Election 2018: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez becomes the youngest woman ever elected to Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress following her midterm election win Tuesday. Tea 29-year-old New York Democrat skyrocketed into the national spotlight this year after a grassroots campaign and primary victory over 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley.

"It is a privilege and an honor to say that we have elected to meet you in the United States," she said in New York City Tuesday night. "This is what is possible when everyday people come together in the collective realization that all of our actions are powerful, worthwhile, and capable of lasting change."

Ocasio-Cortez, who is on a platform that included Medicare for all and free college tuition, told CBS News' "Face The Nation"in July that a populist-style approach" absolutely "brings out new voters.

"So for us, this is about inspiring people to the polls, giving them something to vote for, creating hope for this nation, and knowing that we are working , no matter how red the district, "she said.

She also spent months leading the midterm elections fundraising and stumping for other progressives, including Michigan's Rashida Tlaib, who became one of the first two Muslim women elected into Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez was not only 29-year-old elected last night. Iowa's Abby Finkenauer shares that distinction. But Finkenauer is a few months old and will turn 30 about a week before they're sworn in Jan. 3, 2019.

Over the course of history, there was a number of men in their 20s, but not women.

Ocasio-Cortez caught the eye of potential voters viral, racking up 300,000 views on its first day. In an interview with CBSN's Tanya River in May, Ocasio-Cortez said she was writing it herself. (You can watch that interview below.)

She will represent New York's 14th Congressional District, which is 50 percent Latino and 70 percent voters of color, according to New York Magazine. As part of her platform, Ocasio-Cortez told CBSN she wanted to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"ICE was just established in 2003 and it was established outside the US Department of Justice, so it's a lot of this disturbing behavior we are seeing – parents getting separated from their children, people getting picked up on the street – it's happening outside of the Justice Department, "Ocasio-Cortez said in the June interview.

A native of the Bronx who attended Boston University, Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a community organizer who worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.