WASHINGTON — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits the road to Michigan this weekend, where she’ll lend her star power to a crop of political progressives — including the first Muslim women to run for Congress.

Since she snuffed out Queens Rep. Joe Crowley in June, Ocasio-Cortez has dedicated significant resources to building up a brigade of new progressives across the country seeking to shake up the establishment.

Her public appearances and social media shout outs have helped underdog candidates garner national attention, fresh donations and volunteer support. After Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied for Democratic candidate Brent Welder in Kansas, he raised $110,000 in less than a week.

Ocasio-Cortez’s goal is to help Democrats win back the House in November and have a fresh class of like-minded reps banding together to force action on unabashed progressive priorities – such as Medicare for all, tuition-free college, immigration reform and a $15/hour minimum wage.

“What we need is people who are ready to help champion that (platform) and bring it to fruition,” Corbin Trent, spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez, said of a new crop of reps working together with like-minded veteran lawmakers.

Similar to how the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus holds sway in the GOP House majority, a small sub-caucus of Democratic socialists and their allies could have the power to affect legislation in a narrow Democratic majority.

“We’ve seen throughout our history as a nation that it doesn’t take a whole lot of people. It just takes dedicated people to make significant changes, whether it’s the foundation and formation of this country, or whether it’s the ending of slavery or it’s civil rights, things start with small groups and they grow into a much bigger movement,” Trent said.

Ocasio-Cortez had been campaigning in Kansas, Missouri and on Saturday she’ll stump in Michigan.

First she’ll hold rallies around the state for Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive underdog seeking to win the Democratic primary for governor on Aug. 4. He’d be the first Muslim governor in the United States.

On Sunday she’ll attend a Muslim get-out-the-vote rally where two congressional candidates are trying to become the first female Muslims in the House– Fayrouz Saad and Rashida Tlaib.

There are two Muslim men in Congress — Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Andre Carson (D-Ind.) — but no women.

Ocasio-Cortez could risk antagonizing Jewish voters in her Queens district by campaigning with Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who opposed recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In her first foray into Middle East politics two weeks ago, Ocasio-Cortez stumbled.

In an interview on PBS, she criticized the “occupation of Palestine” while supporting “Israel’s right to exist.”

Pressed on her stance, Ocasio-Cortez admitted “I am not the expert” on the issue.

Saad, 35, said she “100 percent” agrees with the power a sub-caucus in Congress and hopes she can join Ocasio-Cortez in DC.

“It’s absolutely an opportunity to really make a difference,” said Saad, who supports getting rid of ICE in its current form and expanding the G.I. bill beyond the military.

Saad said she’s counting on Ocasio-Cortez’s presence to energize voters in her district.

“Her election has given a lot of people that confidence that they needed to feel that a progressive message can win and candidates who are there are viable, are credible and have the ability to do it. And that’s where the electorate is at too,” said Saad, who refuses corporate PAC money.

There’s already a progressive caucus in the House, but it’s large, institutionalized and represents a diversity of views. The Freedom Caucus on the right, however, has a renegade spirit, wreaked havoc on House speakers and risks drastic action, such as a government shutdown, to force a principled point.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) co-chairs the Progressive Caucus and acknowledges Ocasio-Cortez’s win shows the demands from the progressive base need to be taken seriously.

“The new crop leadership coming into the House comes in with more urgency and comes in (believing) that patience is not necessarily a virtue,” Grijalva said. “It behooves Democrats to listen.”

“It should send a message to progressives in Congress that they shouldn’t be so risk adverse,” said Grijalva, who is part of the “Justice Democrats” slate of candidates like Ocasio-Cortez.

“Sometimes it’s great to have 80 members, but 20, 30 or less who are committed and are willing to stand in the face of whatever opposition … is important. That’s the mechanism that is going to move the agenda in the House.“

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is a member of the progressive caucus and the only person in Congress who endorsed Ocasio-Cortez. But he doesn’t think the left should develop its own version of the Freedom Caucus.

“I believe we ought to have a lot of ideas out there and a robust debate of ideas that ultimately leads to the truth,” Khanna said. “I don’t believe in group think. I think the danger of our politics is that we shouldn’t just believe that we have a monopoly on the truth. We should win based on a debate of ideas, instead of by flexing power.”

After the Michigan swing, Ocasio-Cortez heads back to New York and is scheduled to hold a fundraiser with Cynthia Nixon Aug. 10, according to Nixon’s gubernatorial campaign.