The new phenomenon of the political world is U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), otherwise known as "AOC." This upstart congresswoman was bartending last year. Now, the entire political world knows her by her initials.
A political action committee, Justice Democrats, recruited her to run for Congress. She was selected from a large group of candidates who submitted their credentials to the committee. Her political experience was minimal, including a stint as a volunteer for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and environmental protests. She had not run for office previously and was not known as a political figure in her district. However, with the financial support from the Justice Democrats, AOC was able to defeat a longstanding Democrat incumbent and the rest is history.