Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wins Democratic Primary Against Veteran Incumbent

28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just won the New York primary elections for her congressional district  and unseated the fourth most powerful Democrat in Congress.

“I’m optimistic because cynicism is a weapon,” she stated to NowThis earlier this year, “Cynicism is a weapon against normal people to count themselves out so that other people can take over. So, when we say, ‘Your vote doesn’t matter.’ ‘Everything is rigged so don’t even bother.’ That’s just a really easy way of just handing over the reins.”

The congressional candidate’s attitude about the election and her prospective position helped her to beat out seasoned incumbent Joe Crowley — and could help her win the race.

“The reason I am optimistic is because I am a person that’s choosing to take responsibility in this process. And we can all choose to take responsibility,” she explained. “We can all say, ‘You know what, this year I’m gonna vote in my primary.’ ‘You know what, this year I’m gonna read that news article about Medicare For All.’ ‘You know what, this year I’m gonna listen to that speech.’ ‘This year, I’m gonna talk to my kid’s teacher about what my kid’s college choices could be.’ And when we choose to take responsibility, then I think optimism normally flows from that.”