Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez describes fears of violence.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she has feared for her life since becoming an elected official.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, said in an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace, part of which aired on Saturday, that she has felt endangered “since the moment that I won my primary election in 2018, and it became especially intensified when I was first brought into Congress.”

“I started to feel, even in 2019, that it was possible that I may not see the end of the year,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that fear has influenced her political decision-making, driving her to accomplish more in a shorter period of time “because I don’t want to take the time I have for granted.”

During the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who often draws intense, sometimes vitriolic, criticism from those on the right, has said she feared for her life. In a livestream on Instagram last year, she recalled hiding in a bathroom and thinking she was going to die as unknown people entered her office and shouted, “Where is she?” (They were Capitol Police officers who had not clearly identified themselves.)