A 31-year-old nurse with zero political experience just steamrolled the Democratic establishment in Oklahoma.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a self-described democratic socialist from Ardmore, absolutely clobbered attorney and minister Jim Priest in the state's Democratic Senate runoff, grabbing roughly 61.2% of the vote to his 38.8%. As Conservative Brief reported, this marks yet another progressive insurgent toppling a party-approved candidate in 2026.
Here's where it gets genuinely hilarious. Priest had the backing of two former Oklahoma governors, a former state Attorney General, and roughly $315,000 in campaign spending. Thomas scraped together about $57,000 and relied on grassroots organizing and social media. She outspent him in enthusiasm by approximately one billion percent.
Thomas didn't tiptoe around labels, either. She openly embraces calling herself a democratic socialist, though she clarified she's "not yet" a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She also declared that most socialist countries are "thriving," which is certainly one interpretation of world events.
Her policy wish list reads like a progressive bingo card. Medicare for All. Universal child care. Paid parental leave. Abolishing or fundamentally restructuring ICE. Ending qualified immunity for immigration agents. Restoring Roe v. Wade protections. Expanding LGBT rights. Uncapping House seats. And, just to spice things up, she promised during a July interview to make removing Trump from office a top priority within her first 100 days through impeachment.
Thomas is a member of the Chickasaw Nation who has worked as both a nurse and community health worker. Her husband serves in the military, which is notable because she's broken with some DSA orthodoxy by declining to support calls to defund the Defense Department. Even democratic socialists have boundaries, apparently.
She also delivered this gem about her qualifications: "I believe that you don't necessarily have to have political experience. You have to have that lived experience." Somewhere, a political science professor just felt a disturbance in the force.
Oklahoma's not the only place this is happening. Progressive Abdul El-Sayed recently edged out establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens for Michigan's Democratic Senate nod. In Florida, DSA member Angie Nixon defeated heavily funded Alexander Vindman, who entered the final stretch with millions more in available cash. Nixon won 56.1% to 43.9%, proving once again that money is a terrible substitute for actual voter enthusiasm.
Republicans are practically doing backflips over this trend. Sen. Tim Scott called the Democratic left wing "dangerous, radical, and, frankly, weird." Rep. Anna Paulina Luna predicted Nixon's nomination would drive Republican turnout through the roof in Florida.
Some Democrats, however, aren't panicking. Rep. Jake Auchincloss warned his own party against trying to shut out the socialist faction, saying leadership would lose that fight "and candidly, rightfully so, because Americans are angry at the status quo." Sen. Chris Van Hollen added that Democrats afraid of healthy debate are "missing the point."
Now Thomas faces Republican Rep. Kevin Hern in November. In a state Trump carried by approximately 34 points in 2024. In one of the most reliably red states in America. Where Democrats haven't won a federal statewide race in decades.
So good luck with that impeachment plan.
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