Yeah.

And so when we think about what is possible as we build a new world, right, and I think even this resonates maybe for people who are feeling hopeless or dejected about politics, is there are so many ways to be a world-builder.

And one of the ways folks are doing that, girls, women are doing that is online, by building alternative digital platforms, right? I think about how in response to major platforms censoring women's health information, we've seen platforms like DM, which is this, like, Reddit alternative pop up, and a quarter of their searches are about reproductive rights.

Hmm

... that the people who care about you are gonna care about what you care about, and you don't need to have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of followers to make a difference.

That when you can tell your story and know that it matters, other people will feel it, too.

And that can look like all different kinds of things.

For me, it has been advocacy, right? Town hall meetings, school board meetings, and content creation.

What, what is the message, what is the message, uh, that you think the Democratic Party should be putting forward now? What's the simple message?

For me, it feels clear that the Democratic Party needs to focus on families like mine, right? Uh, and show them that they have a fighter in DC.

And what brings me to this race is this guiding principle, that families like mine deserve more than to just get by.

They deserve a shot at getting ahead.

And it feels like Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies are working to make their lives harder every day, right? Cutting programs like Medicaid, reducing SNAP benefits, making it harder for our most vulnerable families to even have food on the table, all the while giving tax breaks to their billionaire buddies, right? That our families are paying for.

And I think it's really clear for somebody like me who has lived the policies we are debating in DC to make that case.

And so the Democratic Party not only needs to get clear on our message, but on our messengers.

so we didn't wanna bring it up.

So it's just a testament that you can get involved and that you can make a difference, especially at the local level.

Yeah.

And you know, a lesson I took away from that that I hope your listeners lean into is that you are an expert in your experience.

It's a lesson I'm actually taking with me into this run for Congress, which is that you don't need a fancy degree or expensive job title to have something to say on politics.

Each and every one of us is affected by politics every single day, and the experience of living it, being a young person, a kid growing up in Section 8 housing, relying on SNAP benefits and Medicaid, right? Being the young person who was disadvantaged by inaction of my school board members around sex education reform, right? That is what qualified me to speak, to speak out if community calls, and share my story, and create change.

And you know, under the first Trump administration, if you can imagine, this man's been running for president for the last decade since I was 15 years old, I organized.

There was a moment in 2017 where Trump-Was pushing to defund Planned Parenthood centers here in Arizona.

Can you tell us about some of those interactions you've had so far?

You know, this is not a, this is not a joke anymore.

No.

No, it's not.

And the choice to take a stand, to do it vocally, um, is one that, you know, I reflect on a lot, because that viral video of me, that first one when I was 16, wasn't actually recorded by me.

I woke up the next day and millions of people had watched the video, uh, and my life went from private to public overnight.

And if I'm being honest, um, it was smart organizing, it was good digital strategy, but I couldn't have known what I was signing up for as a teenager.

I had no concept.

But I just, you know, I want to ask you because what do you say to critics who tell young activists like yourself to stay in their lane, as if you can care about reproductive rights or genocide, but you can't care, you can't care about both?

They wanna stop the future Deja Foxes because they want more Andy Biggs.

Yeah, this is the American dream story that they all say they support, right? That because of good policy...

You know, I was raised by a single mom.

I'm a first-generation American, uh, and I was raised in Section 8 housing, right? That's what put a roof over my head.

SNAP benefits, food stamps put food on our table, and my mom worked every odd job.

I mean, she delivered flowers.

She worked at a post office.

Why should the voters be looking at you?

Fox with two Xs for those of you who-

Fox with two Xs, that's right.

Deja like deja vu and Fox with two Xs.

Um, and you can check out our policies there, and if there's something that really matters to you, there's a box in the bottom where you can add your thoughts.

Um, and so when you ask, "What would I do differently?" it's things like that, right? It's about being more transparent, uh, about our processes.

And, you know, if you check us out on social media, which you can follow along @DejaFoxx, uh, we have a Substack as well, uh, where I give the behind the scenes of the behind the scenes, right? Uh, I just wrote a post about the five reasons young people can't win, everything from having to dox yourself to not being able to afford the right kinds of experience.

So we are really setting a new standard for transparency, um, in this process.

... reaching out to Gen Z more than they do it in a substantial way, but I don't know what the main thing I would say to them is when they were like, w- when they're like, "Okay, how do we reach Gen Z?" And I feel like some of them probably ask you that.

When they used to (laughs) do town halls.

(laughs) Right.

In the era in which Republicans had town halls and, like, would go and be face to face with their constituents, a bygone era of democracy I fear, and I asked him why he as a middle-aged white man was making decisions about me and my body, right? And he says this thing about how he supports policies that support the American dream, and I ask him why he would deny me the American dream.

And millions of people overnight on Twitter and Facebook saw that video.

And I share that story to say that in the last...... what is that, eight years since we've known each other.

The landscape on which we are meeting people, in which they are developing their political understanding, has shifted.

And for someone like me, right, who has been ear to the ground, following each platform as it develops, and really working in digital strategy, right, for candidates even like Kamala Harris, I've been able to keep up with that shift.

And look, sometimes that's been used to great effect, but at this point, I think it's losing more elections than it's winning for Democrats.

I know I usually curse like this later in the week, but

I need to hear, right? That we need to hear.

And it's what we're hearing on the doors.

You know, we have knocked hundreds of doors here in Arizona.

And, you know, I want to share two things.

One that I think is going to make people in this chat feel hopeful about a candidacy like ours and hopefully encourage you to come join us over on our Substack.

Follow along, right? Is that Just last Friday, we launched a canvas and three people I had never met showed up.

Do you know what happened? Why did the bottom fall out? What's going on?

Yeah.

General Studies? So I had to, for my full ride situation, I could never switch into General Studies, which gave me more flexibility. Instead, I was, like, forced to do full-time classes and also full-time work, which was its own absolute shitshow. College was a toughie.

Yep.

Second thing that was really important about the move for me back to Arizona on a personal and professional level was that the same organizers that brought me into this work at 15, that taught me about the reproductive justice framework, that held my voice, that taught me how to tell my story, um, and power map, and just, like, the fundamentals of what it meant to be an organizer are there. These are people I've been organizing with since before the first Trump administration. And it is a deep reminder to me when I go to their baby showers and baptisms of their kids and barbecues, um, or we sit and we just hang out and have, like, you know, birria or food or whatever, that, like, when we invest in community, that outlasts election cycles. Right? Like, the relationships I have with these people, uh, are what got me through this election cycle and will get me through whatever happens next. And so being back in that community was incredibly important for me and that, like, physical environment. Now, what did I learn that's transferrable to you all? Um, I think... I, I hosted these youth listening sessions in Arizona where I would invite young people into my home, into my living room, um, and sometimes there would be journalists or movement leaders or funders that would come and sit with us. And we would just talk about what they were thinking about, um, before they went to bed. Like, what were they worrying about? Um, what was going on in their group chat? What was the highlight of the week? What was the conversation topic, right? Like, what is the thing they want out of their lives? Um, what do they expect from their politicians? And this learning might not be revolutionary, uh, but I think if we practiced it, it would be. For these young people, their number one worry and their number one aspiration is to live a good life, right? Like, it is cost of living that's fucking them up. They are so disappointed that they cannot move out of their parents' home. They're worried about paying, you know, their car insurance bill this month. They're upset that they can't afford to go out and have drinks with their friends, um, or even go see a movie, right? Like, for them, their number one issue is cost of living. And we can and should frame issues, like, you know... My core advocacy issue is reproductive rights. We can and should frame things like birth control access as a part of living, um, that, like, American dream good life, right?