Meet the King of Swords (IRL) - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She was born in the Bronx, New York, on October 13, 1989. She's a Sagittarius Rising, Libra Sun (and stellium), and Aries Moon — the perfect air/fire blend to represent the King of Swords.

AOC was born to a working-class Puerto Rican family. She attended Boston University while interning for Ted Kennedy, focusing on immigration issues, and graduated in May 2011 with a degree in economics and international relations before moving back to the Bronx. She worked as a community organizer for a while, but her family was feeling the effects of the recession — her father had passed away from cancer when AOC was in college, leaving her mother cleaning houses to support two children and fighting constantly to keep the home out of foreclosure. To help out, AOC supplemented her nonprofit work with multiple jobs as a server and bartender. She's publicly credited that serving work with giving her thick skin: "I got really, really, really good at listening to people, and I got really good at understanding people's needs, beyond just food and drink," she said. "But I also had to grow a really thick skin to deal with rude customers and harassment."

At the time, Joseph Crowley was an undefeated 10-term Democratic congressman representing NY's 14th District — AOC's community — and hadn't faced a challenger in 14 years. He'd grown lazy and complacent in the role: largely absent from the district, out of touch with the people he represented, and not shaping policy around his constituents' actual needs. The one thing he remained effective at was fundraising.

After watching her family and neighbors struggle, AOC had had enough. It was time to do something about politicians who weren't in touch with what the community dealt with daily. She didn't have Crowley's funding, but she had airy ideas and a fiery sense of drive. She launched her bid in May 2017 with fewer than 300 Twitter followers, and her Facebook livestreams often weren't even breaking 100 likes. Her campaign was pure grassroots — she went door to door, personally speaking with people in her community, and it was refreshing for them to see a candidate who looked like and lived as they did. She ran on a platform that included abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Medicare for All, green energy, higher wages for the working class, higher tax rates for the wealthy, and tuition-free college.

Crowley was unfazed by the newcomer. He had the funding. He'd won ten times in a row. What did he have to worry about? As it turned out, plenty. In her campaigning, AOC spoke directly to Crowley's absenteeism. She understood the crushing financial burden on the working class and could speak to people from a place of empathy and lived experience — not from a mansion in another state. People responded, and things moved fast from there.

In April 2018, the NYC branch of the Democratic Socialists of America endorsed AOC, and by May 2018, her campaign video had gone viral. In June 2018, she beat Crowley by 15 points. By July, she was touring the US with Bernie Sanders campaigning for progressive candidates. Then in November 2018, she won the general election with 78% of the vote, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. In January 2019, she was sworn in with the most diverse class of congresspeople in US history.

She was re-elected for a second term on November 3, 2020. Since her election in 2019, AOC has remained vocal and polarizing across the political spectrum. Her work includes contributions to the Green New Deal, which aggressively aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and she's been particularly outspoken on reproductive rights and border issues throughout her time in office.

Regardless of your opinion on her policies, she is absolutely the King of Swords IRL. She's intelligent and driven, with a strong sense of justice and fairness, and she knows how to work within the system to change the system, as is so characteristic of the Kings. There's often a common-sense quality to the King of Swords, and she's got it. Where so many people would have said, "I can't run against Crowley, I'll never win," she understood that she didn't need PAC funding as long as she had relatable ideas and dedication to the goal.