2026 elections, Christian left, Religious communities

Progressive religious leaders reshape the faith debate

Why it matters…

U.S. Senate-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) at a midterm election event in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday. Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Axios Politics & Policy, by Julianna Bragg, Nov 4, 2026

At least five progressive faith leaders won midterm elections in traditionally Republican states, bringing new religious voices into elected office

Why it matters: Democrats’ sweeping congressional victory suggests progressive candidates can use religious messaging to reach voters in states where Republicans have traditionally dominated faith-based political appeals.

State of play: This election in particular presented an opening for religious Democrats, in part because the Trump administration’s use of religion in political messaging has alienated some voters, says Doug Pagitt, co-founder and executive director of Vote Common Good, a political nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people of faith to engage in civic life.

The victories also come at a time when Democrats are becoming more comfortable and effective at talking about their faith publicly, he tells Axios.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a 37-year-old part-time seminary student who won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, frequently spoke about his faith while campaigning, using scripture to advocate for vulnerable populations and challenging Christian nationalism.

And Iowa state Rep. Sarah Trone Garriott, an Evangelical Lutheran pastor who won in one of the nation’s most-watched swing House races in 2026, has emphasized the need for separation of church and state.

Yes, but: It’s likely too soon to characterize these victories as evidence of a fully organized left religious movement — and Pagitt cautions against doing so, even if more candidates win in elections to come.

“Frankly, it would be better if religious communities and activist groups saw themselves, not as their own stand alone, subset of democracy supporting movements of politics but more integrated in it.”
What we’re watching: Pagitt predicts conservative Republicans could respond to the victories by questioning the religious credentials of progressive candidates.

While some GOP leaders use a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible to support their stances, progressive faith leaders have relied on scripture to reach a different audience and challenge Republicans’ faith-based talking points.

Between the lines: Some Christians have distanced themselves from MAGA and Christian nationalism without abandoning their religious beliefs.

“People not attending church or religious communities is not the same thing as the person not feeling that their religion or faith is meaningful to them,” he said.

The candidates who campaigned openly about their faith are also “keenly aware” of the need to balance their religious identities with representing a religiously diverse electorate, Pagitt said, and are actively working to bring their personal values into politics without making government an extension of their religious beliefs.

Flashback: Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, won his Georgia Senate seat in 2021.

The bottom line: The victories give Democrats new examples of candidates campaigning openly on their faith, though the emergence of a broader progressive religious movement remains uncertain.

Go deeper: “Shocking” number of white clergy run as Democrats in 2026

Climate action, COP31 Turkey, Greta Thunberg, Youth climate activists

Greta Thunberg warns ‘everything we love is at stake’ as she arrives at UN climate talks

“Youth activists rally around Thunberg.”

Activist Greta Thunberg speaks to members of the media at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Associated Press, by Khalil Hamra, Sibi Arasu and Anton L. Delgado, November 10, 2026

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived at U.N. climate talks on Tuesday, condemning the annual proceedings as hypocritical and urging leaders to put people and the planet ahead of profits and power.

The COP31 conference is being held in the Turkish resort city of Antalya following a year of deadly climate-related disasters, including heat waves and floods, and another energy shock caused by the Iran war.

“It’s a hypocrisy every year that the host countries are given an opportunity to whitewash themselves and we know that these negotiations are filled with lobbyists, paid by the very destructive industries which are benefiting from our extremely violent status quo,” Thunberg said as she arrived. “Our political and economic systems that have become incompatible with human nature.”

COP31 co-hosts Turkey and Australia are promoting renewable energy and rooftop solar installations, but both still rely heavily on fossil fuels, especially coal, to generate electricity. Previous hosts, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, are major oil producers.

Climate change is “threatening everything,” Thunberg said, warning that “everything and everyone we love is at stake.”

“We should act to protect and benefit people rather than constantly sacrificing the global majority and the very planet we are all living on, for a fortunate few to keep making unimaginable profits and maintaining geopolitical power,” she said.

Thunberg blasts annual climate talks

Swedish climate and social justice activist Greta Thunberg spoke to reporters on Tuesday at the United Nations climate talks taking place in the southern Turkish city of Antalya. (AP video/Khalil Hamra)

This is the first climate summit Thunberg has attended since the 2021 talks in Glasgow, Scotland, where she dismissed world leaders’ promises as “blah, blah, blah.”

She rose to prominence in 2018 when, aged 15, she began a solitary “ School Strike for Climate ” outside the Swedish Parliament. In 2022, she published “The Climate Book,” outlining actions to address the climate crisis.

She has won multiple awards and advocated for other causes, including the Free Palestine movement. Last year, she was arrested in London while supporting hunger-striking pro-Palestinian activists. More recently, she supported French students protesting for more school resources.

In 2024, she joined a protest in Georgia against Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29.

A key goal for Turkey is global electrification: shifting sectors such as transportation, buildings and heavy industry away from fossil fuels and toward electricity. Turkey wants electricity, preferably generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind, to account for 35% of global energy consumption by 2035, up from 23% today.

“We have to take the victories we have, of course, because we are so desperate in this situation that we have to take all the positive signs we can get to save as much as we can still save,” said Thunberg, who is expected to spend several days at COP31.

Youth activists rally around Thunberg

Activists participate in a demonstration at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Thunberg’s arrival at the conference created excitement among many youth climate activists.

“In this time of heightened geopolitical tensions, I hope that Greta’s presence here reminds us of why we started this work in the first place: to push for meaningful change, hold decision-makers accountable, and work towards a better future for all of humanity,” said Amber Turner, a 26-year-old fellow with the Alliance of Small Island States.

“Worsening climate change impacts make it challenging for young people to be sure of a safe and thriving future,” Turner added.

Protests at COP31 demanded more climate finance and criticized growing interest in nuclear energy.

“The presence of such a headline climate activist at one of the world’s biggest conferences on climate is symbolic, and I hope that it will put pressure on the COP itself to deliver real action and implementation,” said Kamori Osthananda, a youth negotiator with Thailand’s COP delegation.

Qiyun Woo, a youth environmentalist from Singapore, said Thunberg’s “powerful” presence “adds to calls from a generation that inherits the consequences of these negotiations.”

“Besides her, there are many youth activists from around the world who are also on the ground who are actively fighting for their communities, home and collective future,” she said.

The U.N. talks in Antalya run until Nov. 20. COP32 is scheduled to take place in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, in November 2027.

Aging, Our future

Dr. Richard Fleming, Older But Wiser: Looking into the Crystal Ball

Photo courtesy of Danaisa Rodriguez

By Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia resident and author, Older But Wiser. November 9, 2026

Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia, CA

It is natural to occasionally spend time thinking about the far future. What will be going on in the world. What will life look like many years from now. People of all ages indulge in such speculation. I think we are hard-wired to do so.

But looking into the crystal ball is a very different exercise for young folks than it is for us seniors.

Younger folks

When people are in their 20s, thinking about the future frequently revolves around personal, individual factors. They might muse about what they will be doing in 25 years, when they hope to be in the midst of work and family life. And they may at times wonder what life will be like in 50 years, when they anticipate being able to enjoy retirement. These kinds of ruminations can help inform decisions they are aiming to make in the here and now.

But such thinking about the distant future does not typically consume large amounts of time for most young people. They are busy living full and active lives. Dwelling on future events which are difficult to predict is not a compelling enterprise on which to spend time and energy. It is more useful to think about the near-term future, what will be happening in their lives next week or next month.

Older folks

For many in the silver generation, we also think about the future, but we approach it differently than the young. At least that is my impression. Our focus tends to be short-term. We wonder what will happen with our health over the next few years. Where will we be living. Will our finances hold out.

But it is not unusual for us to also think further down the road. Though I’m in my mid-70s, I still occasionally ponder what life will be like 25 or even 50 years from now. Why would I ruminate on such subjects? It is unlikely I will be alive in the year 2051 and it is a certainty I will be long gone when 2076 rolls around. I think about the distant future because I am concerned about the legacy we boomers and silent generation folks are leaving for the younger generations. What will life be like for Millenials, those in Generation Alpha, and the generations to follow?

My four grandchildren are all part of Gen Alpha, ranging in age from 2 to 16. I am lucky they live near enough that I see them frequently. Being a close part of their lives naturally makes me more attuned to what the future may hold for them as the 21st Century  unfolds. I want their lives to be safe, secure, rewarding, and fulfilling. But how likely is that? And how much control will their generation even have over the world and their lives as they reach adulthood and eventually grow old?

So when I think about the far future it is motivated primarily by my concerns for the young.

Worries about the future

What concerns me about the distant future are several things, each of which is right in front of our eyes.

First is global warming. No one can precisely predict what our planet’s climate will look like over the rest of the century and beyond, but current trend lines do not provide optimism. If temperatures keep increasing, life on earth will become increasingly challenging in many ways. From devastating weather events, to food supply shortages, to epidemics, to climate migration, to social unrest, the threats are serious.

Second is A.I. The risks from this technology are becoming more widely known. Not only is there the possibility A.I. could intervene in crucial processes that would disrupt humanity’s existence, there is also the prospect it could accelerate wealth inequality, enriching the tech bros while simultaneously throwing more and more people out of work.

Third are serious public health threats, especially the risk of catastrophic pandemics. The world’s experience fighting covid was mixed and ineffective in many ways. And the take-home messages in the aftermath of the pandemic raise concerns the response to future pandemics in many countries will be more political than scientific. Fighting a deadly global infectious illness works best if all countries cooperate to implement a scientific, evidence-based response, yet whether such an approach will actually be implemented seems questionable.

Fourth are risks of authoritarianism becoming dominant, not only in the U.S. but around the world. Authoritarianism often arises and establishes itself when society faces serious threats and instability, and we face these in spades. The November 3, 2026, midterms provided a good measure of reassurance that the U.S. will not lead a worldwide charge into autocracy, but the risks are not totally eliminated.

The future isn’t what it used to be

When I compare our grandchildrens’ future prospects to those we faced when we were young, I think we had it better. While our future carried uncertainties, they were not existential crises. Today we are bequeathing our grandkids a future far more fraught than the one our grandparents left to us.

It is not too late for us old folks to work to improve the prospects the younger generations are inheriting. Despite our years, or maybe because of them, many of us have enough expertise, knowledge, and time to work and advocate for a better future. And we have a responsibility to do so. We may have less stamina and energy than we did in the past, but our voices can still be heard. And our actions can still make waves. The fact we are advocating for changes that will not benefit us directly, but instead support the lives of the younger generations, can make our role more powerful.

Even though we won’t be living through the second half of this century, we owe it to the younger generation to do what we can to make their future better.

………Dr. Richard Fleming’s
……….OLDER BUT WISER
>> You can see “Older But Wiser” Comments, Archives, and Subscribe to Dr. Fleming’s posts at olderbutwiser.com.

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2026 elections, Blue Wave, Donald Trump

Stephen Golub: America’s Long Walk Home

What a difference an Election Day makes.

Benicia author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, “Benicia and Beyond” in the Benicia Herald, 11/8/2026

…“You know that flag flying over the courthouse
…Means certain things are set in stone
…Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t.
…It’s gonna be a long walk home…”
…………– Bruce Springsteen, Long Walk Home

Donald Trump has done his best to debase that flag and shatter that stone.

America’s dominant political figure over the past decade has been an incredibly corrupt, amazingly incompetent, brazenly bigoted, massively misogynistic, compulsively lying, nation-dividing, retribution-preaching, bribe-taking, hate-mongering, nepotism-exemplifying, Epstein-buddying, pedophile-protecting, sexual-assaulting, minority-demonizing, immigrant-smashing, Obamacare-slashing, election-denying, democracy-subverting, rule-of-law-roiling, insurrection-sparking, criminal-pardoning, dictator-hugging, Putin-kowtowing, Ukraine-betraying, allies-attacking, affordability-afflicting, felony-committing narcissistic sociopath.

But he finally received a remarkable repudiation. What a difference an Election Day makes.

One month ago, how many of us predicted that  the Democrats would win over 250 seats in the House and probably 56 in the Senate? That every statewide position in Texas (Texas!) would go Democratic, as would the state’s House of Representatives?

One month ago, how many of us had even heard of South Carolina Senator-elect Annie Andrews? Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa? Likely Mississippi (Mississippi!) Senator-elect Scott Colom, who’ll be the first Black senator from there since 1881?

The list of shocks, firsts and superlatives is nearly endless. As is the joy many of us are feeling, along with a lightness in our steps and a weight off our shoulders.

And yet…

As former Bill Clinton campaign manager James Carville declared in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.” If Trump hadn’t foolishly fueled inflation through his tariffs and war, might many of his disenchanted supporters still be in his thrall? Might many independents have held their noses and still preferred the Republicans? Might we  be at the start of a nasty, multi-pronged Department of Justice fight to overturn Democratic victories?

Now, other factors played parts in the huge Democratic win, but they were also Trump’s responsibility: his corruption; his  reflexively unintelligent embrace of artificial intelligence and data centers; ICE’s violent, repressive overreach.

With a series of polls last month indicating that the public still views the Democratic Party unfavorably by a 53 to 41 percent margin,  this election was more about rejecting Trump than trusting Democrats. There’s still lots of ground to cover in that regard.

My point here is not to rain on the parade. I remain elated by the results, not least because their implications go far beyond simply winning. For instance…

The Democrats can now push through legislation for targeted tax cuts, tariff relief, Iran war oversight, health insurance subsidies, stabilizing social security and many other matters.

What if, as seems inevitable, Republicans oppose such measures and Trump vetoes them? Then that’s fuel for the Democratic fire for the 2028 campaign.

The Democrats will launch major investigations into the corrupt dealings of Trump, his cronies and his family, as well as the many illegal or otherwise execrable steps his administration has taken.

The election has elevated a new generation of dynamic Democratic leaders. Complementing that, young voters swung hard to the left, with 70 percent backing Democratic House candidates.

All that being said, this is just the start of a very tough journey for American democracy, one that hopefully takes us to an even more just and tolerant place – an even more perfect union – than our flawed but preferable pre-Trump periods.

Then there’s our place in the world. We elected Trump twice. Can we really guarantee our allies and admirers that we won’t turn to someone like him again? It will take years, maybe decades, to regain the world’s trust – if it happens at all.

It’s going to be a long road home.

But at last we’ve taken the first, very big step.

[Much closer to home: Here in Benicia, poll workers at one Election Day polling station were witnesses to more modest but still-notable examples of democratic inspiration. One took the form of several folks volunteering that this was their first time voting – to the applause of those present.

Another instance was a woman who, though she lacked hands, was so determined to cast her ballot herself that she used her toes to maneuver it into the ballot box.

Democracy, like many things in life, is something to never take for granted.]

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

Stephen Golub writes about democracy and politics, both in America and abroad, at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country.

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

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