Democratic Voters Are Clear: It's Time to Fight

"Mejía, a former political director for Senator Bernie Sanders and the director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, ran as a progressive who was prepared to take on the “bosses and bullies in both parties to get things done.” After emerging as the victor in a crowded and complicated primary—in which she backed Medicare for All, guaranteed paid sick leave, and a moratorium on AI data centers; accurately described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide; and declared that “it's time to abolish ICE”—Mejía won the general election by a 20-point margin (more than double the margin that the district gave Kamala Harris in 2024)."

"That's the sort of initiative Democrats need to take in a 2026 election cycle in which, by most accounts, the winds are at their back. “Largely because Donald Trump is so unpopular, his party will be trounced in the midterm elections in November,” declare the sober editors of The Economist. Even as the Supreme Court was eviscerating the Voting Rights Act in late April—creating new concerns about gerrymanders that could erase the mostly Black-held Democratic seats in the South—a generic congressional ballot poll by Emerson College found that 50 percent of likely voters favor Democrats and 40 percent favor Republicans, confirming that the surge that began last fall when the party swept off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia is accelerating."

"The question for Democrats in 2026 is not one of viability—they've got that. The question is whethe"

Analilia Mejía won an April special election for a suburban New Jersey congressional seat, running as a progressive prepared to confront “bosses and bullies in both parties.” She backed Medicare for All, guaranteed paid sick leave, and called for a moratorium on AI data centers. She described Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide and said it was time to abolish ICE. She won the general election by a 20-point margin, far exceeding the district’s prior support for Kamala Harris. After taking office, she proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour. Democrats are seen as having strong prospects in 2026 due to Donald Trump’s unpopularity and polling that favors Democrats over Republicans, even amid concerns about Voting Rights Act changes and potential gerrymandering.

Read at The Nation