The NewDEAL, a center-left network of state and local elected officials, welcomed 19 new members this past weekend as it gathered for the latest installment of its “Ideas Summit” in Atlanta.

The group, which prizes its selectivity when it comes to membership, said each of the 19 officials reflects and supports its efforts to champion good policy and govern effectively.

“These are not ordinary times, and Americans across the country are rightly calling for extraordinary individuals to step up and deliver on the issues that matter most,” said NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan in a written statement.

“This new class of leaders are heeding that call, and give all of us hope for a brighter tomorrow,” Bultan continued. “From cities and towns to state governments, this new class is developing, implementing, and sharing policy ideas that focus on key issues like education, climate change, economic opportunity and security, and a strong democracy that values everyone.”

The newest members of the NewDEAL hail from 16 states, and four of them were endorsed during the 2024 election cycle by The Next 50, a center-left group founded in 2019 to identify and nurture “next-generation” leadership.

They are Arizona State Rep. Stephanie Simacek; Georgia State Rep. Sam Park; Iowa State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott; and Virginia Delegate Michael Feggans.

Their selection to be part of the NewDEAL makes them the “inaugural cohort” of a partnership with The Next 50 the NewDEAL announced in March and aimed at cultivating the next generation of Democratic talent.

The full list of new NewDEAL leaders includes:

• Stephanie Simacek, representative, Arizona.
• Corey Woods, mayor, Tempe, Arizona.
• Eleni Kavros DeGraw, representative, Connecticut.
• Lindsay Cross, representative, Florida.
• Sam Park, representative, Georgia.
• Troy Hashimoto, senator, Hawaii.
• Colin Nash, councilmember, Boise, Idaho.
• Sarah Trone Garriott, senator, Iowa
• Brandon Woodard, representative, Kansas.
• Katurah Herron, senator, Kentucky.
• Sarah Anthony, senator, Michigan.
• Leonardo Williams, mayor, Durham, North Carolina.
• Jamaal Bailey, senator, New York.
• Mark Jeffreys, councilmember, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Monroe Nichols, mayor, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Lesley Briones, commissioner, Harris County, Texas.
• Edward Pollard, councilmember, Houston, Texas.
• Michael Feggans, delegate, Virginia, and
• Kayla Young, delegate, West Virginia.

Many of the new members joined a group of 50 of their colleagues from across the country who gathered in Atlanta for the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit.

During the event attendees shared and swapped ideas on how to expand economic opportunity in their respective communities and make government work better on the state and local level.

According to Bultan and others with the organization, the NewDEAL sees itself as having a two-fold mission at this moment in history — delivering pragmatic solutions on the issues Americans care most about and pushing back against what they see as anti-democratic and harmful policies coming from the White House.

Currently, 69% of NewDEAL state legislators hold one or more leadership roles in their respective caucuses and/or committees, including speaker of the house, majority or minority leader, caucus chair, and/or chair, vice chair, or another leadership position on nearly 70 committees or subcommittees.

That track record of success extends to the ballot box.

In 2024, every NewDEAL leader who ran for reelection in their current position won their race, and since 2018, 56 NewDEALers have been elected to a higher office than they held when they first became members.

“These leaders know what good governance looks like, and it is not the chaos emanating from Washington, D.C.,” Bultan said.

“Members of the new class exemplify the thoughtful, results-oriented approach to governing that NewDEAL is known for, and we look forward to working closely with them as they thrive in 2025 and beyond,” she added.

Members of the 213 leader network hail from all 50 states and have been chosen from among more than 2,200 nominations over the organization’s fourteen years.

NewDEAL alumni include newly-elected members of Congress like Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., Govs. Josh Shapiro, of Pennsylvania, and Josh Stein, of North Carolina and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

NewDEAL’s honorary co-chairs are Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Rep. Marilyn Strickland, of Washington state.