Not all these policies reflect legislation that can be signed into law, and many hurdles remain before they could be implemented. Republicans retain control of Congress, and even if Democrats were to take power, it's unclear how many members of the Democratic Party would be on board. These proposals would also involve overhauling rules governing large parts of the U.S. economy, and many details would have to be worked out — including financing.<doc-sep>LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 20: U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Jacky Rosen (D-NV) speaks during a rally at the Culinary Workers Union Hall Local 226 featuring former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on October 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Early voting for the midterm elections in Nevada begins today. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar is greeted by her husband's mother after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Miller Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks to supporters after she was declared the winner over former Gov. Phil Bredesen in their race for the U.S. Senate Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Franklin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (CNN) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina running her first campaign, ousted 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th congressional district on Tuesday, CNN projects, in the most shocking upset of a rollicking political season. An activist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez won over voters in the minority-majority district with a ruthlessly efficient grassroots bid, even as Crowley – the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House – outraised her by a 10-to-1 margin. This was the first time in 14 years a member of his own party has attempted to unseat Crowley, who chairs the Queens County Democrats. His defeat marks a potential sea change in the broader sphere of liberal politics – a result with implications for Democrats nationwide that would recall, as optimistic progressives routinely noted during the campaign, former GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s loss to the insurgent, tea party-backed Dave Brat in June 2014. “This is not an end, this is the beginning. This is the beginning because the message that we sent the world tonight is that it’s not OK to put donors before your community,” Ocasio-Cortez told roaring supporters on Tuesday night. She cast her victory as the green shoots of triumph over the “deep midnight and darkness” of the political moment – and a message to fellow progressive organizers that their brand of activism could succeed on a grander scale. “You have given this country hope, you have given this country proof that when you knock on your neighbor’s door, when you come to them with love, when you let them know that no matter your stance, you are there for them — that we can make change,” she said. Even as Ocasio-Cortez ran defiantly to his left – with universal health care, a federal jobs guarantee and the abolition of ICE headlining her demands – Crowley touted a formidable liberal record of his own. He was the first member of the House Democratic leadership to sign on in support of “Medicare for all” and has been a vocal advocate for immigrants’ rights. But he also stumbled, repeatedly, on the campaign trail, the likely residue of passing so many years without a primary test. Citing scheduling conflicts, he missed a debate in the Bronx with Ocasio-Cortez, sending former city councilwoman Annabel Palma as a surrogate. The New York Times editorial board took note of his no-show, and warned the ambitious congressman against taking his constituents for granted. “What are we,” the board asked on behalf of voters, “chopped liver?” In an interview hours before the polls opened Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez called his absence that night “disrespectful, not just to me but to the entire community.” On Twitter after the debate, she noted that Palma, also Latina, bore a “slight resemblance to me.” “I understand he hasn’t been challenged for 14 years,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “but that doesn’t mean that an election isn’t happening. In fact, what’s happening right now is historic and it’s an opportunity to show up for the community.” She has also spent time at the front lines of the pitched battle over US border policy under the Trump administration. Last weekend, just days before the primary, Ocasio-Cortez left New York to join protests at an ICE detention center in Texas. “The reason I was able to do that is because we have built a legitimately strong grassroots movement of organizers here to hold it down for 24 to 48 hours,” she said, “and I think that’s reflective of the strength of what we have built here. It was an advantage, actually, because our community here really wanted to do something and they didn’t want to feel like they were choosing organizing the campaign over choosing to comment and organize around this moment.” She also managed to tie that activism, along with her vocal, unapologetic demand for the full abolition of ICE to the interests of her district’s diverse population. The child detention camps are here - I confronted the border officers myself. Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for. One of them made eye contact with me. I spoke directly to him. I saw his sense of guilt. We can dismantle this.#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/QLyc9MAnkt — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2018 “We have families and communities here (in the 14th District) from Ecuador and Colombia, Bangladesh, Korea, Pakistan, and I see them every day, many of them are very scared about what’s going on,” she said. “With my campaign, in terms of immigration, we’re trying to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back.’” Crowley also took some shots at ICE, calling it “fascistic,” but stopping short of demanding its elimination. During a televised debate with Ocasio-Cortez less than two weeks before the primary, Crowley argued that “simply abolishing the agency doesn’t take it out of the hands of (Attorney General) Jeff Sessions or this president.” He then pivoted to what had been a driving theme of his campaign – the argument that, with Trump in office, Democrats should lean on experienced lawmakers, and away from more ideological firebrands, to navigate the opposition on Capitol Hill. “It’s about making change in Washington,” said Crowley, who in his leadership role has raised money for Democrats around the country. “It’s about Democrats taking back control of the House of Representatives – and that’s what I’m about doing.” But with Tuesday’s results, he will be doing it from the sideline.<doc-sep>Today I saw people voting that are almost never seen in an off-year midterm primary. Just now, as I’m typing this with 8 minutes left, two young men of color, 20 years old, just walked up to me and said they just voted. 2 yrs ago, the “experts” told me not to bother with them.<doc-sep>In a shocking upset, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley has been defeated by a 28-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter in a Democratic congressional primary in New York. Crowley, the Queens Democratic party boss who has spent two decades in Congress, was thought to have an inside track to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority. He was defeated Tuesday by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who has never held elected office. Meanwhile, another prominent Sanders ally, former NAACP head Ben Jealous, won a crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary in Maryland. And a second insurgent in New York came within a few percentage points of ousting Rep. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., who days ago said she was "laughing" at the challenge. That made Tuesday a banner night for the party's progressive wing, which has had limited success in previous primaries this year. Jealous campaigned on legalizing marijuana and establishing a single-payer healthcare system in the state. He will face a tough battle in November against Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who is nonetheless extremely popular in the blue state. Ocasio-Cortez ran a low-budget campaign and was outspent by an 18-1 margin. She argued that Crowley had lost touch with his diverse district, both ideologically and demographically, and by spending too much time in Washington. "This race is about people versus money. We've got people, they've got money. It's time we acknowledge that not all Democrats are the same," she said in a biographic video released by her campaign. Crowley quickly conceded the race and vowed to support Ocasio-Cortez. "We will only be able to stop Donald Trump and the Republican Congress by working together, as a united Democratic Party," he said in a statement. President Donald Trump was quick to crow about the defeat of his political foe and fellow New Yorker. Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. 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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018 Crowley did not seem to sense the threat or raise the alarm and to ask for help. Neither were Ocasio-Cortez's allies on the left anticipating victory, and she appeared stunned and speechless in an interview with NY1 immediately after she found out she won. "This is the start of a movement. Thank you," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted shortly after midnight Tuesday. House Democratic Caucus Chair Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., seen during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Feb. 7, 2018, suffered a stunning left from a political newcomer who ran to his political left. Susan Walsh / AP file The upset is reminiscent former Republican House Minority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat to a Tea Party challenger in 2014, which sent reverberations through the party for years. Ocasio-Cortez has been a community organizer in the Bronx and worked on Sanders' presidential campaign. She campaigned on progressive policies like Medicare for All and abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). New York's 14th Congressional district, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx in New York City, is one of the most Democratic in the country, meaning Ocasio-Cortez is all but certain to make it to Congress. It's notoriously difficult to vote in New York primaries — it's the only state in the country that holds its congressional and gubernatorial primaries on different days — which critics say is intended to protect incumbents. But low turnout can also amplify the impact of an enthusiasm gap between candidates. Sanders congratulated Ocasio-Cortez in a tweet on her "extraordinary upset victory tonight!" saying she "demonstrated once again what progressive grassroots politics can do." Congratulations to @Ocasio2018 on her extraordinary upset victory tonight! 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. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 27, 2018 “Tonight, a star is born, and a political revolution is underway. It's starting here in New York," said Bill Lipton, the director of the progressive Working Families Party of New York. "Every political leader in America should be paying attention to what happened tonight in Queens and the Bronx."<doc-sep>
In one of the largest campaign upsets in years, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Bronx-born Democratic Socialist, beat Representative Joe Crowley, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House in New York's Democratic primaries Tuesday night. Ocasio-Cortez cinched the nomination with just $600,000 cash on hand, compared with Crowley's $3 million. Crowley has served in the House since 1999 and this is the first time he has been primaried in 14 years. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement acknowledged the work that Representative Crowley had done for the Democratic party and thanked him, at the end of the statement she tacked on one line congratulating Ocasio-Cortez on her victory. .@RepJoeCrowley has been an unwavering champion for America’s working families for almost two decades. I salute Chairman Crowley for a formidable legacy of achievement for the people of New York & congratulate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her victory. https://t.co/QJtQWMih2n — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 27, 2018 Here are five things you might not know about Ocasio-Cortez. She's a socialist who worked for Senator Bernie Sanders Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who campaigned on behalf of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election. When asked about her far-left political views, she told The Cut that, "It's really scary or it's easy to generate fear around an idea or around an -ism when you don't provide any substance to it. I believe that every American should have stable, dignified housing; health care; education—that the most very basic needs to sustain modern life should be guaranteed in a moral society." She wants to abolish ICE Just one week before her contentious race in New York, Ocasio-Cortez flew down to Texas to protest child detention camps. "The child detention camps are here—I confronted the border officers myself. Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for. One of them made eye contact with me. I spoke directly to him. I saw his sense of guilt. We can dismantle this," she Tweeted before adding "#AbolishICE." In an interview with Vogue, Ocasio-Cortez explained that, "When I talk about the abolishment of ICE, it is not a fringe position. [ICE] was established in 2003 in a suite of legislation that almost everybody recognizes as a mistake. People recognize the Patriot Act as a mistake. They regret voting for the AUMF [Authorization to Use Military Force], they regret the Iraq War, and DHS [the Department of Homeland Security], and ICE were right in there with all of that legislation." The child detention camps are here - I confronted the border officers myself. Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for. One of them made eye contact with me. I spoke directly to him. I saw his sense of guilt. We can dismantle this.#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/QLyc9MAnkt — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2018 She's partnering with Cynthia Nixon Ocasio-Cortez and Nixon have collaborated on their fight to abolish ICE and limit jail time for non-violent drug crimes. "The only way that you beat a machine is with a movement and the only way that this movement can sustain is if we start in good faith on shared values of a New York citizen. I think that is where Cynthia and I come together," she told The Cut. "I very much value the work and the impact that she has already made, due to the fact that she can go on The View and talk about abolishing ICE. What we can do is tag-team this message so that every community can hear it that needs to hear it. And I think that that kind of solidarity across lines is very, very powerful." President Donald Trump is happy with her win Representative Joe Crowley is a powerful Democrat who was floated as a potential future Speaker of the House. President Donald Trump was happy to see him go, and Tweeted about his loss moments after it happened. "Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi's place, just LOST his primary election," he wrote. "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!" Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening.