Who is Zohran Mamdani? 33-year-old could become the first Muslim NYC mayor
Presumed Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani is New York City’s first Muslim mayor and will become its first Asian American mayor.
Activist and social media personality Deja Foxx is short for a Democrat nomination in place of stubborn Democratic Rep. Raul Glyarva, a Southern Arizona Democratic Party who died of lung cancer in March.
The 25-year-old was one of three main candidates for the July 15 Democratic primary, led by Adelita Griarba, the former Pima County supervisor and daughter of the late representative, on Tuesday night.
Grillarva led FOXX to 18,929 as of 11:30pm, according to the Arizona Secretary’s Office. The Associated Press estimates that around 65% of the votes are counted and is called Grillarva’s race.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary is a favorite heading from southern Arizona to Washington as Democrats have secured seats since it was created following the 2000 census.
Here’s what you need to know about Deja Foxx:
Who is Deja Foxx?
According to her campaign website, Foxx was raised in Tucson by a single mother and experienced homelessness in childhood due to her mother’s struggle with substance abuse.
When FOXX first became viral prominent in 2017, she challenged then-Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake directly at City Hall for his stance on birth control and abortion.
“As a planned parent-child patient and someone who relies on Title X, I wonder why the right to take away someone you are clearly not, a planned parent and access it is your right to access it,” Foxx said. “If you can explain it to me, I’ll appreciate it.”
Flake announced his retirement later that year.
According to Politico, Foxx worked for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential election and held the Harris Party members at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
The FOXX part of the young democratic wave
FOXX is one of a wave of young Democratic candidates who say they are looking to remake the party that lost the White House last November.
David Hogg is a Democratic activist and former co-director, a leader worthy of us, his political group, and supports FOXX in the primary.
Two Democrat senators from Arizona approved Grijalva. This is a move that described the Republic of Arizona, part of the USA Today Network as “thumbs to the size of my race,” along with independent left-wing senators and progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Fox’s stance leaps to the left of the Democratic Union, with her website saying “housing is a human right” and seeking a federal minimum wage of $17 an hour.
Her previous work in the Democrats is in contrast to democratic socialists with challengers who allied in the US, including New York City mayor Zoran Mamdani and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fate.
Foxx told the Republic that voters could decide whether Grijalva’s political experience or whether her living experience, which relies on government programs, is more important on a major day.
“She didn’t rely on Medicaid, food stamps or section 8 homes. That’s what Donald Trump has in his crosshairs,” Foxx said. “That’s the depth I think most politicians lack… They don’t know what it’s like to argue what you live and discuss what you need to get through.”
FOXX rejects “influencer” labels
Foxx told the Republic earlier this month it would reject the influencer label.
“I think people labeled me an influencer in an attempt to downplay the work I do,” she said. “My first video that went viral so far, and the subsequent drum beats of the viral video I had had had something to do with my advocacy work on the ground.”
She told the newspaper that she believes it is reductive to label her as simply an online personality.
“Every save is something that inspired someone enough to make them want to go back to it…and like everything, it’s an endorsement that we’re doing something different,” Foxx said.
