By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-02 18:08:34 | Updated at 2024-11-02 20:13:06
2 hours ago
They exploded into the news six years ago and have barely been out of the headlines since - but what will 2024 mean for the so-called Democratic 'Squad'?
The group was established in Congress in the 2018 midterm elections conducted halfway through Donald Trump's term in the White House.
It emerged as what Democrats saw as a progressive correction and response to the former president's populist conservative policies.
All four original members were minority women younger than the average member of the U.S. House, which was 58-years-old.
In successive congressional elections more progressive politicians arrived in the House and added to the group, with their slogan becoming: 'I Stand With The Squad'.
The new additions were either welcomed by the existing members themselves or linked to the growing section of lawmakers by the media.
Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley were all elected to the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms in what was seen as a progressive response to Donald Trump's presidency. They were immediately dubbed 'the squad'
However, in this election cycle, the squad has begun to shrink for the first time.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was the first to fall after he was defeated in his June primary election following only one term.
Then in August, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) also lost her primary election amid a massive push from pro-Israel group to oust pro-Palestinian members of Congress.
The 2024 election brings many questions for the future of the country – and Congress – including whether the 'squad' will maintain its influence.
Here, DailyMail.com breaks down the four main members of 'The Squad' and how the races are leaning in their respective districts:
While members have been added to squad over the last two election cycles, the 2024 cycle has yielded the first losses for the group after progressive Reps. Cori Bush (left) and Jamal Bowman (right) were defeated in their respective primary races
AOC – New York's 14th Congressional District
Republican candidate Tina Forte is taking on the grand challenge of trying to oust the most famous squad member – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It isn't likely that AOC is going anywhere in her very safely blue district in New York City, which encompasses the eastern part of The Bronx and an area of north-central Queens.
The 35-year-old congresswoman won her primary this year with 81.1 percent of the vote and is on her way towards a fourth term.
AOC won her seat in Congress in the 2018 election when she earned a commanding 78.2 percent of the vote. Her victory margin has decreased since then, but still remains very large.
The millennial lawmaker won her second term in 2020 with 71.6 percent of the vote and a third in 2022 with 70.6 percent.
There are very unlikely chances of an upset for AOC in November.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the squad member with the most notoriety. When elected at age 29, she was the youngest woman to ever serve in the U.S. Congress
Ilhan Omar – Minnesota's 5th Congressional District
Possibly the second-most recognizable squad member, American-Somali Rep. Ilhan Omar, 42, is facing Republican candidate Dalia al-Aqidi in the general election.
The Minnesota congresswoman became the first to ever wear a hijab on the floor of the U.S. House and was one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress along with fellow squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Omar had a too-close-for-comfort primary run against Democrat Don Samuels this cycle, with approximately 16,000 votes separating the two in their August election.
But the 5th district in Minnesota is by far the most blue in the state with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of Democrat+30, meaning it's highly unlikely Omar will be ousted by her Republican rival in the November 5 elections. Omar's district includes Minneapolis, as well as several other cities in the surrounding area.
In her first election to the House in 2018, Omar won with 78.0 percent against Republican Jennifer Zielinski, who earned 21.7 percent.
Omar is the first Somali-American to serve in Congress.
Her family fled Somalia to escape the Civil War and spent four years in a refugee camp in Garissa County, Kenya.
Rep. Ilhan Omar often faces the ire of Republicans for her anti-Semitic comments. Omar was the first woman to ever wear a hijab on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives
The future congresswoman's family secured asylum in the U.S., arriving in New York in 1995.
Her family lived for a time in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Arlington, Virginia before moving to and settling in Minneapolis, which she now represents in the House of Representatives.
Omar has faced controversy through her time in Congress for her criticism of Israel.
Like the rest of the squad, Omar is staunchly pro-Palestinian.
Omar speaks with fellow squad member Rashida Tlaib during a press conference on March 13, 2019
Rashida Tlaib – Michigan's 12th Congressional District
The first Palestinian-American congresswoman overwhelmingly won her 2018 election to represent the 13th district of Michigan. She earned 82.4 percent of the vote.
In 2020, she won the general election with 78.1 percent and in 2022 won with 70.8 percent.
Her margin of victory has decreased by several points each election cycle – but it's unclear so far how she will fare against Republican James Hooper on November 5.
Tlaib's district includes Dearborn and other western suburb areas of Detroit, which is a very blue area. She ran unopposed in her primary election this cycle.
In the 2020 census, Michigan lost a seat in the House, and in 2023 redistricting saw Rep. Tlaib's jurisdiction changed to the 12th Congressional District.
Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, also helped lead a coalition of Muslim and other anti-Israel voters in the presidential primary election casting their ballots 'uncommitted' instead of for President Joe Biden.
It was a show of widespread protest against Biden's continued support for ally Israel in its war against Hamas terrorists operating out of Gaza.
No lawmaker has been more vocal in their criticism of the U.S. support for Israel.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress. She is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian people and staunchly anti-Israel
Rep. Ayanna Pressley rounds out the original four 'squad' members. In comparison to the other members of the group, she keeps a relatively low profile
Ayanna Pressley – Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Also first elected in the 2018 midterm elections, Pressley won her primary against fellow Democrat Michael Capuano by a 17.2 percent margin.
She ran unopposed in the general election and easily sailed to her first term in the House.
Pressley's district includes roughly three-fourths of the very liberal Northeastern city of Boston and a few of its northern and southern suburbs, which are also very progressive. There is no sign that the area will flip any time soon.
The congresswoman's first reelection was easy with no challengers in her primary and then 86.6 percent of people in her district voting for her to get another term.
In 2022, Pressley also didn't have any primary challengers and easily beat her Republican rival with 84.6 percent.
No one jumped in the primary or general election race this year, so Pressley is well on her way to her fourth term along with the rest of the squad.
