Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents New York's 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens. First elected in 2018 at age 29, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Born in the Bronx to a working-class Puerto Rican family, she earned degrees in economics and international relations from Boston University. Before entering politics, she worked as a bartender and waitress, founded a publishing firm, and served as an educational director for the National Hispanic Institute. Her path to Congress began after volunteering for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign and visiting Standing Rock Indian Reservation, experiences that inspired her to run for office. She defeated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in a stunning primary upset despite being outspent 18 to 1.

Ocasio-Cortez serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with assignments to the Energy, Health, and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees. She is a vocal advocate for progressive policies including Medicare for All, tuition-free public colleges, a Green New Deal, and housing as a human right. Her signature legislation, the Green New Deal resolution, envisions a 10-year national mobilization to address climate change and economic inequality. She has also sponsored bills on home care worker wages, immigrant protections, and healthcare expansion.

Since her election, Ocasio-Cortez has become a leading voice of the Democratic Party's progressive wing and a prominent member of the informal congressional bloc known as "the Squad." She has been reelected in 2020, 2022, and 2024, and maintains a strong grassroots fundraising base, refusing corporate PAC contributions. Her legislative work emphasizes climate action, workers' rights, healthcare access, and foreign policy centered on human rights rather than military intervention.