A fresh generation of young progressive Democrats, inspired by Donald Trump's return to the White House, is rising to challenge the party's direction. Figures like Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are seen as the future by activists at a recent summit. This group aims to push bold policies on affordability, housing, and opposition to Trump's agenda.
Progressive leaders gathered at the Voters of Tomorrow Summit in Washington, D.C., recently told Fox News Digital that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani represent the Democratic Party's path forward. Galvanized by Trump's sweeping second-term agenda and Republican control of Congress, this new cohort echoes the original 'Squad' elected in 2018 as a rebuke to his first presidency.
Zohran Mamdani, a New York assemblyman and self-identified democratic socialist, shocked the establishment by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the June 2025 Democratic primary for NYC mayor. His campaign focuses on affordability, leveraging social media to build support. Key promises include freezing rents, providing free childcare, offering fast and free buses, establishing city-run grocery stores, raising the minimum wage, and 'Trump-proofing' the city. Mamdani plans to fund these through taxes on corporations and the top 1% of earners. Endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), he has faced Trump's labels of '100% Communist Lunatic' and 'My Little Communist,' though Mamdani insists he is a democratic socialist.
In Minneapolis, state Sen. Omar Fateh, dubbed the 'Mamdani of Minneapolis,' is running for mayor as a DSA-endorsed democratic socialist. Son of Somali immigrants, Fateh pledges to raise the minimum wage, expand affordable housing, combat police violence, replace some police duties with community alternatives, and issue legal IDs to undocumented immigrants.
Kat Abughazaleh, 26, a former journalist and activist, seeks Illinois' 9th Congressional District seat. A September 19, 2025, viral video showed an ICE agent shoving her outside a Broadview facility amid protests against Trump's deportations. She accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of 'crimes against humanity' and questioned opposition to taxpayer-funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants, noting on her site, 'I don't have health insurance, and I'm running for Congress.'
Aftyn Behn, a Tennessee state representative and former healthcare organizer, won the Democratic nomination for the 7th Congressional District's special election to replace retired Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. Described as Tennessee's 'AOC,' the self-proclaimed 'pissed-off social worker' was motivated by Congress's passage of Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' earlier in 2025.
Mallory McMorrow, 38, a Michigan state senator, announced her U.S. Senate bid, positioning herself as an outsider. She vowed not to support Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's continuation and gained fame from a 2022 viral speech rebutting Republican claims of her 'grooming' children, declaring, 'I am the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme.'