Progressives in the US House will arrive in greater numbers next year: the Congressional Progressive Caucus said on Sunday that more than 25 new members will join its ranks when the next Congress convenes, lifting its membership from 100 in the last Congress to more than 105 lawmakers. The caucus said the incoming class includes a record number of winners in red districts.

The announcement came as Democrats prepare to take control of both chambers of Congress in January, with the caucus saying it must now test its mandate in Congress.

A bigger caucus, built in Trump territory

Of nine candidates the caucus endorsed in competitive red-to-blue races, six won, the group said, including in seats Trump had previously carried. Among those first-time winners:

• •Randy Villegas won in California, in a district Trump took by two points in 2024.
• •Katy Padilla Stout won a Texas district by eight points that Trump had carried by 15.
• •Sam Forstag won in Montana, where Trump won by 11 points.

Caucus chair Greg Casar framed the results as a verdict on the party's message, speaking in front of the Capitol building.

Casar said lawmakers now need to deliver on those promises, and added that the caucus had not set out to reach record size. "We didn't even try to be the biggest we've ever been. It just turns out we are."

Medicare for All goes on the road

Chair emerita Pramila Jayapal said she was struck by how many incoming members had campaigned on Medicare for All. "I don't think anyone could have expected this level of wave support," Jayapal said.

The caucus plans to take members on the road to promote the single-payer proposal, including stops in red states such as South Carolina and Florida, Jayapal said. She pointed to Alabama representative Shomari Figures, who beat a Republican gerrymander to win reelection and signed onto the Medicare for All bill six to eight months ago. According to Jayapal, a Medicare for All attack tested against Figures polled so poorly with Republicans that they never ran it.

Jayapal tied the push to the state of US healthcare. "Healthcare has collapsed across the country," she said, "and I think the cruelty of that also gives us this amazing opportunity to really, once and"

Casar said the caucus would bring bills on wages, corruption, housing costs, credit card interest rates and child care to the floor, and said he was not worried about vetoes. "The best way to not get something into law is to never pass it," he said.

More broadly, progressive newcomers ran on Medicare for All, stronger protections for workers and ending US arms and military support for Israel over its war and conduct in Gaza.

DSA winners and the speaker question

Six Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates also won House seats, though in safely Democratic districts. They include Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez of New York, Donavan McKinney of Michigan and Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania.

The incoming class enters with an open question about the party's leadership. Asked whether the caucus would back Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, Casar declined to commit, saying, "Every single member here is going to have their individual vote."

None of the incoming members endorsed by the DSA have committed to supporting Jeffries either. Among them is Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, a former US Army combat surgeon who volunteered at a Gaza hospital in 2024 and will become the state's first Muslim member of Congress. "I want to pass Medicare for All, and I want to stop this genocide [in Gaza]", Hamawy said.

Rabb, the Pennsylvania winner, cast himself as a bridge-builder who would find common ground across the ideological spectrum. Voters want to "get rid of the type of corruption that has been normalized here", he said.

Moderates gained too

The progressive growth sits alongside gains on the Democratic Party's moderate flank.

• •The New Democrat Coalition, at 114 members already the largest House Democratic caucus, is expected to add roughly 39 members, about 30 of whom come from seats flipped this cycle.
• •Third Way said candidates backed by the New Democrats, Blue Dogs and WelcomePAC flipped 31 Republican-held House seats.
• •Of those, 25 came in districts Trump won.

With Democrats set to control both chambers in January, the caucus says it must now test its mandate in Congress.