By Black Star News
Photos: Run For Something\YouTube Screenshots
The Run for Something political progressive organization co-founder Amanda Litman was featured in an article published by Good Good Good that talked about “new wave of grassroots, values-driven candidates showing up to run for office.”
According to Run for Something, “The piece explores how Zohran Mamdani’s campaign—centered on affordability, direct community engagement, and listening rather than lecturing—is a blueprint for a new kind of politics. Candidates are no longer looking to mimic the political playbook of the past, but are instead reimagining what it means to lead as “a values-driven, voter-first candidate who knows how to communicate where his, her, or their neighbors are.”
“In the two weeks following Zohran’s win, Run for Something saw over 10,000 new sign-ups from individuals interested in running for local office—a surge matched only by the immediate aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.”
Read excerpts below or read the full Good Good piece here.
“I think the things that made Mamdani so effective here were that he ran values first, voters first, showed up where people are, [and] understood that social media is not an afterthought,” Litman told Good Good Good.
“One of the things I was really inspired by was that in the two weeks after the 2024 [presidential] election, we had about 10,000 people sign up to run. The only moment that has matched that is the 10,000 people who signed up to run in the two weeks after Mamdani won the mayoral race,” Litman told Good Good Good.
She elaborated: “We need new leaders top to bottom. Trump is the last of an old generation — both literally and figuratively — of people who are clinging to power. He is the end of the line. And we get a chance to actually make that true.”
“Most of the folks signing up to run with us are 40 or younger. About half identify as women, about half as people of color, a large rate of whom actually get on the ballot. They are running for things like school board, state house, state senate, city council, mayor, library board, water commissioner — the building blocks of democracy,” she explained.
“Run For Something has helped elect more than 1,500 people, including in Nebraska, and Kansas, and Iowa, and Alaska, who have brought their own lived experience and reflecting the values of the community they’re in,” she said.
“I’m not saying we need 10,000 superstar, charismatic, once-in-a-generation political talents. What we do need is 10,000 more people who really understand what their neighbors care about and give very specific ideas for how to solve things for them. That’s replicable anywhere.”
“2026 is going to be a really big opportunity. There are going to be very high odds against us in many of these places,” Litman said. “We know the other side does everything they can to make it feel impossible for us to win. It is not.”
“If you’re not the right person to run, ask a friend to run. Find the best person. Be the recruiter you wish to see in the world. Get involved in these local elections,” Litman said. “The mantra I keep coming back to is: the way that we did things yesterday does not dictate the way we do things tomorrow. We have agency, and we can decide what we do with it.”
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