Young progressive Democrats are redefining the party’s future after Trump’s return

Galvanized by President Donald Trump’s ambitious 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-leaning lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 in 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 Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh have become rising stars in the Democratic Party. (Bing Guan/Reuters; Jim Vondruska/Reuters)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR IN FIVE NEW YORK BOROUGHS

Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary shocked the political establishment in June when the self-identified democratic socialist handily defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral primary.

The New York congressman focused his campaign on affordability, successfully using social media to build a broad coalition of support among New Yorkers.

Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, speaks to volunteers at a poll launch in Brooklyn, September 28, 2025. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Mamdani’s platform includes ambitious campaign promises like rent freezes, free child care, free rapid 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 richest 1 percent of New Yorkers.

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Mamdani was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Trump called Mamdani a “100 percent crazy communist” and “my little communist,” but Mamdani maintained he was a democratic socialist.

Omar Fatah

Nicknamed the “Mamdani of Minneapolis,” Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh is running for mayor of Minneapolis this year.

Like Mamdani, Fateh identifies as a democratic socialist and has been supported by the DSA.

Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Omar Fateh in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 19, 2025. (Omar Fateh campaign)

Fateh, the son of immigrant parents of Somalia, has pledged to raise the city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing and combat what he calls police violence.

Like Mamdani, Fateh has called for replacing some policing functions with community-led alternatives. He also wants to issue legal ID cards to illegal immigrants.

Kat Abughazaleh

Kat Abughazaleh, 26, is the progressive Gen Z candidate running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District next year.

A virus video of an ICE agent Pushing Abughazaleh to the ground outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Broadview on September 19 became a flashpoint in the contentious debate over Trump’s rollout of deportations.

Abughazaleh is a former journalist and activist who frequents protests outside ICE headquarters in Broadview, Illinois.

Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh holds a megaphone in front of the Broadview ICE processing plant, September 26, 2025. (Jim Vondruska/Reuters)

She recently accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of committing “crimes against humanity.”

Abughazaleh gained national attention earlier this year for I wonder why this is controversial? that illegal immigrants should have access to taxpayer-funded health care.

“I don’t have health insurance and I’m running for Congress,” we can read on the young progressive’s campaign website.

Aftyn Behn

Aftyn Behn, a former health care community organizer and current Democratic state representative, secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

The Dickson County Democratic Party described Behn as “our own Tennessee AOC,” referring to “Squad” member Ocasio-Cortez, according to the Tennessee Star.

Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn speaks to members of the public before the start of a Democratic Party forum for candidates in the 7th Congressional District special election at the Fairview Recreation Center in Fairview, September 7, 2025. (Alan Poizner/The Tennessean/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

On her campaign website, Behn describes herself as an “angry 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 his offer for the U.S. Senate in Michigan earlier this year, casting herself as an outsider and calling for a new generation of leadership in Washington ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

McMorrow has said she wouldn’t vote for the Democratic leader in the Senate Chuck SchumerDN.Y., to continue leading the party, adding that it is time for him to step down.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Democrat of Michigan, holds up a book about Project 2025 during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The 38-year-old Michigan state senator has gained national attention for her viral speech for the Michigan State Senate in 2022, where she pushed back against a Republican lawmaker’s allegations that she “groomed” and “sexualized” children.

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“I am the biggest threat to your empty, hateful plan,” McMorrow said, calling out Republican Sen. Lana Theis for invoking his name in a fundraising email. “We will not let hatred win.”

Fox News Digital contacted the Democratic National Committee, Mamdani, Fateh, Abughazaleh, Behn and McMorrow but received no response.

Paul Steinhauser of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.