I have some exciting news, John:
I’m proud to announce that Leaders We Deserve is endorsing Nabeela Syed for the Illinois State Senate.
Years ago when I was a Junior in college, long before we created Leaders We Deserve, I wanted to help elect more young progressives. One of the people I came across was a young woman running for a purple State House seat in Illinois. Her name was Nabeela. She was a young progressive who I thought would be a great example of how progressives can actually win in purple seats. I tweeted a bunch asking for people to support her and even hosted Twitter livestreams from my dorm room with Nabeela, soon-to-be Congressman Maxwell Frost, and other young people running for office. That year, Nabeela won by just about 3,000 votes.
She and her race were one of the original inspirations for creating Leaders We Deserve. So when she told me she was going to run for State Senate, supporting her was a no brainer. Not just because she is a great young candidate, but because of all she has accomplished while in the State House — where she’s passed 21 bills into law, mainly focusing on issues like lowering costs for working families and protecting access to healthcare.
Nabeela is running for Illinois State Senate in the 26th District to build on the work she’s already doing in Springfield and bring that same community-rooted approach to the Senate. She’s a lifelong resident of the district and has built her campaign around being present, showing up, listening, and translating what she hears from her constituents into policy.
Her work includes legislation that will cap prescription drug costs, expand breast cancer screening (legislation she worked on after learning of a constituent who got an incredibly late diagnosis due to insurance delays), secure paid leave for organ donors, and make voting more accessible to young people.
Nabeela has also prioritized improvements to school funding through Illinois’ Evidence-Based Funding approach. This work is aimed at strengthening public education while reducing dependence on local property taxes.
As a Gen Z lawmaker, she’s helped make it clear that sustained investment in public schools is foundational to economic stability, stronger communities, and long-term affordability.
But this race is going to be a competitive one, John — IL SD-26 is widely viewed as a top competitive seat going into 2026. The district’s most recent State Senate election in 2022 was decided by only 385 votes.
Nabeela’s Republican opponent, Darby Hills, was just appointed in February 2025, and we know that her opponent and their GOP supporters are going to spend any amount they can to keep their seat in the State Senate.
The outcome of this election could hinge on whether Nabeela’s campaign has the resources to run a full-scale voter-contact program, so this campaign will need the resources to support her work and deliver for Illinoisans.
Thank you,
David Hogg
