Progressives Are Winning Big. Here’s How We Keep It Up.

This week, New York City beat the odds again. A year after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic primary win, a new wave of progressive candidates swept the city, shattering long-standing conventions regarding what an elected official should look like or stand for.

Aber Kawas, a fellow Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, native whom I have been proud to mentor, is on her way to becoming the first Palestinian American elected to the New York state Senate. Darializa Avila Chevalier, who helped organize Columbia University’s encampments protesting the Gaza genocide, is now poised to represent the university in Congress. Brad Lander, a Jewish candidate who pledged to cosponsor the Block the Bombs Act, restricting military aid to Israel, unseated two-term Representative Dan Goldman. And Claire Valdez, who inspired voters with her appetite for championing big, bold domestic- and foreign-policy changes, is also heading to the House of Representatives. And that’s just a partial tally; strong progressive candidates won big in elections at every single level of government.

Many people were absolutely shocked by the scale of these victories. I wasn’t—because I know what it took to get here. I’ve seen a narrative play out in some circles online, alleging that gentrifiers (code for privileged white newcomers) should get the credit for New York City’s primary wins. This narrative erases the many native New Yorkers, communities of color, and working-class people who backed these candidates. I’ve worked with hundreds of these volunteers over the years, and I am one of them.

I’ve spent the last 25 years as a part of this movement, beginning with my early days helping to organize Muslim and Arab communities in New York City and cofounding the city’s Muslim Democratic Club. A decade ago, I founded MPower Change and MPower Action to take that work national, registering and mobilizing tens of thousands of voters across the country through our nonpartisan My Muslim Vote campaign.

The results of this movement are plain to see. Muslim Americans—who comprise a mosaic of racial and ethnic identities—are registering to vote in increasing numbers, and many more are running for office as part of a larger multiracial progressive coalition that is challenging the status quo We are fueled by a desire to challenge decades of US policies that have disproportionately harmed our communities: ICE raids, travel bans, racial profiling, and support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine and terrorizing of families across the region.

As we dive deeper into the 2026 midterms and dip our toes in the 2028 presidential race, these fights will only become more important. On Saturday, thousands of us will gather in Washington, DC, to mark America’s 250th by offering a Declaration of Interdependence—a collective vision for the America we want to build as we look ahead to the next 250 years. We know that if we want to bring this declaration to life, we must back values-aligned candidates and mobilize values-aligned voters.

Based on my experiences activating voters and advising campaigns in New York and across the country, these are the five core issues I believe that voters and candidates need to focus on now to make our vision of an interdependent America a reality:

• Prioritize people over profits. The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, yet millions of Americans cannot afford housing, healthcare, food, or transit. We need elected officials who will answer to working people instead of billionaires. Voters sent that message loud and clear across the country during the 2025 elections—it’s no coincidence that Mayor Mamdani, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, three politicians running very different races, won after campaigns promising to tackle the high cost of rent, utilities, and groceries—and they delivered the same instruction in New York City on Tuesday.

• Protect people from tech oligarchs. A handful of tech executives are reshaping our world with little public oversight. AI is increasingly being used to surveil communities, automate warfare, displace workers, and consume environmental resources, while ordinary people are left to bear the consequences. We need elected officials who reflect the many Americans concerned about their safety and livelihoods. Though he lost in NY-12, Alex Bores got a significant boost from being cast as the candidate who stands up to tech oligarchs, and he encouraged Democrats to seize the issue during his concession speech. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA) has been a vocal advocate for curtailing the power of AI and protecting vulnerable communities from algorithmic discrimination by reintroducing legislation like the AI Civil Rights Act and Eliminating Bias in Algorithmic Systems. Abdul El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim in the US Senate if elected, is rising fast in the polls and has called for AI and AI corporations to be regulated like a public utility. If Big Tech isn’t held accountable, the harm it inflicts on innocent people across the country and globe will increase exponentially.

• Spend our tax dollars at home—not waging endless wars. From Gaza to Iran, Americans across party lines are tired of watching their tax dollars used to fund wars that destroy lives and drive up their daily expenses, all while enriching corporate shareholders. Criticism of the Israeli government and sympathies toward Palestinians are increasing across party lines, and receiving financial support from AIPAC-aligned organizations has become a political liability for Democratic candidates. Aber Kawas, who ran successfully on a platform that centered Palestinian liberation, helped launch the Not on Our Dime bill in 2023 alongside then-Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani—legislation that would stop New York–based charities from using tax-exempt donations to fund Israeli war crimes and illegal settlements.

• Defend our right to free speech. Americans are increasingly concerned about efforts to silence political speech. Retaliation against US students and workers advocating for Palestinian rights has been so rampant that the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported record institutional discrimination last year. This was not limited to Muslims but extended to Arab, Jewish, Black, and Asian students and employees. Voters appreciate candidates who are clear about protecting political speech without exceptions. As El-Sayed articulated so well when pushing back against efforts to smear him, we can simultaneously criticize Israel and stand up for our Jewish siblings. Those born outside the US are particularly vulnerable as the Trump administration targets immigrants who express political views they disagree with—whether by kidnapping and jailing university students or by surveilling social-media accounts to filter out visa applicants it disagrees with. Representative Adriano Espaillat’s inaction when ICE snatched his own constituent Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil away from his pregnant wife was a point Avila Chevalier brought up throughout her successful campaign to unseat him. We must ensure that freedom of speech protections extend to every person, regardless of their faith, national origin, or political beliefs. Otherwise, the slide towards authoritarianism will rapidly accelerate.

• Reject racial and religious profiling. Latino, Black, and Muslim communities are living under the constant threat of being detained and torn apart from their loved ones because of their race, national origin, or religion. These policies go against the values most Americans share regarding civil rights and public safety. And they don’t exist in a vacuum. They are written by the same politicians who openly dehumanize our communities. Earlier this year, Representative Andy Ogle (R-TN) introduced a bill that would ban immigrants from Muslim-majority nations and then declared on social media that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” These policies and hateful rhetoric are two sides of the same coin, and they have deadly consequences, as we saw last month when Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad, and Mansour Kaziha were killed at the Islamic Center of San Diego in a hate-fueled attack. People want candidates who will stand up for fairness and peace in our own streets—folks like primary winners Lander and Valdez, who were both arrested at 26 Federal Plaza last year after refusing to leave until ICE allowed oversight of its makeshift detention facility.

We cannot take for granted that the vision we share for America will become a reality. Yesterday’s primaries offer a glimpse of what we can achieve together—shaping the next 250 years through every vote we cast and every policy we fight for. Let’s carry this momentum forward and build a country that serves all of us.

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Linda Sarsour

Linda Sarsour is an award-winning racial justice activist and longtime community organizer.

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