Redefining Power: Deja Foxx on Power, Platforms, and Owning the Narrative

Deja Foxx, American politician and activist

Deja Foxx is no stranger to hard work. From going viral for confronting a senator at 16, to working two jobs during her time at Columbia, and working with Kamala Harris by 19, she’s done it all with nothing but grit and sheer will. Yet, Foxx defines her own power not from tearing others down, or even from a lavish title, but from the people themselves. 

“I feel my most powerful when I am reflected in the eyes of the folks that I serve,” Foxx admits. “It's moments when moms stop me on the street and ask me to tell their daughters what I'm doing, or where young women wait in line to come talk to me and share something personal, the ways that they see themselves in my stories. It's moments where folks declare their ambition to run for office in my DMs, my comments or our events for the very first time, and I've always been really clear that no matter my job title, gas station attendant, digital strategist on a presidential campaign, content creator or candidate, I intend to be a good role model.” 

25-year-old Deja Foxx is an American politician and activist who runs on dreams, ambitions, and eight hours of sleep. After gaining viral fame at 16 for standing up to former Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who voted to defund Planned Parenthood centers in Arizona, Foxx crossed a threshold into a world that desperately needed a fighter. Now, as a candidate in the special election for Arizona’s 7th congressional district, she’s fighting for a better future. 

Foxx expressed her vision for America is that everyone receives an opportunity to be ahead of the curve, no matter where their parents are from or what language they speak. Foxx said that good policies made it possible for her to be the first in her family to go to college and work on a presidential campaign, and even now, run for office. 

“We deserve a shot at getting ahead. And I know good policy because I grew up in Section 8 housing,” Foxx said. “I relied on SNAP benefits to have dinner on the table or Medicaid to go to the doctors when I was sick. I was a free lunch kid in our public schools my whole life, and I relied on Planned Parenthood Title 10 funding to be able to get the reproductive care I needed as a teenager.” 

Having spoken openly about experiencing homelessness and instability as a teenager, Deja reflects on how that chapter shaped her understanding of the systems around her and the strength she discovered within herself. 

“I worked at the gas station, Quick Trip, for over two years. I know the value of a $1. I cleaned bathrooms at the gas station for $10 an hour. And it's the kind of experience that most people that make decisions in DC have never had,” Foxx conveys. “They don't know what it's like to have to choose between your bills and your back-to-school clothes. They don't know the price of eggs unless a staffer writes them a memo on it. They've never even done their own grocery shopping, let alone had to make hard decisions in the checkout line. And so it's a kind of lived experience. It's to know policy from the other side,” Foxx said. 

Foxx shared that some have criticized her for not having the “right kinds of experience” for someone in her position. But she sees it differently: having lived the very policies that others merely debate, she believes this is precisely the kind of experience the world needs in this pivotal moment.

As someone who’s been politically engaged since her teens, Foxx has witnessed firsthand how older generations perceive Gen Z’s activism, often with misconceptions. Foxx points out that while Gen Z are adults now, many already well into their twenties and building careers, older generations often express how inspired and hopeful they feel watching young people lead. Yet, she believes inspiration alone isn’t enough; true support means being willing to share power so her generation can create real change, a responsibility she insists Gen Z is ready to take on.

“We have to be, because we're the ones left holding the bag on some of the biggest issues, whether it's the rollback of reproductive freedoms, climate change, and the incremental work we have done,” Foxx says. “It's our generation that's going to have to live through 2050 or 2075, or things like growing authoritarianism in this country and the collapse of our systems, young people are going to be the most impacted by our problems.”

As a leader who’s witnessed a surge of youth activism in recent years, Foxx has a unique perspective on what it means to see her generation stepping into political power. 

“Every time we launch a canvas to go out door knocking for this campaign, without fail, there is someone there who has never volunteered for a political campaign before, who's never knocked doors before, and that fills me with so much hope that this campaign is doing the hard work of bringing people back in to our party and our political process,” Foxx says.

Foxx conveys that what’s needed now is for the establishment, particularly within the Democratic Party, to embrace candidates like herself, who are doing the hard work and are uniquely positioned to engage communities often left behind, including young people and working-class voters.

Given Ribbon’s focus on honoring the diverse experiences of women across identities and backgrounds, Foxx shares her perspective on what she believes is the most urgent issue facing women today, one that transcends individual stories and calls for collective action.

“If I was elected, I'd be the youngest member of Congress in the body. I'd be the first woman of my generation, Gen Z. But it's not just a talking point. I'm a part of the first generation of women to have less rights than our mothers,” Foxx says. “In some cases, our grandmothers. Roe versus Wade was overturned because Donald Trump hand selected Supreme Court justices with the intention to do so, and it was a hard fought fundamental freedom taken away from millions of people, and now our ability to control our bodies and our futures is determined by if we have enough money in our bank account, what zip code, what state we live in, and that's unconscionable. It's not fair.”

As she goes on, Foxx points out that deciding if and when to start a family is one of the biggest economic and personal choices anyone can make. But right now, millions of young women across the country are losing the ability to make that choice for themselves.

Building on the importance of collective strength, Foxx reflects on the vital role community and sisterhood have played throughout her journey, especially the support and influence of her mom, who has been a constant source of strength and guidance.

“My mom and I didn't always have an easy journey. She raised me as a single mom. She worked odd jobs, delivered flowers, cleaned houses, was a caregiver for the elderly, worked at a post office, and when I was a teenager, she struggled with addiction, and it left me without a home of my own,” Foxx says. “It meant that I had to bounce around. Eventually, I came to live with a boyfriend and his family, but my mom has been sober for the last eight years, and she was my very first door knock in this campaign.”

Foxx shared that a viral video capturing the moment she surprised her mom with their first piece of literature has garnered over a million views. She also emphasized that no one has knocked more doors or collected more signatures for her campaign than her mom.

“She is our number one volunteer, and I believe that you shouldn't need to have a legacy, last name, money, or influence to play a part in politics.”

As the political landscape evolves, Foxx highlights the powerful rise of young women of color stepping into leadership roles, reshaping the future of governance and representation.

“I mean, it's a world that I'm working toward right as I've joined this race, it's become clear to me why we don't have more women like me or AOC ( Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) or Jasmine Crockett in office, and that's because there are barriers to participating in politics at this level,” Foxx admits. “It's expensive, it's dangerous. It was designed for old, retired white men. And every day of this campaign, we build the strategies that make it possible for other young women of color to run.” 

Foxx explains that their campaign has demonstrated it’s possible to raise significant funds through grassroots support, having raised approximately $600,000 to date—99% of which comes from small-dollar donors contributing less than $200. With an average donation of just over $27, she attributes this success to compelling storytelling and presenting voters with a candidate they can relate to and feel hopeful about. Foxx emphasizes that this approach represents a new way of doing politics, contrasting with traditional methods that, she argues, have contributed to the current political challenges and will not be effective moving forward.

Now, as she runs for Congress in Arizona’s Seventh District, Deja Foxx is fighting not only for her constituents but also for a version of her younger self, young people out there who deserve to be championed and whose potential she is determined to protect.