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All Things Considered, AOC Has Already Left a Legacy.

No politician is perfect, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has certainly made a mark.

Lauren Elizabeth
3 min readJun 23, 2020
AOC via Getty Images

Tomorrow, my state of New York will be holding their primary election as the nation gears up for the upcoming general election in November. As we get ready to cast our ballots I can’t help thinking about down-ballot candidates inspired to rise to the occasion, and challenge the traditional way politics is done. At the same time, I can’t help thinking about those who have inspired them, and in New York in particular but around the nation as well, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is certainly one of them.

While of course Bernie Sanders was a spark that ignited a flame, I can’t help wondering how many leftists and progressives were inspired to run themselves after watching AOC rise to the occasion and succeed. Not only did she beat an incumbent, she beat the fourth most powerful democrat in congress. A congressmen who was among those being considered as Nancy Pelosi’s successor for Speaker of the House. She may only have been in congress for two years thus far, but the fact that candidates like Jamaal Bowman are following in her footsteps and challenging a candidate like a nearly forty year veteran lawmaker like Eliot Engel shows that she has already left a legacy.

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Lauren Elizabeth
Lauren Elizabeth

Written by Lauren Elizabeth

Lauren is a writer & leftist with analysis on topics related to politics & policy. She can be reached at LaurenMartinchek@gmail.com or Twitter @xlauren_mx

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