Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Katie Bansil, New Jersey's 6th Congressional District

In February 2026, former US President Barack Obama said that one of the problems with Democrats is gerontocracy: “There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.” Frankly, Obama is late to the conversation. For over the past year, Democrats in Congress have been bedeviled by their age, so much so that three of them died in 2025 while in office, and many others are starting to see the political handwriting on the wall, that they no longer have the connection or energy to represent their constituents adequately.

One of the most egregious offenders of this in the Democratic Caucus is Representative Frank Pallone (NJ-6). Elected to Congress in 1988, he is now one of the oldest and longest-serving members of Congress and is running for a 20th term in office. He is being challenged in the Democratic Primary by Katie Bansil (she/her), a queer millennial Filipina who immigrated to New Jersey at age 15 and has lived in the area ever since. Pallone not only has been in office for as long as Katie has lived in the neighborhood, but for longer than she has been alive. Katie brings a fresh perspective not only to the times we live in but also the problems of the day. Her electoral platform is supported by a triad of issues: universal health care, universal child care, and abolishing ICE. With New Jersey’s particular party system giving more power to established politicians than the residents of New Jersey, Katie will have to win over the state party, but with the political winds changing and the unique threats facing Americans today, and trying to replicate the recent success of Analilia Mejia in winning the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s nearby 11th District, Katie aims to bring similar change to NJ-6 as Zohran Mamdani in nearby New York City.

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Bushra Amiwala, Illinois's 9th Congressional District

Schakowsky’s retirement set off a rush to replace her, and a whopping 15 candidates are running in the primary on March 17. One of them is Bushra Amiwala (she/her), who in 2019 became the first elected official in the United States from Gen Z when she was elected to the Board of Education in hometown of Skokie, Illinois. Bushra supports the organizations A Just Harvest, RefugeeOne, and The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. She is centering her campaign around the affordability crisis, Medicare for All, and the Green New Deal.

SWAC: Influencer, zIssue 57.8Andrew FMarch 12, 2026gen-z, muslim, election 2026, 2026 election, lawmakingComment

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Evan Turnage, Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District

When progressives think of places to settle, Mississippi rarely, if ever, enters their minds. The state ranks 47th in infrastructure (including last in road safety), 49th in economic strength, and dead last in healthcare. The GOP has a stranglehold on the state and local elective offices, and 3 out of 4 US Congressional districts are held by Republicans (in 2010, 3 out of 4 districts were Democratic). Little, if any, money that goes to the state rarely goes to the citizens who need it most.

The only Democratic US Representative from Mississippi, Bennie Thompson, is 78 years old and has represented the state in Congress since 1993. But in 2026, progressive voters are looking for a generational change in Congressional representation. Evan Turnage (he/him), was one year old when Thompson began his tenure in Congress. Now Turnage is running to challenge him in the Democratic primary. An antitrust lawyer by training, Evan is focusing his campaign on, you guessed it, the issues where Mississippi falls near or at the bottom of US state rankings: infrastructure, the economy, and healthcare.

SWAC: Influencer, zIssue 57.8Andrew FMarch 6, 2026millenial, African American, 2026 election, election 2026, congressComment

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Kyah Creekmore, North Carolina's 5th Congressional District

So far, 2026 is shaping up to have a lot of Gen Z candidates! Which is what we want here at Jejune, to see young, progressive people stepping up to challenge and replace the gerontocracy that plagues all levels of government in America.

In North Carolina, Kyah Creekmore, is one of those candidates. Kyah is a democratic socialist running to challenge Virgina Foxx, who is not only one of Congress’s oldest members (and the oldest from North Carolina) but is also a right-wing representative, and an opponent of any and every policy that aims to move our country forward. Kyah grew up in poverty, moving around as his single mother worked three jobs at a time. He experienced firsthand the cruel bureaucracy that runs the American healthcare system, being underpaid working for companies where the top officers made extraordinary profits, and drinking potentially polluted water. Kyah is running on a platform of Medicare for All, climate justice, and gun reform.

SWAC: Influencer, zIssue 57.8Andrew FFebruary 27, 2026gen-z, election 2026, 2026 election, Black Youth, blackComment

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Gina Hinojosa, Governor of Texas

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is one of the most dangerous state-level officials to the existence of democracy, equal representation, civil rights, cost of living, and the labor movement, in the entire country today. This year, Texas has a chance to throw him out of office. Abbott knows this. Gina Hinojosa (she/her), a Texas State Representative for almost 10 years, is running for the Democratic nomination to run against him in November. And she has an impressive list of endorsements: she has the backing of progressive US Representative Greg Casar, Texas Democratic superstar James Talarico, the SEIU, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Emily’s List, and the Houston LGBTQ+ political caucus.

SWAC: Influencer, Editor's Pick, zIssue 57.8Andrew FFebruary 26, 20262026 election, Texas, latina, latinx, lawyerComment

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Amanda Edwards, Texas's 18th Congressional District

Today we are highlighting Amanda Edwards (she/her), a former member of the Houston City Council. Endorsed by EMILY’S List, Amanda is focused on rolling back Trump’s cuts to federal assistance programs, including SNAP, FEMA, Meals on Wheels, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, that affect the constituents in TX-18. Amanda is particularly passionate about supporting equitable health outcomes, having served on a steering committee to address the issue on black maternal deaths among other issues, and being an active proponent of funding measures like the Momnibus Bill to reduce the black maternal death disparities we face.