Deja Foxx: We're Not Supposed to Win. That's Why We Have To

Newsweek

2 days ago

Running for Congress at 25 isn't easy—and that's by design.
I'm not from a political family. I didn't inherit a donor list. I don't have deep pockets. Most people don't. Which is why our elected bodies don't look like the communities they are meant to represent.
That's why I'm running for Congress. I've been homeless. I've worked nights and cleaned gas station bathrooms. I've stood in line at Planned Parenthood for my own care and fought to keep it open for others. In short, I've lived the policies others debate.
Deja Foxx attends Global Citizen Festival 2023 on September 23, 2023, in New York City.
Deja Foxx attends Global Citizen Festival 2023 on September 23, 2023, in New York City.for Global Citizen
And when I look around, I see a generation getting priced out, locked out, and left behind. We can't afford to wait for someone else to fight for us.
I'm running in a special election on July 15, 2025, to fill an open seat after the death of my representative. He was one of three House Democrats to pass away in just a few months—leaving our communities without a vote during critical decisions. One of those decisions? The Donald Trump budget bill that passed the House by a single vote. It threatens Medicaid, food assistance, and the future of families like mine. You can do the math.
That's what's on the line—but stepping up to fight back isn't as simple as raising your hand. Because the truth is, the political system isn't built for people like me. Most candidates don't have to think twice about paying bills and making campaign payroll in the same month. They have health care. They can take time off work. They can afford to live in one of the most expensive cities in the country if they win. For everyone else, just getting to the starting line is a battle.
And when we do make it, we're doing things differently—because we have to. I launched this campaign alone in my room, filling out the paperwork on my laptop, and doing it wrong. But I had one advantage: I could read the room. I knew people were tired of politics as usual, tired of legacy names and corporate PACs calling the shots. Because I am too.
That's why I've been focused on bringing people into this campaign in ways that politics usually doesn't allow. I pull back the curtain on running for office step by step on platforms like Substack and TikTok because voters aren't looking for perfection—they're looking for honesty.
In our first debate, I went viral for saying something simple: I don't look like the folks on this stage—or in Congress. Millions of people saw that moment and saw themselves in it. In the days after, thousands of people chipped in what they could. We raised over $600,000 from more than 19,000 individual donors—99 percent of them giving less than $200. People who drive DoorDash after work. People who cash in coin jars. People who know what it means to go without, and still chose to show up for something bigger.
Let's be clear: this isn't supposed to be happening. Not in a low-turnout special election, in the middle of summer, in an off year. But it is—because we're not just running a campaign. We're building something bigger.
We're showing what's possible when people who know what's at stake step up to lead because we've lived it. When we stop pretending that the system is working for everyone, and start telling the truth about what it takes to get by. Voters know the way things have always been done isn't working. They're asking for someone who gets it—and who's not afraid to fight.
This is the future of politics. It's not just about age or even ideology. It's about lived experience. It's about honesty and a new generation of leadership. One that reflects what people like us have always known: the hard work it takes to make sure your family can do more than just get by, but have a real shot at getting ahead.
Whether the establishment is ready or not, we're here. And we're proving a different way of doing politics isn't just possible—it's necessary.
Deja Foxx is a 25-year-old leader and activist, raised by a single mom in Tucson, Ariz. Now, she is running to be the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress in the upcoming special election for the open seat in Arizona's 7th Congressional District because families like hers deserve a fighter in the halls of power.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.