From a civil rights lawyer in New Jersey to a nurse in Oklahoma, a new wave of Black Americans is running for office with policy platforms shaped by lived experience.
A new wave of Black Americans is preparing to run for office in 2026, and their reasons for doing so are rooted less in political ambition than in frustration with what they see as a broken system. With voting rights facing renewed pressure, federal programs being scaled back, and redistricting threatening minority representation, the question of who holds public office carries added weight.
March 31 marked National Public Office Day, an initiative launched by Run for Something Civics in 2018 to encourage civic participation and broaden representation at every level of government. This year, five candidates are drawing particular attention.
A civil rights lawyer steps up in Trenton
Austin Edwards, 35, is running for mayor of Trenton, New Jersey. A civil rights attorney who serves as president of the Trenton NAACP and sits on the city’s school board, Edwards has spent years watching his city get overlooked in policy conversations. His platform centers on job creation and economic support for small businesses, with an argument that local government has failed the people it is supposed to serve.
A Gwinnett County board member takes on Congress
Everton Blair, 33, is challenging incumbent Rep. David Scott in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. Blair made history in Gwinnett County as the youngest person and first person of color elected to its Board of Education. His congressional campaign is built around public education, affordable housing, and LGBTQ+ rights. He has been candid about his belief that the Democratic Party needs members who are more willing to fight for the communities that elect them.
Emmett Till’s cousin runs for Senate in Mississippi
Priscilla Williams-Till is seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi. Her candidacy carries both personal and historical weight. Williams-Till is a cousin of Emmett Till, whose 1955 lynching became a defining moment in the civil rights movement. She entered the race following Hyde-Smith’s widely criticized public comments, and her platform focuses on healthcare access, education reform, and criminal justice. She has described her campaign as an effort to change the story Mississippi tells about itself.
A union electrician runs grassroots in Illinois
Jump Shepherd, 35, is pursuing the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. A former educator and union electrician, Shepherd is running without major-party backing and has built his campaign around taxing the ultra-wealthy, eliminating student debt, and protecting reproductive rights. His message frames the political divide not as a partisan one but as a conflict between concentrated wealth and working people.
A military spouse and nurse enters the race in Oklahoma
N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas is running for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma. A nurse and military spouse, Thomas came to politics through advocacy for children with special needs and a deep frustration with healthcare access in her state. Her platform includes support for farmers, protection of tribal sovereignty, and LGBTQIA+ civil rights. She describes her campaign as an extension of the advocacy work she has already been doing.
Why these candidates matter
These five candidates are not running on the same platforms or from the same political backgrounds. What they share is a conviction that the communities they come from deserve more direct representation in the rooms where decisions get made. Whether they win or lose, their presence in these races reflects a broader shift in who considers public office accessible and worth pursuing.