Influencers With A Voice
In the city of Santa Ana, Councilwoman Jessie Lopez (she/her) is running as a Democrat for State Assembly against her fellow councilmember David Penaloza, also a Democrat. A Latina millennial, Jessie got her start in public service as a volunteer with the Public Law Center and as a campaigner against sexual assaults occurring on and around her college campus, before being elected to the Santa Ana City Council in 2020. Jessie is most passionate about and is centering her campaign around affordable housing, Medicare for All, protecting and fully funding public schools, investing in young people, abolishing ICE, advancing environmental justice, expanding economic opportunity, and creating meaningful police accountability.
The road from evangelical megachurch clergy to trans progressive election candidate is an unlikely journey, but it does happen! Joanna Whaley (she/her) is a former pastor at a Michigan evangelical megachurch, but actively undergoing “conversion therapy” for 15 years, during most of her time serving there. Joanna transitioned in 2022 and was forced to leave her church, but has become an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and outspoken critic of Christian nationalism, a world she was immersed in for most of her early millenial adult life.
Joanna was motivated to run after lots of encouragement from local leaders and community members, due to the fact that her current state representative, Tullio Liberati, was one of eight Democrats to vote last year for a Republican measure that would ban trans girls from school sports. Though Tullio is retiring at the end of his term, his older brother Frank decided to run to replace him. It did not turn out well for the Liberati brothers though, as Joanna defeated Frank by almost 25 percentage points. The core of Joanna’s platform is to get utilities in check, pass, single payer healthcare in the state of Michigan, and protect civil rights and freedom for all people. If elected in November, she will become the first trans woman elected to the Michigan legislature, quite a stunning turnaround from the current representation in her district.
Rachel Bochner has been growing, learning and evolving a whole life, as we all do. Her upcoming debut album “I Guess A Sure Thing Couldn’t Go Down Gently” drops on September 25 and details heartbreak, self-discovery and exploring her queer identity and the freedom that comes with that. Bochner wants her queer fans to feel heard and loved by her music, and she raises money and spreads community through her work with The Wild Honey Pie.
The Democratic Socialists are on the rise all over the country, including (unsurprisingly) progressive Oregon. In the Portland area, an anesthesiologist named Dr. Tammy Carpenter (she/her) is an unapologetic Democratic Socialists, having joined in 2016 during the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. Over her 20 years as an anesthesiologist she witnessed patients seeking treatment who couldn’t afford healthcare deductibles or healthcare plans themselves, watching patients drowning in debt. One of the three pillars of her campaign is universal healthcare, as well as taxing the rich and funding the people.
Hawaii is known for being one of the most progressive states in the country, but even there, progressives have had to fight their way into the state legislature to ensure equitable representation of all groups and to push progressive policies to move Hawaii forward and better the lives of everyone who lives there.
One such representative is Kim Coco Iwamoto (s/he, hir, hirs), the first transgender legislator in Hawaii’s history. After two terms on Hawaii’s Board of Education, she ran five consecutive elections before finally unseating Hawaii’s powerful House Speaker, Scott Saiki, who she challenged twice before. A Sansei, hir Japanese grandparents and great-grandparents worked on sugar cane plantations on the island of Kauai and cantaloupe farms in Imperial Valley, California. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and has a BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a juris doctor from the University of New Mexico. This accomplished surfer is passionate about increasing the gas tax to fund free public transportation across the state and imposing a tax on seasonal homes to help fund rent subsidies to make housing more affordable for the working class.
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.
Darius Oon is branching out on his own in the music industry. After a childhood of playing guitar and piano and listening to The Beatles with his parents, he’s been a proud member of a number of bands before releasing his first single as a solo artist this past June. Taking inspiration from Djo and Wallows, he describes his sound as having a certain “nostalgic quality.” Oon is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and cancer research, and has worked closely with many organizations that support these causes.
Alonna Berry (she/her), shows a way that Democrats can win over voters in rural areas. This Black millennial is constantly meeting with local leaders and constituents in her district, while always remaining true to her progressive principles, including advocating for protecting reproductive freedom, defending LGBTQ+ Delawareans, advancing racial equity, modernizing public education, expanding affordable housing, strengthening common sense gun safety laws, addressing climate change, and ensuring healthcare is accessible regardless of income or ZIP code. As Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice, Alonna works to advance restorative justice, reduce barriers to opportunity, and strengthen communities across Delaware.
Today 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.
A hot issue in politics these days is the question of how Democrats will win elections again in rural areas. There are different answers: run on economic issues only, run blue-collar candidates, run someone deeply-embedded and well-known in the area. Today we are profiling a candidate who checks all three boxes. Riley Rodriquez (he/him), is a millennial who has held a number of jobs in his native West Texas: cowboy, oilfield hand, and small business owner. Riley’s platform focuses on healthcare and education as a human right, free school meals, and empowering the working class to take power back from the ruling elite.
Karen 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.
Rosalee Mayeux has had a thoroughly full and satisfying career. From modeling to acting to stand up comedy, she has experimented with every aspect of the industry possible and has worked very hard to make all her dreams and goals a reality. She has also recently overcome a devastating cancer diagnosis that she did not think she would survive, and works closely with the American Cancer Society to help other people that were once in her place.
Biriba Union is a band that celebrates unity, cultural expression and the warmth and authenticity that comes from playing a real instrument. Their advocacy for democracy and freedoms for all translates into their work as musicians and their humanitarian work through the organization “Play for the Vote.” You can stream all their unique and creative music through the links at the bottom of this article and be on the look out for more music from them at the end of the year.
The 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.
CA in LA have been friends and collaborators since 2012, and always found a connection to one another through their passion for all things media. Whether it be film or music, they derive their greatest joy from creating and working together creatively. In an industry where standing up for yourself and your visions as a woman can be very difficult, this team wants to remind other women to find solace and comfort in their female friendships and peers. Be on the look out for their new single “Waking Up” that drops at the end of August.
Angie Nixon (she/her), a Florida State Representative, is running of the Democratic nomination. There has not been a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from Florida since 2018. Angie is a Black millennial ally to and fighter for the LGBTQ+ community who advocates for economic justice for the working class: a $25 minimum wage, rent stabilization, curbing corporate purchasing of residential housing, protecting reproductive rights, Medicare for All, and universal childcare and Pre-K.
Angie co-wrote a children’s book with her daughter called The Adventures of Moxie McGriff to help her embrace her natural hair, which ultimately transformed into a movement to boost self-esteem in young Black girls. She co-founded the Melanin Market in Jacksonville, FL, to provide healthy food options in a food desert while supporting local minority-owned small businesses. Angie also owns a bookstore and coffee shop in Jacksonville called Cafe Resistance, which she specifically created to serve as a community hub, provide free tutoring, and proudly stock the books that extremist Republicans in Florida are trying to ban. In May of this year, Angie was reprimanded by the Florida State House because for protesting the racist new congressional voting maps and she is now being prosecuted by DeSantis for peacefully protesting these maps in his office after he refused to meet with her.
In rural Texas, Andie Ho (she/her) is running to unseat a first-term incumbent, in a district long held by the GOP. Andie, a Xennial French to English translator and a Director of the American Translators Association, is a second-generation American running to ensure that all Texans, regardless of national origin, have the same rights and freedoms under the law and rights like health care, which is a cornerstone of her campaign.
Maryland House District 29A, has been represented by the same Republican legislator since the 2014 election. This year, candidate Jennifer Clancy (she/her) is trying to become the first Democrat to hold the seat in 12 years. A millennial therapist, she raises her five children on her homestead in rural St. Mary’s County. Jennifer’s campaign is centered on a triad of issues: more readily available education, a stronger health care system (including the Maryland Children’s Health Program) and greater community resources.
Amy Jo is a rising star in the UK’s, shockingly buzzing, country music scene, and she draws inspiration from her coastal hometown and passion for gender equality. Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Alicia Keys and more have all inspired her style of sound and storytelling over the years as she releases music with her own unique point of view. Her Master’s degree in gender studies informs her songwriting about topics like men’s mental health, and she has plans for new music in the coming weeks.
District 58 is one of the swingiest districts in Michigan. Currently running is Katrina Manetta (she/her), a working class organizer. Katrina has a history of activism, from going to Washington DC to lobby for anti-human trafficking bills, to co-founding her county’s Indivisible chapter, Macomb Defenders Rising, to attending Public Service Commission hearings to push back on corporate data center deals that benefit the corporation over residents. Katrina’s campaign focuses on three areas: affordability of utilities, affordability of health care, and keeping corporate money out of political campaigns.
Juliana Bennett (she/her), is running for Wisconsin State assembly. A Black pansexual Gen-Z woman, Juliana is heavily keyed in to her hometown of Madison, the capital city, as a former member of the city council, with experience in expanding housing. She is passionate about defending protesters, getting ICE out of Wisconsin, and sustaining immigrant communities across the state.
In Arizona, Brendan Trachsel (he/him/his) is running on the Green Party ticket for one of two seats that makes up the Arizona House of Representatives’ 6th District. This young activist and Quaker is running to be the first Gen Z elected official at the state level in Arizona. Brendan is passionate about securing abortion access in the state, fighting against Flock cameras, and increasing Arizona’s access to higher education.
Myrna Munoz (she/her/ella/they), ran on a platform of opposition to data centers and ICE. This Mexican-American teacher and gamer has generated wide support in her race, including from the Democratic Socialists of America. Myrna identifies as a “justice seeker” and advocates for people and the environment over corporate profits, for gun control, for organized labor, and for Black & Brown communities.
One of Topeka’s state representatives, Alexis Simmons (she/her), is an agnostic, bisexual Democrat. Born at the end of the millennial generation, she identifies as a “childless cat lady” and is a government professor at Washburn University. What drove Alexis to teach government was a belief that people should feel empowered to engage with government, and not be intimidated by the complexity of it. Alexis is passionate about defending the US Constitution from attacks on freedom of speech, freedom to worship freely (or to not worship not at all), and basic privacy.
Kentucky 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.
Luckily, a crop of progressive women are challenging the status quo in Texas. One such candidate is Diana Loya (she/her), a Latina millennial educator and mother in the rural Texas Panhandle. As a public school teacher, education is one of the foundations of her campaign, along with a level economic playing field, where government supports the needs of the working class, and not the 1%, and where taxpayer dollars go towards building infrastructure that benefits the people, and not right back into billionaires’ pockets.
Lauren Gottshall is a “true Chicago girl at heart.” and knows the value of working hard to give back to the communities that made her the artist she is today. Her songs uniquely reflect her experiences and stories and she wants to find topics with every one she writes. She has dedicated her time and effort towards fights for literacy and cancer research and believes positivity is key to success.
Integra Pink is a Southern California-based band that specializes in delivering the unexpected. Whether that means playing with all different genres from punk to disco, or constantly raising the bar for immigration advocacy, they know exactly who they are as musicians and advocates. Their work with immigration rights organizations like CHIRLA is inspired and their music makes people believe in a more optimistic future.
New 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.
Renae Geerlings has truly done it all. Acting, producing, writing, both for print and the screen, and now, she’s adding podcasting to her extensive resume with MANE AF. She co-hosts this podcast with her husband and fellow actor Tyler Mane, as they delve into topics ranging from the fast-paced world of Hollywood to parenting adult children. She advocates passionately for animal rights as well as human trafficking awareness, which is a present theme behind her and Mane’s graphic novel, THE LAST SPARTAN.