AOC: There Were Times in the First Six Months Serving in Congress I ‘Felt Like I Couldn’t Do This’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is sharing how she felt the first six months after becoming a Congresswoman.

The New York lawmaker was sworn-in in January of 2019 and her first term ends in January of 2021 — she is seeking reelection. She won her district in the 2018 congressional elections against 10-term incumbent now-former Rep. Joseph Crowley.

Ocasio-Cortez is now making the cover of Vanity Fair’s December edition. Speaking with the magazine, she shared, “There have been many times, especially in the first six months, where I felt like I couldn’t do this, like I didn’t know if I was going to be able to run for reelection.”

“There was a time where the volume of threats had gotten so high that I didn’t even know if I was going to live to my next term,” she added. “Their sisterhood and their friendship, it’s not some political alliance. It’s a very deep, unconditional human bond.”

Ocasio-Cortez is part of “the squad” which consists of her, Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who all became freshmen representatives after the 2018 election.