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Galvanized by President Donald Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda, a new generation of progressive Democrats is working to redefine the party’s future.
The original “Squad,” a group of young, left-wing lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 as a referendum on Trump’s first term.
Now, with Trump back in the Oval Office and Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, a new wave of progressive candidates is emerging across the country.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh have emerged as rising stars in the Democratic Party. (Bing Guan/Reuters; Jim Vondruska/Reuters)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY
Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic primary win shocked the political establishment in June when the self-identified democratic socialist handily defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral primary.
The New York assemblyman has centered his campaign around affordability, successfully using social media to build a broad coalition of support among New Yorkers.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks to volunteers at a canvass launch in Brooklyn, Sept. 28, 2025. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Mamdani’s platform includes ambitious campaign promises like freezing the rent, free childcare, fast and free buses, city-run grocery stores, raising the minimum wage and “Trump-proofing” New York City.
He plans to pay for his ambitious campaign promises by raising taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers.
YOUNG PROGRESSIVES LOOK TO ZOHRAN MAMDANI, AOC AS FUTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY – UNDER ONE CONDITION
Mamdani has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Trump has labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “My Little Communist,” but Mamdani has maintained that he is a democratic socialist.
Omar Fateh
Dubbed the “Mamdani of Minneapolis,” Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh is running for Minneapolis mayor this year.
Like Mamdani, Fateh is a self-identified democratic socialist and has been endorsed by the DSA.
Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Omar Fateh is seen in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 19, 2025. (Omar Fateh campaign)
Fateh, the son of immigrant parents from Somalia, has committed to raising the city’s minimum wage, increasing the supply of affordable housing and combating what he calls police violence.
Similar to Mamdani, Fateh has called for replacing some of the police department’s duties with community-led alternatives. He also wants to issue legal IDs to illegal immigrants.
Kat Abughazaleh
Kat Abughazaleh, 26, is the progressive Gen Z candidate running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District next year.
A viral video of an ICE agent shoving Abughazaleh to the ground outside the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Sept. 19 has become a flash point in the divisive debate over Trump’s deportation rollout.
Abughazaleh is a former journalist and activist who frequents protests outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois.
Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh holds a megaphone outside the Broadview ICE processing facility on Sept. 26, 2025. (Jim Vondruska/Reuters)
She recently accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of perpetrating “crimes against humanity.”
Abughazaleh garnered national attention earlier this year for questioning why it’s controversial that illegal immigrants should have access to taxpayer-funded healthcare.
“I don’t have health insurance, and I’m running for Congress,” the young progressive’s campaign website reads.
Aftyn Behn
Aftyn Behn, a former healthcare community organizer and current Democrat state representative, on Tuesday secured the Democratic nomination to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.
The Dickson County Democratic Party described Behn as “our very own AOC of TN,” referring to “Squad” member Ocasio-Cortez, according to The Tennessee Star.
Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn speaks to members of the audience before the start of a Democratic Party forum for candidates running for the 7th Congressional District special election at the Fairview Recreation Center in Fairview on Sept. 7, 2025. (Alan Poizner/The Tennessean/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
On her campaign website, Behn describes herself as a “pissed-off social worker,” who was inspired to run for the House of Representatives after Congress passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year.
Behn is running in the special election to replace Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who retired from Congress earlier this year.
Mallory McMorrow
Mallory McMorrow has long been considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.
She announced her bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan earlier this year, framing herself as an outsider and calling for a new generation of leaders in Washington ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
McMorrow has said she would not vote for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to continue as the party leader, adding that it is time for him to step back.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat from Michigan, holds up a Project 2025 book during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The 38-year-old Michigan state senator garnered national attention for her viral speech to the Michigan state Senate in 2022, where she pushed back on allegations from a Republican lawmaker that she was “grooming” and “sexualizing” children.
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“I am the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme,” McMorrow said, calling out Republican state Sen. Lana Theis for invoking her name in a fundraising email. “We will not let hate win.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic National Committee, Mamdani, Fateh, Abughazaleh, Behn and McMorrow but did not receive responses.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
