Ocasio-Cortez: Democratic socialism is ‘part of what I am, it’s not all of what I am’

New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday said her self-identification as a democratic socialist is “part of what I am, it’s not all of what I am.”

Ocasio-Cortez said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that while the public has been focused on her endorsement by the Democratic Socialists of America, she won by creating a “broad-based coalition of people.”

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She explained that, according to her vision of democratic socialism, “in a modern, moral and wealthy society, no American should be too poor to live.”

“To me, that means every working-class American in this country should have access to dignified health care — should actually be able to see a doctor without going broke,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“It means you should be able to send your kids to college and trade school if they so choose, and no person should feel precarious or unstable in their access to housing as our economy develops,” she added.

WATCH: Is House nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running as a Democrat or as a Democratic-Socialist? @Ocasio2018: “It’s part of what I am, it’s not all of what I am” #MTP #IfItsSunday pic.twitter.com/7eG0UPHaby

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 1, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez described herself as a “fighter” and said she intends to go to bat for the communities she’s “trying to represent.”

“For me, I’m a fighter,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I’m always one for a fight, especially when we see what the GOP has done. I feel like [the GOP is] kind of gaslighting the country where, when they want to fight, when they want to bend and break the rules and stretch the Constitution to its limits, they’ll do it but when they’re on the other side of the table, it’s, ‘Whoa, decorum.’ ”  

Ocasio-Cortez last week sent shockwaves through the Democratic party with her defeat of Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), the fourth-ranking House Democrat who many floated as a potential future Democratic Speaker of the House.

Her win prompted a widespread conversation about the palatability of democratic socialism within the Democratic Party. Ocasio-Cortez previously campaigned for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who also identifies as a democratic socialist, during the 2016 presidential election.

Ocasio-Cortez’s platform includes progressive policies including the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “Medicare for all.”

Ocasio-Cortez is expected to win the congressional seat in November in the deep-blue district.