Justice Democrats is an American
progressive political action committee founded on January 23, 2017, by former leaders from the
Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign
In the 2016 presidential campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sought the Democratic Party's nomination in a field of six major candidates and was the runner up with 46% of the pledged delegates behind former Secretary of State Hillary C ...
Saikat Chakrabarti
Saikat Chakrabarti (born January 12, 1986) is a political advisor and software engineer. He was formerly chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. representative from New York's 14th congressional district representing portions of The ...
and
Zack Exley
Zack Exley (born December 5, 1969) is an American political and technology consultant.
Early life and education
Exley was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut. He studied abroad at Shanxi Normal University before earning his B.A. in Social Th ...
, as well as political commentators
Kyle Kulinski
Kyle Edward Kulinski (born January 31, 1988) is an American political commentator and media host. Kulinski is the host and producer of ''The Kyle Kulinski Show'' on his YouTube channel ''Secular Talk'' and is a co-host with his partner Krystal ...
and
Cenk Uygur
Cenk Kadir Uygur ( ; ; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-American progressive political commentator, media host, attorney, journalist, and politician. Uygur is the creator of ''The Young Turks'', an American left-wing, sociopolitical, progressi ...
of ''
The Young Turks
''The Young Turks'' (TYT) is an American progressive news commentary show on YouTube that additionally appears on selected television channels. TYT serves as the flagship program of the TYT Network, a multi-channel network of associated web se ...
''.
The organization formed as a result of the
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
and aspires "to elect a new type of Democratic majority in Congress" that will "create a thriving economy and democracy that works for the people, not big money interests".
The group advocates for
campaign finance reform (reducing the role of money in politics) and endorses only candidates who pledge to
refuse donations from corporate PACs and lobbyists.
Kulinski and Uygur are no longer part of the group but remain active supporters.
Alexandra Rojas became executive director of the organization in May 2018.
During the 2018 elections, Justice Democrats ran 79 progressive candidates against Democrats, Republicans and Independents in local, state, and federal elections.
The seven Justice Democrats candidates who won their electoral congressional races in 2018 were
Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 2 ...
,
Pramila Jayapal
Pramila Jayapal ( ; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she represents ...
,
Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
,
Ilhan Omar,
Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of C ...
, and
Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the ...
.
The group endorsed considerably fewer candidates in 2020 than it did in 2018, a move its communications director defended as a strategy to focus the group's resources on the most promising candidates.
Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
,
Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...
, and
Marie Newman
Marie Newman (née Klassen; born April 13, 1964) is an American politician and marketing consultant who served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. The district encompasses parts of southweste ...
were elected to the US House of Representatives in 2020.
In 2022,
Greg Casar
Gregorio Eduardo Casar (born May 4, 1989) is an American politician who is the member for Texas's 35th congressional district in the United States Congress since 2023. He served as a member of the Austin City Council from the 4th district from 20 ...
and
Summer Lee were elected to the House, while Newman lost her reelection in the Democratic primaries.
History
After the 2016 presidential election resulted in a victory for
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, many progressives pointed to the perceived loyalty of politicians to large donors as a major contributing factor to
Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump. These critics contend that a campaign finance model similar to that of
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
, whose 2016 presidential campaign was funded by small individual donations, will increase public trust in politicians through increased accountability to their constituents.
On January 23, 2017, Cenk Uygur and Kyle Kulinski founded Justice Democrats with ten others, including former staffers from the Sanders campaign such as its Director of Organizing Technology, Saikat Chakrabarti, and
MoveOn.org
MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...
fundraiser
Zack Exley
Zack Exley (born December 5, 1969) is an American political and technology consultant.
Early life and education
Exley was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut. He studied abroad at Shanxi Normal University before earning his B.A. in Social Th ...
.
According to the organization, it seeks to create a left-wing populist movement to support alternative Democratic candidates beginning with the 2018 midterm elections, in order to either defeat the incumbent Democrats or make them more accountable to their constituents. It requires its candidates to take a pledge to refuse financial contributions from billionaires and corporations.
In addition, it hoped to rebuild the Democratic Party on a national level and defeat Trump in the
2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
.
On March 20, 2017, Justice Democrats reported that they had received 8,300 nominations and raised $1 million. Also in March 2017, it teamed up with
Brand New Congress
Brand New Congress is an American political action committee with the mission to elect hundreds of new progressive congressional representatives in line with the campaign's political platform.
Background
Brand New Congress is a volunteer-le ...
, a PAC established by former Sanders campaign supporters, to further their goals.
[ By November 1, 2017, they had merged with fellow progressive group AllOfUs.
On May 9, 2017, Representative ]Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
of California's 17th congressional district
California's 17th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that is currently represented by Ro Khanna. It is located in the South Bay and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The district i ...
announced that he had become a Justice Democrat, the first sitting member of Congress to join the organization. Over the following year, Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 2 ...
of Arizona's 3rd congressional district
Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that contains the southwestern portions of the state, sharing the border of Mexico from Nogales to the California border. Much of the district's population lives in the western t ...
and Pramila Jayapal
Pramila Jayapal ( ; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she represents ...
of Washington's 7th congressional district
Washington's 7th congressional district encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, and all of Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Edmonds, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th district has been represented in the U.S. House of Repres ...
also joined, bringing the number of sitting representatives in Justice Democrats to three. Khanna and Jayapal were first elected to the House in 2016 while Grijalva has been an incumbent since 2002.
During the 2018 elections, Justice Democrats ran 79 progressive candidates against Democrats, Republicans and Independents in local, state, and federal elections. 26 of them advanced past the primary stage. All Justice Democrat candidates running for office were endorsed by ''The Young Turks
''The Young Turks'' (TYT) is an American progressive news commentary show on YouTube that additionally appears on selected television channels. TYT serves as the flagship program of the TYT Network, a multi-channel network of associated web se ...
'', who provided them with a media platform on their interview show ''Rebel HQ''. The seven Justice Democrats candidates who won their electoral congressional races in 2018 were Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of C ...
, Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the ...
, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
, and the three sitting members. All seven won districts already held by Democrats.
In 2020, Justice Democrat Marie Newman
Marie Newman (née Klassen; born April 13, 1964) is an American politician and marketing consultant who served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. The district encompasses parts of southweste ...
defeated incumbent Representative Dan Lipinski
Daniel William Lipinski (born July 15, 1966) is an American politician and political scientist who served eight terms as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Blue Dog Coalition, Lip ...
in the 2020 primary for Illinois's 3rd congressional district
Illinois's 3rd congressional district includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Marie Newman since January 3, 2021. The district was previously represented by Dan Lipinski from 2005 to 2021, and by Lipinski's father Bi ...
. Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
defeated incumbent Representative Eliot Engel
Eliot Lance Engel (; born February 18, 1947) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1989 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district covering portions of the north Bronx and s ...
in New York's 16th congressional district's primary. Bowman was also endorsed by Justice Democrats. Another Justice Democrat-endorsed candidate won in Missouri's 1st congressional district
Missouri's 1st congressional district is in the eastern portion of the state. It includes all of St. Louis, St. Louis City and much of northern St Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, including the cities of Maryland Heights, Missouri, Mar ...
, when Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...
defeated Representative Lacy Clay
William Lacy Clay Jr. (born July 27, 1956) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative from from 2001 to 2021. His congressional career ended after he lost in a Democratic primary to Cori Bush in 2020, after successfully def ...
.
Uygur's resignation
On December 22, 2017, it was announced that Uygur had resigned from the organization, after the revelation of previously deleted but archived controversial blog posts he had written. The next day, Kulinski announced that he had stepped down from the organization as he disagreed with staff members who pressed for Uygur's dismissal. He said his decision came as a result of a personal dilemma as he saw the posts in question upon rereading them as satirical. Kulinski noted that the decision to ask for Uygur's resignation came from Justice Democrat staff, not the candidates, and asked his supporters to continue backing the organization's candidates.
In mid-November 2019, Uygur filed to run for Congress in California's 25th district, a seat recently vacated by the resignation of Katie Hill. Uygur stated he would not run as a member of the Justice Democrats.
Ideology and political issues
According to Justice Democrats, its highest priority is to effectively eliminate the role of money and conflicts of interests in politics. As such, any candidate running with Justice Democrats must pledge to refuse donations from corporate PACs and lobbyists. Declining money from corporate PACs and supporting Medicare for All
Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer").
Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...
have both been described as litmus tests for the organization. Justice Democrats supports publicly funded elections, banning Super PACs, and banning private donations to politicians and campaigns. It also advocates for the reinstatement of provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
and a ban on gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
for partisan gain. Several members have voiced support for a constitutional amendment to remove money from American politics.
To accompany its launch, Kulinski and Uygur published the following set of progressive founding principles for the coalition. Adjustments have been made since 2017, resulting in a slightly different platform appearing on the Justice Democrats webpage at a given time.
*Creating a new infrastructure program called the "Green New Deal
Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...
"
*Ending arms sales to countries that it says violate human rights such as Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
*Enacting a federal job guarantee, which would promise all Americans a job paying $15 per hour plus benefits
*Ending the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
*Ending the practice of unilaterally waging war, except as a last resort to defend U.S. territory
*Ending the War on Drugs
The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...
in favor of legalization, regulation, and taxation of drugs, and pardoning all non-violent drug offenders and treating all drug addicts
*Ensuring free speech on college campuses and supporting net neutrality
Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
*Ensuring universal education
Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in col ...
as a right, including free four-year public college and university education
*Ensuring universal healthcare
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
as a right
*Establishing paid maternity leave, paid vacation leave, and free childcare
*Expanding anti-discrimination laws to apply to LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
people
*Expanding background checks on firearms and banning high capacity magazines and assault weapons
*Funding Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
and other contraceptive and abortion services, and recognizing reproductive rights
*Implementing electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:
* Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...
and publicly financed elections nationwide to make irrelevant and obsolete fundraising from large corporations and the wealthy
*Implementing instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...
nationwide in an effort to make third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a Ve ...
and independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidates more viable
*Implementing the Buffett Rule, ending offshore financial centers, "chain ng the capital gains and income taxes, and increasing the estate tax
*Making the minimum wage a living wage
A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...
and tying it to inflation
*Pardoning Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
, prosecuting CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
torturers and DoD war criminals, shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and all other extrajudicial prisons, and ending warrantless spying and bulk data collection by the National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
*Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act
The Paycheck Fairness ActH.R.7 is a proposed United States labor law that would add procedural protections to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Fair Labor Standards Act as part of an effort to address the gender pay gap in the United States. A Ce ...
*Abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
agency (ICE)
*Reforming police by mandating body cameras, establishing community oversight boards, eliminating broken windows policing, ending stop and frisk, and appointing special prosecutors to hold police accountable in courts
*Renegotiating CAFTA-DR and NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
, and opposing Permanent Normal Trade Relations
The status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. The designation was changed from '' most favored nation'' (MFN) to ''normal trade relations'' by Section 5003 of ...
with China and the World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
*Stopping any reductions to Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, Medicare, and Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
, and establishing single-payer universal healthcare
*Stopping anthropogenic climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
through an ecological revolution and upholding the United States' participation in the Paris Climate Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and ...
*Uncompromisingly rejecting President Trump's immigration proposals and policies, particularly Executive Order 13769
Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by critics, or commonly referred to as the Trump travel ban, was an executive order by US President Donald Trump ...
and deportation of illegal immigrants, and implementing comprehensive immigration reform
Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigration ...
which will include giving non-criminal illegal immigrants a path to citizenship
Political activity
2018
Justice Democrats officially endorsed 79 candidates in the 2018 election cycle, seven of whom won general elections (three were incumbents). The four first-time officeholders in the U.S. House make up "The Squad".
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
2020
Justice Democrats endorsed 17 candidates in the Democratic primaries for president, Senate and House. Twelve House candidates made it to the general election (7 incumbents, 5 newcomers). All the incumbents and three newcomers won.
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
2021
U.S. House
2022
U.S. House
Summer for Progress
In July 2017, several progressive organizations, including Our Revolution
Our Revolution (sometimes known by its initials OR) is an American progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. The organization's mission is to educate vote ...
, Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...
, National Nurses United
National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States. With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 th ...
, Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...
, and Brand New Congress
Brand New Congress is an American political action committee with the mission to elect hundreds of new progressive congressional representatives in line with the campaign's political platform.
Background
Brand New Congress is a volunteer-le ...
, announced a push to encourage House Democrats to sign on to a #PeoplesPlatform, which consists of supporting "eight bills currently in the House of Representatives that will address the concerns of everyday Americans." These eight bills and the topics they address are:
#Medicare for All: H.R. 676, the Medicare For All Act
#Free College Tuition: H.R. 1880, the College for All Act of 2017
#Worker Rights: H.R. 15, the Raise the Wage Act
#Women's Rights: H.R. 771, the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017
#Voting Rights: H.R. 2840, the Automatic Voter Registration Act
#Environmental Justice: H.R. 4114, the Environmental Justice Act of 2017
#Criminal Justice and Immigrant Rights: H.R. 3227, the Justice Is Not for Sale Act of 2017
#Taxing Wall Street: H.R. 1144, the Inclusive Prosperity Act
Members
Congressional members
* Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
* Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 2 ...
* Pramila Jayapal
Pramila Jayapal ( ; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she represents ...
* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
* Ilhan Omar
* Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of C ...
* Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the ...
* Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
* Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...
* Marie Newman
Marie Newman (née Klassen; born April 13, 1964) is an American politician and marketing consultant who served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. The district encompasses parts of southweste ...
(until January 3, 2023)
* Summer Lee (from January 3, 2023)
* Greg Casar
Gregorio Eduardo Casar (born May 4, 1989) is an American politician who is the member for Texas's 35th congressional district in the United States Congress since 2023. He served as a member of the Austin City Council from the 4th district from 20 ...
(from January 3, 2023)
Announcements
*On May 9, 2017, Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
of California's 17th congressional district
California's 17th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that is currently represented by Ro Khanna. It is located in the South Bay and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The district i ...
announced that he was a member of Justice Democrats and supported the organization's agenda.
*On December 6, 2017, Justice Democrats announced that Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 2 ...
of Arizona's 3rd congressional district
Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that contains the southwestern portions of the state, sharing the border of Mexico from Nogales to the California border. Much of the district's population lives in the western t ...
had joined the group.
*On April 16, 2018, Justice Democrats announced that Pramila Jayapal
Pramila Jayapal ( ; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she represents ...
of Washington's 7th congressional district
Washington's 7th congressional district encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, and all of Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Edmonds, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th district has been represented in the U.S. House of Repres ...
had joined the group.
*On January 3, 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
of New York's 14th congressional district
New York's 14th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, represented by Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The district includes the eastern part of The Bronx ...
, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th congressional district
Minnesota's 5th congressional district is a geographically small urban and suburban congressional district in Minnesota. It covers eastern Hennepin County, including the entire city of Minneapolis, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey countie ...
, Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of C ...
of Massachusetts's 7th congressional district
Massachusetts's 7th congressional district is a congressional district located in eastern Massachusetts, including roughly three-fourths of the city of Boston and a few of its northern and southern suburbs. The seat is currently held by Democrat ...
and Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the ...
of Michigan's 13th congressional district
Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It is currently represented by Democrat Shri Thanedar.
The district includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs, and it was t ...
were sworn in as members of the House of Representatives and as Justice Democrats. They have been dubbed " The Squad".
*On January 3, 2021, Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
of New York's 16th congressional district
New York's 16th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives represented by Jamaal Bowman.
The 16th district includes the northern Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County, includin ...
, Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of ...
of Missouri's 1st congressional district
Missouri's 1st congressional district is in the eastern portion of the state. It includes all of St. Louis, St. Louis City and much of northern St Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, including the cities of Maryland Heights, Missouri, Mar ...
, and Marie Newman
Marie Newman (née Klassen; born April 13, 1964) is an American politician and marketing consultant who served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. The district encompasses parts of southweste ...
of Illinois's 3rd congressional district
Illinois's 3rd congressional district includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Marie Newman since January 3, 2021. The district was previously represented by Dan Lipinski from 2005 to 2021, and by Lipinski's father Bi ...
were sworn in.
Notes
See also
*Our Revolution
Our Revolution (sometimes known by its initials OR) is an American progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. The organization's mission is to educate vote ...
*Brand New Congress
Brand New Congress is an American political action committee with the mission to elect hundreds of new progressive congressional representatives in line with the campaign's political platform.
Background
Brand New Congress is a volunteer-le ...
* Wolf PAC
* Sunrise Movement
References
External links
*
JD YouTube channel
Justice Democrats Ballotpedia page
Justice Democrats financial reports
from the Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
{{TYT Network
2017 establishments in California
2017 in American politics
Aftermath of the 2016 United States presidential election
Anti-corporate activism
Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign
Democratic Party (United States) organizations
Left-wing populism in the United States
Organizations based in Los Angeles
Progressive organizations in the United States
The Young Turks (talk show)
United States political action committees