AOC on tour: Ocasio-Cortez navigates the expectations that come with fame

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was almost hidden from the street as she stood behind a nondescript building in Queens that a local nonprofit is buying with federal money. But people spotted her anyway, slowly trickling up the sidewalk and forming a small line to get a picture with her.

The New York congresswoman wrapped up her visit, did a quick interview with a Bengali-language TV crew and posed for pictures with the people who were hovering nearby.

For most members of Congress, such swings through the district are routine, an opportunity to connect with voters back home and remind them of the tangible impact of their work on Capitol Hill, such as the $2 million Ocasio-Cortez helped the Queens nonprofit secure as part of a $1.5 trillion government-wide spending bill. But for Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most prominent progressive voices in U.S. politics, such visits carry added significance.