Waleed Shahid-25 Political Influencers to Watch in 2024

An election-year guide to some of today’s most noteworthy political voices online-Growing up in post-9/11 Arlington, Virginia, Waleed Shahid’s Muslim parents told him not to talk about politics, because it would land him in trouble. Naturally, he did the opposite, leaping into progressive activism from a young age. As director of communications for Justice Democrats from 2017 to mid-2023, he oversaw Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s meteoric rise, and left just as the group began to falter. Most recently, Shahid, who goes by @_waleedshahid on X, dedicated himself to the Vote Uncommitted movement that rocked Michigan and seeks to do the same elsewhere. “Twitter is primarily a medium where operatives and journalists and organizers live,” Shahid told TNR. “Instagram and TikTok are places where voters and regular people live.” Users of those platforms also skew younger than mainstream TV news viewers; Shahid may have left Justice Democrats, but he remains an important voice informing young progressives.