Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have won her race for New York’s 14th district on Tuesday and consequently made history by becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have the same struggles as other millennials.
The 29-year-old is facing the very real problem of affording to move into an apartment in Washington, D.C., while going the next several months without a paycheck.
Speaking to The New York Times after her win, Ocasio-Cortez noted that she “can’t really take a salary. I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.”
While she saved money from her restaurant job before leaving to run for office and had reportedly “planned accordingly with her partner,” Ocasio-Cortez noted that it’s a “very real” struggle. “We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day,” she explained, “but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January.”
But rest assured, the incoming congresswoman is working on getting a plan in place. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead. This is one of them (don’t worry btw – we’re working it out!)”
There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead.
This is one of them (don’t worry btw – we’re working it out!)
⬇️ https://t.co/PEQ5ccSDSO— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 8, 2018
Her own path indicates that she will work it out just fine. The day after the election, Ocasio-Cortez suggested as much, tweeting, “Last year I was bartending, and I bought my first couch two weeks ago – shortly after I got health insurance 😬So don’t worry, growth doesn’t happen in a straight line! We’re all closer than we believe.”
Last year I was bartending, and I bought my first couch two weeks ago – shortly after I got health insurance 😬
So don’t worry, growth doesn’t happen in a straight line! We’re all closer than we believe. Https://t.co/G6ZEIgVoR8
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 7, 2018