Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989) is an American politician, educator, community organizer, and political activist. On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district, defeating the incumbent, Democratic Caucus Chair Joseph Crowley, in what has been described as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm-election season. (She also unintentionally won the Reform Party primary in New York's 15th congressional district as a write-in candidate, but declined that nomination.) Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has been endorsed by various politically progressive organizations and individuals. 2Early life and education Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, New York City, on October 13, 1989, to Blanca Ocasio-Cortez (née Cortez) and Sergio Ocasio. Her father, an architect, was also born in the Bronx, while her mother was born in Puerto Rico. Until age five, Ocasio-Cortez lived with her family in an apartment in the neighborhood of Parkchester. The family then moved to a house in Yorktown Heights, a suburb in Westchester County. Growing up, Ocasio-Cortez regularly visited the Bronx to visit extended family.From 2003 to 2007, Ocasio-Cortez attended Yorktown High School, where she won second prize in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a research project on microbiology. As a result, the International Astronomical Union named a small asteroid after her: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez. In high school, she took part in the National Hispanic Institute's Lorenzo de Zalvala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Sessio