Sayu Bhojwani served as New York's first commissioner of immigrant affairs and is the founder and president of New American Leaders, which is based in New York. She is the author of "People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy's Door." The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own.

(CNN) Amidst a month of demoralizing images of children torn from their parents and stories of borders closed to Muslims from certain countries, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's election in New York's 14th congressional district provided a timely source of inspiration.

Sayu Bhojwani

What matters most in her win is not that it toppled the fourth-most senior Democratic leader, or that it could mean a wave of change is coming in the midterms, or even that it signals that Sen. Bernie Sanders' ideas still have a receptive audience for 2020.

No, what matters most from this victory is Alexandria herself, and the takeaway is what she brings to the new American campaign playbook. She told it like it is, in a campaign ad that went viral ; she grew up in the district, and as an organizer and bartender, she understood her constituents' needs.

Her authenticity, her connection to her community, and her desire to serve the residents of her district are at the core of her campaign's success. Remarkably, each of these three things, as central as they might seem to public service, are rare among political candidates.

In recent decades, money, endorsements and party support have become the trifecta for success. Often interconnected, it's hard to have one without the other two. Many everyday Americans who are not wealthy and well-connected -- teachers, community organizers, hotel and restaurant workers -- have been reluctant to run for office, worried that they didn't have one or more of these qualities.