AOC is the right’s new villain. And in Queens, they love her for it.

Mystery novelist Radha Vatsal was playing detective.

The Queens resident had recently heard about an upstart young woman who was taking on the district’s longtime Democratic congressman, Joe Crowley. Ms. Vatsal wanted to learn more about her, but couldn’t recall her name.

“I was like, ‘Ocasio something,’” says Ms. Vatsal, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 17 years. “I just remember my experience of googling it and trying all different variations, and nothing would come up.”

That was in April of 2018. Later that month, Ms. Vatsal’s mystery woman would secure four times the number of signatures she needed to get on the ballot in New York’s 14th district. In June, she’d stun political observers by drubbing Mr. Crowley in the Democratic primary. And in November, she’d become the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress.  

Today, a search of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turns up countless headlines, videos, and tweets. A recent Gallup survey found that at least 70 percent of Americans now know her name.

The congresswoman’s exploding fame has given her a