As Trump reshapes America, a pushback grows in local US politics

As the expression goes, all politics is local. In the United States, this is even more true today than in previous years, when it wasn’t uncommon for voters to leave the bottom of their ballots empty, leaving thousands of seats across the country uncontested.

Though many local races remain overlooked, there is a growing recognition of their importance.

“It’s important for people to understand that the vast majority of daily decisions that affect your daily life are made at the local level - whether it’s the school board or the city council,” Amer Zahr, a Palestinian American comedian and author who was recently elected to a seat on the Dearborn school board, told The New Arab.

Opting to serve at the local level where he believes he could make the most impact in his community, he tells TNA that though he had other opportunities, he wanted to focus on education in Dearborn, where the majority of students are Arab. He wants to provide support that reflects the students’ backgrounds, experiences, and needs.

Recent history shows that more people are paying attention to local politics. During President Barack Obama’s first term, the far-right Tea Party movement brought together members through grassroots campaigning. The 2018 midterms in Trump’s first term, which saw the “blue wave” of Democratic congressional wins, also saw a slew of wins for local seats.

Not long afterwards, conservative groups protesting LGBTQ+ books found a home at school board meetings, often making headlines for raucous outbursts.

Six decades earlier, the 1965 Voting Rights Act ushered in a new era of local politics for many who had previously been excluded, with a scale of Black representation not seen before.

It also helped access for immigrants by offering ballots in different languages. Despite major progress in local race participation, it remained low compared with national and statewide races.

In 2025, as the 2026 midterm elections approach, grassroots groups are working to recruit candidates for local races. According to the Local Democracy Project, a group that US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (who started her political career in the Michigan House of Representatives) has been working closely with to help recruit candidates at the local level, there are more than 100,000 local seats across the country.

A Gallup poll has found that 70 percent of Americans trust local government, compared with 20 percent who trust the federal government, a sign that there is demand for local solutions.

Immigrants making inroads in local politics

Of all the groups entering local and state politics, immigrants and children of immigrants are having an outsized impact. This is then reflected in higher voting rates in immigrant communities.

Before the congressional election of Tlaib in 2018, Arabs and Muslims in the Dearborn area had one of the lowest voting rates in the country, often in the low 30 percent range. According to the Muslim voter advocacy group Emgage, voter turnout among Muslims rose 25 percent in several key states, including Michigan, between 2014 and 2019.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who became the city’s first Arab and Muslim mayor in 2022, has also played a role in generating local turnout.

As people who often start their lives in the US with little resources, many new Americans are in tune with the needs of ordinary Americans, backing causes that they grew up with, including affordable housing, environmental protection, and public education. Some have backed legislation supporting the use of doulas, or skilled pregnancy and birthing companions.

New American Leaders, a group that recruits and trains first and second-generation Americans to run for public office, has seen a major increase in immigrant political representation over the last several years.

“A lot of folks want to make a difference close to home. We teach them to embrace their new American identities and lived experiences,” said Ghida Dagher, president and CEO of New American Leaders, herself an immigrant who lived in Lebanon and Sierra Leone and later in Dearborn.

“The most foundational of civic leadership is at the local level, where you can make the most impact. All of this is critical and is often overlooked,” she tells TNA.

Protection from executive overreach?

As Trump continues to remake the American political landscape, reversing protections for due process, civil rights, the environment, and other issues, many are turning to local politics as a check on the executive power that will continue for the next four years.

“Progressive federalism means that states can oppose Trump’s efforts. I’m optimistic about the prospects of progressive federalism,” David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon, tells TNA, using a term that dates back to the political foundations of the country.

This means that states and localities can shape policies without the permission of the federal government. One example in recent history is state governments rejecting some of the post-9/11 Patriot Act's mass surveillance.

During the current Trump administration, some local and state judges have been able to push back against the president's anti-immigrant crackdown.

“The environment and voting rights can be protected at the local level,” he said.

Following Trump’s election, several key local and state races swung to the Democrats, despite the president winning in those areas, including the highly publicised Wisconsin Supreme Court race that saw $25 million in Republican donations by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

“We see the ebb and flow with each election season. Before the Trump era, it would have been boring to think about,” J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Centre for Politics, told TNA.

“Say what you will about Trump. He gets people interested in politics.”

Brooke Anderson is The New Arab's correspondent in Washington DC, covering US and international politics, business, and culture.

Follow her on Twitter: @Brookethenews