The democratic socialist challenger who won a shocking primary victory on Tuesday night in New York is calling on her fellow candidates to be “explicit” in their message if they want to take back power in the midterms.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersOutrage erupts over Breonna Taylor grand jury ruling Dimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, defeated Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) by a double-digit margin in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for New York’s 14th District.

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In an interview on MSNBC, Ocasio-Cortez said that Democrats need to focus their message on what they are “proposing to the American people,” rather than what they are fighting against.

“We understand that we're under an antagonistic administration,” she said. “But what is going to earn and deserve the support of working-class Americans? And we need to be explicit in that vision and that legislation, not just ‘better.’”

She said Democrats need a "bold" midterm message that involves standing up for working-class Americans, immigrants and the LGBT community.

Few thought Ocasio-Cortez had any chance of defeating Crowley, a longtime Democrat seen as a possible successor to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.).

But she successfully convinced voters to support her candidacy of change while arguing that Crowley no longer represented the district's minority-majority voters.

In the MSNBC interview, she said her personal experiences helped her understand the “pain” and “urgency” of working-class Americans.

Her father died during the financial crisis, and her mother worked for years as a house cleaner and bus driver.

“I started waitressing and bartending so that [my mother] could keep her home,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “So I understand the pain of working-class Americans because I have experienced the pain and I have experienced the urgency of this economic moment.”