"We beat a machine with a movement, and that is what we have done today," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Working-class Americans want a clear champion and there is nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018."
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Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held elected office, ran a low-budget campaign and was outspent by an 18-1 margin. She won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party's left, including MoveOn.
Here are some things to know about the young challenger who defeated Crowley.
--She was born in the Bronx and grew up in a working-class household. Her father was from the South Bronx, while her mother was born in Puerto Rico.
--Ocasio-Cortez would attend public school in Yorktown growing up and eventually go on to study at Boston University, where she earned degrees in economics and international relations.
--It was during her years at college where she also spent time working for Senator Edward Kennedy.
--After graduating, she returned to the Bronx where she became a community organizer. During the 2016 presidential campaign, she worked as an organizer for Senator Bernie Sanders.
--Among her issues is expanding the Medicare program to people of all ages and abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. She recently went to Tornillo, Texas, to protest against policies that have separated parents from their children at the southern U.S. border.
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--Ocasio-Cortez gained some internet attention for a campaign video called "The Courage to Change," a two-minute spot for which she wrote the script and featured footage from her own home.
--Just nine months ago, she was running her campaign while still working as a server in a restaurant.
Crowley, head of the Queens County Democratic Party, had been considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.
Crowley has been in Congress since 1999, where he's represents New York's 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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