Are Deja Foxx and Kat Abughazaleh the Next “Zohran Mamdanis?”
Mesdames Foxx from Arizona and Abughazaleh from Illinois want to duplicate the “Mamdani Magic.”
Deja Foxx (left) and Kat Abughazaleh (right).
“Give people something to vote for, and they will.” –Kat Abughazaleh.
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Today, US Senate Republicans approved their revised version of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB),” sending a legislative package with significant cuts to Medicaid and federal food assistance funding back to the House of Representatives for final reworking before it is due to be signed by Mr. Trump.
As Congressional Democrats and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) continue to “roll over and play dead” in the wake of the all-out assault on public health and social welfare by President Trump and national Republicans (GOP), progressive and liberal voters in across the nation are increasingly revolting against the leadership of the Democratic Party.
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Zohran Mamdani. The video screengrab image is courtesy of NPR.
New York State Assemblyman and Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has captured the nation’s imagination.
Assemblyman Mamdani spent the weekend making the “media rounds” on the Sunday political news and opinion network and cable shows after his surprise Democratic Party primary victory for Mayor of New York over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, June 24th, 2025.
Mr. Mamdani’s shocking upset of Cuomo, the eldest descendant of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s (1983-1994) influential political, media, and legal legacy, highlights a civil war within the DNC between “moderate” establishment Democrats and the younger, more progressive wing of the party.
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New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) is a leader of the Democratic Party caucus in Congress. The photo is courtesy of WSHU Public Radio.com.
The racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani from “moderate” Democrats like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Congresswoman Laura Gillen (NY), coupled with the recent ousting of David Hogg from the co-Vice-Presidency position of the DNC, are representative of this current civil war.
The big problem for the “moderate” faction of the Democratic Party is that, according to a recent Reuters poll, 62% of Democratic voters nationwide believe their current leaders should be replaced. Despite widespread anger with DNC “moderates” like Gillibrand, Gillen, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, none of them will relinquish power willingly.
Hence, Democratic Party voters will be forced to remove those “moderates” from office.
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The logo of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Graphic image courtesy of AIPAC.com.
Two high-profile female social media influencers and independent political progressives are currently attempting to lay the groundwork for wresting control of the DNC away from the ironclad grip of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other large-money special donor interests.
Deja Foxx, a political activist who campaigned for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020 and 2024, is mounting a spirited grassroots progressive challenge in the July 15th Democratic Party primary for Arizona’s 7th congressional district. The Arizona 7 seat was vacated after former incumbent Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D) died on March 13th, 2025, due to complications from treatments for cancer.
In Illinois, Kat Abughazaleh is challenging the DNC for a vacancy that will be present for the Illinois 9th congressional district after 81-year-old, 14-term congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D) announced that she will retire in 2026.
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Deja Foxx during an interview with France 24 News in 2023. The video screenshot is courtesy of France24.com.
Deja Cherise Operana-Foxx faces the most significant challenge of the two young women and requires immediate support.
Ms. Foxx’s primary contest is only two weeks away, and although the DNC has not made an official endorsement announcement for the Arizona 7 primary, Raúl Grijalva’s daughter, Adelita Grijalva, is mounting a challenge for her father’s former seat.
Mrs. Grijalva currently serves as a member of the Pima County, Arizona, Board of Supervisors – and also labels herself as a political progressive. Moreover, Grijalva seems to have the requisite progressive bona fides to earn national endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as state and local politicians and organizations in Arizona.
However, Deja Foxx’s inspiring personal story of surviving on Section 8 housing and food stamps as a child, along with her strong advocacy for reproductive health care and the preservation of federal public health programs, has driven a 25% increase in support, bringing her within the margin of error against Grijalva in June.
INSTAGRAM post courtesy of Deja Foxx.
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Influencer Kat Abughazaleh announces her run for Congress. Video screenshot courtesy of Bluesky.
Katherine Marie Abughazaleh is a Palestinian-American freelance advocacy journalist and political commentator whose articles and commentary have been featured in Mother Jones, The New Republic, and Media Matters for America.
Abughazaleh announced her candidacy for the Illinois 9th Congressional District seat on March 24th. Over the last three months, she has raised over $400,000 and moved into a three-way statistical dead heat with two other Democratic primary challengers – State Senator Laura Fine and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
Much like Deja Foxx’s insurgent campaign in Arizona, “Kat Abu” has voiced and promoted her strong support for progressive public health, social welfare, and civil rights policies at every level of government, from the federal level down to their respective local voting districts.
Abughazaleh’s campaign has focused on direct action and mutual aid, like transforming her campaign headquarters and fundraising efforts into a community donation bank. In a TikTok post, Abughazaleh reported, “Our kick-off event, for instance, didn’t charge $500 a plate.”
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Kat Abughazaleh. The photo is courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
“People just had to bring a box of pads or tampons, which were donated to Chicago’s period collective,” Kat Abu continued.
“By the end of the night, we had gathered over 5,600 period products, which went to people who can’t afford them,” said Abughazaleh.
Deja Foxx and Kat Abughazaleh both have stridently railed against the Trump administration’s Project 2025-influenced Christian nationalist, far-right-wing political policies. “Families like mine know what it’s like to make hard decisions in the grocery checkout line, while people like Trump and (Elon) Musk have probably never even done their own grocery shopping,” said Ms. Foxx.
“Under the first Trump administration, Republicans here in Arizona voted in lockstep to defund Planned Parenthood centers. And these are the very same places where I received care when I had no money, no parents, and no insurance,” Foxx revealed.
The two women also state that Congressional Democratic leadership and the DNC have not sufficiently responded to Trump, Musk, and the GOP.
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Deja Foxx (center). Photo courtesy of Deja Foxx for Arizona.
Ms. Abughazaleh’s website harshly criticizes national Democrats for putting up “performative” resistance to Donald Trump.
Likewise, there is broad national discontent with decisions by party leaders, such as Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who endorsed scandal-plagued former Governor Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani. The Democratic Party’s voting base indicates they are fed up with the DNC and establishment Democrats.
Just four years ago, there was no way most mainstream media political prognosticators would have thought that an avowed Democratic Socialist with harsh criticisms of capitalism could win the nomination for mayor of New York City. Now, we have Zohran Mamdani scaring the hell out of establishment types like Senator Schumer and Congressman Jeffries.
What is interesting is that Schumer, Jeffries, Gillibrand, and Gillen seem more eager to fight against progressives like Mr. Mamdani, Deja Foxx, and Kat Abughazaleh than they are willing to combat President Trump and the Project 2025 agenda.