Our Favorite 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 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 - Oliver Larkin, Florida's 23rd Congressional District

When most people think of Florida, they do not think of a progressive political landscape. But Oliver Larkin (he/him/his) is trying to change this. A Democratic Socialist, Oliver has many years of experience in progressive political organizing and advocacy and wants to bring change to his home in South Florida (he grew up in Fort Lauderdale) which is Ground Zero for the MAGA movement. When he and his wife Sandra moved back to South Florida in 2022, they discovered astronomical rental rates as they bounced around Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Deerfield Beach, looking for affordable housing. Oliver is centering his campaign around Medicare for All, a $25 minimum wage, and universal child care.

Our Favorite 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 Candidates in 2026 - Erin Gamez, Texas House of Representatives, District 38

Today we are profiling Representative Erin Gamez (she/her), a millennial attorney from Brownsville, TX, at the very bottom tip of the state. A heavily Hispanic area, this part of Texas has been historically Democratic, but in the last couple of election cycles, Republicans have performed well due to Trump’s gains with the Hispanic community. An ardent litigative practicing attorney with a focus on Administrative, Business, Criminal, and Family cases, she also serves as the mental health diversion court attorney for Cameron County. In her personal life, she loves yoga, grilling, and the Texas Longhorns.

SWAC: Influencer, zIssue 57.7Andrew FFebruary 6, 2026latinx, millenial, woman, latina, human rights, lawyer, election 2026Comment

Our Favorite Candidates in 2026 - Chase Linko-Looper, Kanawha County, WV Magistrate

Chase Linko-Looper (he/they) is no stranger to adversity. A former Army veteran, Chase returned home from war to confront two other enemies: addiction and homelessness. After overcoming these struggles, Chase became involved in community organizing to fight the evils that plague his home state of West Virginia: addiction, poverty, housing eviction, and domestic violence. In 2024, Chase ran for Governor of West Virginia as the Mountain Party candidate, but for this current race he is running as an Independent. In 2025, he published A Walk In My Broken Shoes: The Cage Is The Country. In addition, Chase also started Fights Back, a community aid organization that works to feed the hungry. This millennial father is dedicated to strengthening mental health resources and transforming the Court into a place that treats people with fairness and doesn’t punish them for being poor.

SWAC: Influencer, zIssue 57.7Andrew FJanuary 26, 2026revolution, election, food insecurity, mental health, poverty, election 2026Comment