AOC just won her second term in a giant, expensive finger to Republicans

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has proven to the Republican Party that she is, in fact, here to stay. She beat John Cummings, a first-time Republican challenger, an overwhelming victory. Her win is particularly scathing as Cummings, a 60-year-old Catholic high school teacher and former New York Police Department officer, spent more than $10 million on his campaign. His campaign was thus the second most expensive in a race for a seat at the House of Representatives, The New York Times reports. He raised funds from donors across the country by attacking Ocasio-Cortez's far leftist stance.

Cummings spent his campaign funds on hiring expert Republican consultants and purchasing millions of dollars in advertisements. He also sent over 700,000 pieces of mail to the Congressional district. Despite these expensive efforts, he lagged behind his Democratic contender by almost 37 percentage points. All districts reported, and The Associated Press called the race at 10:09 pm. In sharp contrast to the Republican's method of fundraising, Ocasio-Cortez garnered over $17 million in campaign contributions. She has indeed made her mark on American politics as a leader of and by the people, garnering attention from both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

The rumor mill has already projected that the progressive will soon run for higher office, but Ocasio-Cortez did not comment on her future plans. On the eve of the elections, she spent her night at an outreach and voter education event in Sunnyside, Queens, speaking with community leaders and campaign volunteers. She informed a reporter she did not know what the future held for her. "People don’t believe me when I say this, but it’s true, though: I question even my future of staying in politics in general," the Representative said. "There’s a world where me staying in the House is the best thing that I can do. There’s a world where me serving in a different capacity is the best thing I can do. There’s a world where me not being in politics anymore and going back to school, teaching is the best thing that I can do."

She added in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, "I don’t know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like." For those familiar with her brand of politics, it is evident that she would not run for a higher position simply for status or power; her run would have to be motivated by the need to be a more effective leader. Waleed Shahid, a former senior aide to the House Representative, reinforced her genuine motivations. "[Her activism shows that] politics is not just what you do in your committee," he stated. "But also how you build pressure and social movements on the outside."

Whether she intends to or not, calls for her to run for President have already become popular. In 2024, she will be 35 years old, making her old enough to hold her own Vice Presidential or Presidential campaign. Nonetheless, some have noted that her time in the House has just begun. Jamaal Bowman, a progressive Democrat some have coined "the next AOC" is one of them. In June, he defeated 16-term incumbent Congressman Eliot L. Engel in the Democratic primary. Bowman affirmed, "I need the progressive movement to chill out for a second, she just got there, yo. She’s been there for two years and all of a sudden people are like she’s got to run for President? Calm down. She’s doing tremendous work from her current position." No matter what position she is in, Capitol Hill has not seen all of her yet.