‘She shows what’s possible’: Mondaire Jones on AOC and his path to Congress

Growing up in the New York suburbs, Mondaire Jones could not imagine himself running for public office. But after declaring victory in the Democratic primary for New York’s 17th congressional district earlier this month, the 33-year-old progressive is now poised to make history as one of the first ever openly gay, Black members of Congress. “I did not think that I could run successfully as an openly gay candidate for public office,” the lawyer…