Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's social media stardom has catapulted her to a place of national name recognition and influence that is unheard of for a freshman member of Congress. Yet as Americans get to know her, she's only growing more unpopular. And she's now actually as unpopular as Sen. Ted Cruz was as a young freshman when he was leading the 2013 effort to defund Obamacare that resulted in a government shutdown.

A newly-released Gallup poll found that just 29 percent of Americans say they have never heard of Ocasio-Cortez. That's unheard of for somebody who was only recently elected to the House. By way of comparison, that means her name recognition is higher than Chief Justice John Roberts (who 30 percent never heard of) as well as prominent senators who are running for president, such as Sens. Cory Booker (33 percent never heard of), Kirsten Gillibrand (41 percent never heard of), and Amy Klobuchar (45 percent never heard of).

A problem for Ocasio-Cortez is that as people get to see more of her, their views become more negative. Last September, after her upset victory in the primary, 24 percent of those polled had a favorable view of her, compared to 26 percent who had an unfavorable view. Her notoriety has increased significantly since then, but while 31 percent now view her favorably, her unfavorable rating has shot up to 41 percent. That means on net, views of her are negative by 10 points — a 15 point swing.

Back in the fall of 2013, Cruz was seen as one of the most hated figures in American politics for leading a quixotic campaign to get former President Barack Obama to defund Obamacare — his signature achievement — which led to a highly unpopular government shutdown. He received nearly universal negative attention, not just from the liberal media, but also from segments of the conservative media for leading a doomed effort that distracted attention from the disastrous launch of Obamacare.

A Gallup poll taken in October 2013, at the height of the shutdown battle, showed Cruz with a 26 percent favorable rating versus a 36 percent unfavorable rating. So Ocasio-Cortez, has already bested him with 41 percent viewing her unfavorably, though on a net basis they are both at negative 10. She achieved this without being widely blamed for shutting down the government.

Now, historically, numbers such as Ocasio-Cortez's would be viewed as a disaster for a politician. However, we're living in a moment in which polarizing figures commanding a passionate following can have tremendous influence, and even success.

Despite his unpopularity, it's possible that Cruz would have been the Republican nominee in 2016 had Donald Trump not come along. Trump, meanwhile, ended up being elected president despite being the least popular nominee of a major party ever polled (even taking into account losing candidates).

So Ocasio-Cortez's growing unpopularity, while noteworthy, may not prove a hindrance in the long-run. But it should temper the widely shared belief among many Washington pundits on both the right and left, that she's successful because she's so natural and likable.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this story, the Washington Examiner reported Ocasio-Cortez's approval rating was a net negative of 15 points. The 15 points just reflected the net shift. Her net negative rating is 10 points. As such, the headline was also changed to reflect that on a net basis, she was as unpopular as Ted Cruz. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.