wrote that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of the party's "most celebrated stars" and that the establishment acknowledged it.

The speech led to speculation about whether Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would run for higher office.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reacted to the 2021 Texas power crisis by organizing a fundraiser to provide food, water, and shelter to affected Texans.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the families she sees in her urban community who need to rely on check cashing companies that charge exorbitant interest rates due to the absence of mainstream banks.

On November 5,2021, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as it was decoupled from the social safety net provisions in the Build Back Better Act.

In September 2022, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked about running for president.

In May 2023, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a part of a bipartisan group, including Matt Gaetz, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, that introduced the "Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act".

In June 2024, following reports that Clarence Thomas accepted undisclosed gifts from conservatives, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the Court was "corrupted by money and extremism" and undemocratic.

In July 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported and co-led the "DEFIANCE Act", which would allow people to sue creators and distributors of non-consensual deepfake pornography of themselves, something that had previously been done to her.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the court was corrupt and that Congress must defend the nation against an "authoritarian capture".

In December 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a bid for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, but lost to the more senior Gerry Connolly.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been described as progressive, left-wing, left-wing populist, and far-left.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and embraces the democratic socialist label as part of her political identity.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Anderson Cooper that she favors policies that "most closely resemble what we see in the UK, in Norway, in Finland, in Sweden".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejected state socialism, calling it "undemocratic" and "easily corrupted", but has expressed support for worker control of the means of production.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that market economies are not incompatible with democratic socialism as long as workers control companies, citing worker cooperatives as a model.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supports raising the marginal tax rate on top income earners to fund the implementation of her policy goals.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the 46 House Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been a vocal supporter of labor rights, including a $15 per hour federal minimum wage.

In September 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced an anti-poverty policy proposal that would take into account the cost of childcare, health care, and "new necessities" like Internet access when measuring poverty.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has opposed and voted against the pay-as-you-go rule supported by Democratic leaders, which requires deficit-neutral fiscal policy, with all new expenditures balanced by tax increases or spending cuts.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opposed a planned deal by New York City to give Amazon.

In 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took part in a live-streamed roundtable with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, discussing "efforts to check unlawful corporate power".

Later, in response to investor and Harris supporter Mark Cuban saying that he wouldn't keep Khan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said "anyone goes near Lina Khan and there will be an out and out brawl".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for "more environmental hardliners in Congress", calling climate change "the single biggest national security threat for the United States and the single biggest threat to worldwide industrialized civilization".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said she has an "open mind" about nuclear power's role in the Green New Deal, but has been criticized for ignoring it in her proposals for the deal.

In 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, supported by Bowman and Sanders, introduced the "Green New Deal for Public Housing", a plan to fund the New York City Housing Authority and help it transition to clean energy.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the American companies Activision Blizzard and Apple for censoring pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized President Trump's administration for escalating tensions with Iran, saying that it would bring the country into a "military conflict that is completely irresponsible".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported the Mahsa Amini protests, saying, "right to choose belongs to us all, from hijabs to reproductive care".

In May 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the Israel Defense Forces' use of deadly force against Palestinians participating in the 2018 Gaza border protests, calling it a "massacre" in a tweet.

In July 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voted against a House resolution introduced by Representative Brad Schneider condemning the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that Israel's planned annexation of Palestinian territories in the occupied West Bank "would lay the groundwork for Israel becoming an apartheid state".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that she would work to "pursue legislation that conditions the $3.8billion in US military funding to Israel to ensure that US taxpayers are not supporting annexation in any way".

In May 2021, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a statement condemning Israel's evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez apologized for her vote after receiving criticism on social media from some supporters of Israel and of Palestine but maintained her opposition to the bill due to Israel's "persistent human rights abuses against the Palestinian people".

In 2023, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, calling it "horrifying attacks against innocent civilians".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2024 speech to Congress, calling him a war criminal.

On September 18,2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned Israel for the 2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez again called for expansion in September 2021 after the Court voted not to grant an emergency stay of the Texas Heartbeat Bill.

In March 2022, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Justice Clarence Thomas to resign over his wife's texts urging President Trump's chief of staff to overturn the 2020 presidential election, raising a possible impeachment effort if he did not.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez alleged that the two had lied under oath about their views on Roe during their confirmation hearings.

In June 2022, after the Supreme Court made several consequential rulings and granted certiorari to Moore v Harper, which has a potential impact on future elections, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that the US was "witnessing a judicial coup in progress".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported impeaching Trump a second time for his attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that Trump should be permanently barred from office and impeached.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has advocated for granting Puerto Ricans further civil rights, regardless of Puerto Rico's legal classification.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was critical of FEMA's response to Hurricane Maria and the federal government's unwillingness to address Puerto Rico's political status.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the federal government should increase investment in Puerto Rico.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she supported him and that her focus was defeating Republicans in the election.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supports transitioning to a single-payer healthcare system and considers medical care a human right.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that a single government health insurer should cover every American, reducing overall costs.

In June 2019 and in July 2021, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed legislation that would remove restrictions placed on researching the medical use of psilocybin.

In 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson: "this is not to say that an act of violence is justified", but "people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supports codifying the right to abortion, and is a member of the House pro-choice caucus.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned in favor of establishing tuition-free public colleges and trade schools.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said she is still paying off student loans herself and wants to cancel all student debt.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has expressed support for defunding and abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on multiple occasions.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez later clarified that this does not mean ceasing all deportations.

Two days before the primary election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended a protest at an ICE child-detention center in Tornillo, Texas.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cited "expert analysis", linking to an Esquire article quoting Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, who had made a similar claim.

In July 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited migrant detention centers and other facilities in Texas as part of a congressional delegation to witness the border crisis firsthand.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that women in one cell said they had not had access to showers for two weeks and were told to drink water from the toilet when their sink broke, and that one woman said that her daughters had been taken from her two weeks earlier and she did not know where they were.

In January 2021, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed support for the Roadmap to Freedom resolution to guide future immigration policy championed by Representative Pramila Jayapal.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said she supports the community and thanked its members for their role in her campaign.

At the January 2019 New York City Women's March in Manhattan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave a detailed speech in support of measures needed to ensure LGBTQ equality in the workplace and elsewhere.

At the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on February 27,2020, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued for LGBTQ equality in the context of her religious background.

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory named the asteroid 23238 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after her when she was a senior in high school in recognition of her second-place finish in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was named the 2017 National Hispanic Institute Person of the Year by Ernesto Nieto.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was named as one of the 2019 BBC 100 Women.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez still has family in Puerto Rico, where her grandfather was living in a nursing home before he died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussed her faith and its impact on her life and her campaign for criminal justice reform in a 2018 article she wrote for America, the magazine of the Jesuit order in the United States.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a pet French Bulldog named Deco, after the Art Deco movement.