AOC'S FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE

Almost four years after her improbable arrival in Washington, CONGRESSWOMAN ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ has become the political voice of a generation-and a cultural star whose power transcends politics. Now, as the country hurtles toward the midterm elections, AOC opens up about the battle over abortion, her own shot at the presidency, and why it's urgent that men step up now.

- WESLEY LOWERY

FOR HER FIRST TWO YEARS in Washington, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walked the few blocks from her apartment to her congressional office nearly every morning, a routine she felt forced to change after a treasonous mob stormed the Capitol. Now she drives most days-a comically short commute she considers a necessary safety precaution. But for some reason-she's not quite sure why-the congresswoman decided to walk to work on what would become Washington's most tumultuous morning since the insurrection.

As she reached the Capitol grounds on June 24, a group of men stopped her for a photo. "I said 'Hello' and 'How are you all doing?" she'd later recall. "They're like, 'Well, you know... We've definitely been a lot better, given this morning.""

This was how the congresswoman learned that the Supreme Court had gutted the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The ruling had been anticipated for weeks-after a draft opinion from the court's conservative faction leaked-but somehow much of Washington still managed to appear blindsided. Democrats had expected to spend the afternoon celebrating the passage of a new gun control law. Now their day had morphed into a wake.

Out on the steps of the Capitol, a group of lawmakers gathered to sing "God Bless America, a preplanned photo op that now read as hopelessly out of touch: Angry Americans were spilling into the streets and elected Democrats were singing campfire songs. Ocasio-Cortez knew where she needed to be. It wasn't at a sing-along.

"Sometimes people ask, 'Oh, what's the point of protest?"" she told me later, recalling that day. The act of protest, she said, creates community. And participation by political leaders sends a message. "It's really important for people to feel like their elected officials give a shit about them," she said. "Not from on high, but from the same level."