Ashanti Martinez (he/him) is a gay Afro-Latino millennial representative in Maryland’s House of Delegates. Active in politics from his early teenage years, Ashanti comes from a working-class family in Prince George’s County, a majority-Black county outside of Washington, DC. Ashanti attended Howard University, and is passionate about LGBTQ rights, universal healthcare, gun control, and the environment.
Read MoreToday we are profiling a Rhode Island Senator who has been championing progressive laws since her election in 2020. Meghan Kallman (she/her), is a triple-sociology major who after college went to work for Amnesty International. Five years before entering state government, she co-founded Conceivable Future, a nonprofit organization that advocates for climate and reproductive justice. This millennial community organizer is also a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and is an avid trumpeter (see photo below). She is most passionate about social, environmental, and economic justice.
Read MoreKaren Alzate (she/her/ella), grew up in the United States under that shadow, so this issue is not new, it has just been dialed up. While in high school, Karen’s Colombian father was detained for eight months before being released. Then six years later, he was deported. Today, as a Rhode Island Representative, Karen stands up for the rights of immigrants to ensure they are treated humanely and with dignity. In the State House, she was a lead sponsor of the Millionaires Tax, and she has led legislation on women’s health, particularly menopause, going so far as to appear on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island to discuss menopause legislation.
Read MoreThe control of the Pennsylvania state legislature is split between a Republican majority in the Senate and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. But the majority in the House is extremely slim - currently 102 to 100, with one vacancy. In order to maintain their majority, strong Democratic candidates need to run across the state to capture more seats. One such strong candidate is Jennifer O’Mara (she/her), is a millennial representative who is the first Democrat to hold her seat. Jenn is passionate about protecting the environment, the LGBTQIA community, a woman’s right to choose, the right to vote, and the strength of unions and working people in Pennsylvania.
Read MoreKentucky is known as a very conservative state, but we discovered two years ago that even progressives represent constituencies in so-called “red” states! Most conservative states have cities that are heavily progressive, particularly the largest city in each state. In Kentucky, that city is Louisville. Sarah Stalker (she/her), is a representative from Louisville to the Kentucky House of Representatives. First elected in 2022, she won re-election in 2024 and is running again in 2026. Sarah believes in putting the environment and the working class over profits and capital gains, to the point that she encourages mutual aid, trading and bartering, and thrifting as much as possible for environmental reasons, cost effectiveness and to avoid participating in capitalism. She is also a huge proponent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Read MoreNew Mexico is a state of wide open spaces, but most people in the state live in and around the largest city, Albuquerque. In the small section of city that encompasses La Mesa, Trumbull Village, and the International District, Janelle Anyanonu (she/her) has been the state representative for the past three and a half years. A former member of the New Mexico Black Central Organizing Committee, Janelle is descended from Nigerian immigrants and has spent her whole life in the state. During her first term in the House, this millennial Burqueña was one of five sponsors of legislation to protect abortion rights and gender-affirming care in New Mexico; the law passed and became the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act, ensuring access to healthcare denied to millions of others in many of the surrounding states. Janelle sings in the choir of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Albuquerque and is an avid embroiderer of blackwork and cross-stitch projects.
Read MoreYuh-Line Niou (she/her), is a former New York Assemblywoman who is currently running for State Senate. This queer millennial was the first openly autistic representative in the New York State legislature. Born in Taiwan, she is an anti-poverty advocate and activist who has fought predatory lending and red-lining in New York’s neighborhoods. Yuh-Line has taken progressive stances on many issues, including Medicare for All, Taxing the Rich, the Green New Deal, and Abolishing ICE.
Read MoreAfter eight years, there is a wholesale changing of state government in California this year. Both the governor and lieutenant governor positions are open, and there is a large group of candidates for both offices. Today we are interviewing Janelle Kellman (she/her), a gay woman who is the former mayor of Sausalito. She is an environmental attorney and the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Center for Sea Rise Solutions. A passionate climate justice warrior, Janelle points out that the Lieutenant Governor sits on the State Lands Commission and the Coastal Commission. The lieutenant governor also sits on the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University Board of Trustees, and the Commission for Economic Development. Through these positions, Janelle plans to use the power of the office to to advance climate resilience, public education, housing, good jobs, and a more equitable economy.
Read MoreDue to the large number of retirements this year, a lot of seats are opening up. Some are quitting politics for good, while others are launching campaigns for other elected office. In Michigan’s 18th District, State Representative Jason Hoskins, the incumbent, is giving up his seat to run for Michigan State Senate. Into this vacancy stepped millennial Mykale (Kelly) Garrett (she/her). Kelly is being endorsed in her race by US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic Socialist who defeated a primary challenge from Kelly in 2022. As mayor of Lathrup Village, she advanced key initiatives focused on public safety, infrastructure, and community engagement. Kelly credits her Christian faith with shaping her views on protecting women’s rights (including reproductive and voting), protecting trans individuals from violence and discrimination, and ensuring that all children have access to quality education.
Read MoreWe are currently living in a frightening time in this country, where we have a right-wing federal government hellbent on rolling back US citizens’ civil rights. At this moment, our president is encouraging Congress to pass the “SAVE America Act”, a law that aims to restrict voting measures for US citizens. But Trump has slipped something else in this bill — conditions to restrict rights to transgender Americans, including preventing gender-affirming care for minors and preventing trans Americans from competing in sport.
At this critical moment, America needs more transgender leaders to show that the trans community will not be cowed, that trans Americans are equal with all other Americans, and they are proud and unafraid to represent the communities where they live. Brianna Titone (she/her), is one such American. Currently a state representative in the Colorado General Assembly, Brianna is running to be the next State Treasurer in Colorado. She has dedicated her life to service, not only as a scientist in multiple disciplines, but also as a volunteer firefighter in her community, and she became the first trans elected official in Colorado’s history in 2019. Brianna cares deeply about protecting the working class from corporations and billionaires, investing in affordable housing, protecting consumers from predatory corporations and unbridled AI, and protecting Colorado’s natural environment from fossil fuel exploration and production.
Read MoreFor months the Trump administration has been running a pressure campaign on Venezuela and its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro. This campaign was an effort meant to push Maduro from power as the Trump administration has accused him and his government of being involved in drug-trafficking and terrorism. More specifically, Trump blames Maduro for sending the fentanyl that has contributed to the American opioid crisis and for the rise of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States.
Read MoreAfter Democrat and Republican Senators were unable to agree on health policy, the federal government was driven to a shutdown on Oct. 1. The issue at hand relates to the cost of premiums for healthcare plans individuals purchase through the Affordable Care Act. The enhanced tax credits for these premiums are set to expire at the end of the year and have been a major factor at play in keeping ACA plans affordable for the millions of people who rely on them.
Democrats voted against Republican’s proposed short-term funding bill for a few different reasons, one of the main ones being because it did not include an extension for these enhanced tax credits. This issue will impact the more than 24 million Americans who don’t get health insurance through jobs and public programs like Medicare or Medicaid, but instead buy it through the ACA.
Read More2025 is the year for New Jersey elections, both at the state and local levels. In Jersey City, the second largest city in the state, its mayor announced he was stepping down to run for governor, so the office is now open. James Solomon (he/him), a millennial current city councilman, is viewed as one of the most progressive candidates in the race. The Jersey City race can be seen as a smaller parallel of the mayoral race across the Hudson River in New York City: a progressive candidate (Solomon/Zohran Mamdani) running against a former state governor who resigned in disgrace (Jim McGreevey/Andrew Cuomo) looking to make a political comeback.
James, a cancer survivor, is a professor of public policy at New Jersey City University, a public university in Jersey City, and is the father of three girls.
Read MoreTrump’s famously dramatic way of posting on social media is not lost on any left leaning person in or outside of politics. Most dissenting responses garnered by his posts are either simpler statements of disagreement or more outspoken cries of disgust and outrage. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, seems to have a different approach altogether when it comes to the manner of Trump’s social media presence.
Read MoreThis is the final week we are highlighting progressive candidates running in the 2024 elections! Erica Mosca (she/her/hers) has the distinction of being the first Filipina to serve in the Nevada State Legislature. This millennial teacher and military spouse grew up in a low-income household and became the first in her family to go to college, graduating with highest honors from Boston University, and then pursuing postgraduate studies in education at UNLV and Harvard. To inspire others to follow in her footsteps, Erica founded a non-profit foundation to enable former students of hers to likewise become first-generation college graduates. Today, Mosca chairs the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Caucus in the Nevada Assembly. She is passionate about empowering students to grow into leaders in their communities and upending structural inequity and systemic racism.
Read MoreOne thing that we at Jejune are pleased to see is the number of LGBTQ+ candidates who are running this year, and we have profiled quite a few of them! This week we are highlighting Dominique Johnson (she/they), who is the incumbent representative in District 143 in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Dominique is a genderqueer millennial who has gone from humble political beginnings as a community organizer to Assistant Majority Leader. A former professor and punk rock bassist, they are a published author with work appearing in works ranging from Teen Vogue to The Nation. Dominique is passionate advocate for educational equity, the health and well-being of youth, women and LGBTQ+ people, and sustainability.
Read MoreAs we count down the final weeks of this election season, we are ramping up our profiles of progressive candidates. This week we are profiling Farrah Chaichi (she/her/hers), a democratic socialist representative in Oregon running for reelection. This queer millennial of color and Iron Maiden superfan has a history of activism, fighting for causes such as labor rights, Black Lives Matter, and human rights. Farrah is passionate about delivering access to health care, addiction services, education, and clean water to her constituents in her hometown of Beaverton, which is a mix of working class and middle class neighborhoods.
Read MoreThis week we are profiling our second party leader this season, Luz Escamilla (she/her), the current minority leader of the Democratic Party in the Utah State Senate. Luz was born in Mexico to two college professors, and immigrated when she was 18 years old. Only one of six Democrats in the Utah State Senate, Luz leads her small caucus in promoting issues such as healthcare access and cost, food security, air quality, transportation access, high quality childcare, and home visiting services.
Read MoreAt the beginning of this election cycle we featured an Illinois State Senator running for reelection. Today we are featuring an Illinois State Representative, Barbara Hernandez (she/her), a millennial who has spent most of her adult life in politics. As the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants, Barbara was the first in her family to go to college, and was inspired to go into politics to reform our country’s broken immigration system. At age 24 she was elected to serve on the Kane County Board, and in 2019 she was appointed to finish the term of her former boss in the Illinois State House (she has been reelected twice since then). Barbara is passionate about period poverty, higher education accessibility, immigration, and fighting for restorative justice.
Read MoreGreta Neubauer (she/her/hers), is a millennial representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where she currently serves as the youngest minority leader in Wisconsin legislative history, a role she has served in since January 2022. Greta is also the first openly queer caucus leader. She is passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, addressing climate change, protecting democracy, and creating a state where everyone can thrive!
Read More
