This article examines a few of the Democratic Party’s “rising stars” who influence public thought. We will discuss their policies and positions and determine how best to pray. But before we do, it is essential to remember what is at stake and what the current administration is doing about it.

Who is praying on the wall?

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On May 1, the National Day of Prayer, President Trump issued an Executive Order establishing a Commission on Religious Liberty. The purpose and policy of this commission are described as follows:

It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in Federal law. The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views are integral to a vibrant public square and human flourishing and in which religious people and institutions are free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or hostility from the Government.

This is a welcome order by the many who have actively resisted the aggressive assault on liberty, Judeo-Christian values, and American traditionalism over these past decades, particularly displayed in the frightening overreaches of the prior administration.

While Christians know the battles being waged originate in the spiritual realms, these nefarious spiritual foes work through human systems to accomplish their purpose: Dismantle faith and tear down the institutions that make the West great.

As Douglas Murray writes:

There is a war on the West. It is being fought by Western revolutionaries aimed at destroying our civilization and our past. They come for our heroes because they know it demoralizes us. They tear down Churchill and Lincoln because without our heroes anything can be forced on us.
~ Douglas Murray, The War On The West

This is why it is vital to keep the parameters of this war in their proper perspective. While the forces aimed at deracinating goodness and freedom from the West appear to be the media, the swamp, and the proponents of leftism, we must never forget that the animating power behind what we can see is the globalist oligarchs.

Modern globalism, as promoted by organizations like the World Economic Forum (WEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations (UN), is a coordinated push for supranational governance that weakens first-world sovereign nations through mechanisms like pandemic mandates, under-skin nanotechnology, climate catastrophism, open borders, and central bank monetary policy, paving the way for the WEF’s Great Reset and a centralized new world government.

Hence, the 2024 election was of paramount significance. Although it was a win for the Republican candidate, it was also a denunciation and rejection of the forces of globalism, whose intention is plainly revealed: to destroy America and the West as history has known it.

This backdrop is imperative because 21st-century American politics is less a personal popularity contest and more an engagement of spiritual discernment. And while an endless number of active politicians embrace globalism in one form or another, these are the five most concerning rising stars to keep our eyes on.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) — U.S. Representative from New York, known for her democratic socialist platform and high-profile social activism. Prized by both establishment media and social media alike, AOC represents the new brand of leftism in a darling of a package. While effective in tight sound bites, AOC can rarely speak for long periods without revealing glaring misunderstandings of American history, civics, or geopolitical matters.

AOC has called for the decriminalization of illegal border crossings, referring to illegal migrants as “undocumented citizens,” and advocates for expansive amnesty programs. Her stance undermines national sovereignty, the rule of law, and historic American values.

She is also a vocal advocate for “transgender rights,” particularly sterilization, castration, and surgical mutilation of minors. She has actively defended puberty blockers and hormone manipulation and resisted efforts to remove gender-confused books from schools.

Along with her anti-Israel rhetoric and failure to denounce violent activist groups like Antifa or BLM Inc., she has been touring the country with Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) in their Fighting Oligarchy Tour. The left never seems to get their terms quite right.

The oligarchs are the ones three layers up that we never see. They manipulate nations and global conditions through unelected enterprises like the WHO, the UN, central banks, the Paris Accord, NATO, the WEF, and so on. Think Blackrock, Vanguard, Rockefeller, Rothschild, etc. Trump and Musk cannot be oligarchs because, first, Trump is elected, and Musk is duly appointed. Second, they work from within the system.

While few believe AOC could seriously run for President, voters should take careful note of AOC’s positions and activism.

Gavin Newsom — Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco, Newsom pushes maniacally progressive policies and foists himself as an indefatigable leader of the Democrat party. His policies released ruin, first upon the once-glorious Bay City of San Francisco, and now throughout the state. Crime, homelessness, drug abuse, and illegal immigration are at record levels under his governorship, not to mention the incalculable destruction caused by his dereliction of duties specific to the wildfires.

It is almost as if he’s been tasked with decimating one of our country’s most glorious states.

Like AOC, his positions on transgender activism are extreme. Newsom has championed legislation to force biological females to compete against biological males and share private spaces. Newsom signed Bill 1955 into law, which prohibits school districts from requiring teachers or staff to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender or requests to be determined by a different gender, name, or pronouns.

Governor Newsom’s COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates were among the strictest in the country, a stance he continues to defend. He also boasts of defying federal law enforcement by declaring California a sanctuary state. Imagine the types of Executive Orders he would sign into action if he were President.

JB Pritzker — Governor of Illinois and billionaire heir of the Hyatt Hotel fortune, Pritzker is a vocal critic of conservative policies and advocates for progressive social reforms. Like AOC and Newsom, his policy positions are in near lockstep, including open borders, opposing parental rights, and declaring Illinois a sanctuary state. However, he is finding his lane as a boisterous critic of President Trump, which is a clear indication that he is reluctant to tout his state policies on the national stage.

Though Governor Pritzker enforced some of the most extreme vaccine mandates in the country, in May 2025, he passed legislation to block Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s work to investigate systemic health issues affecting our country.

Like Newsom, JB’s positions and actions to promote abortion are wicked. In 2022, Newsom signed California Proposition 1, which enshrines the right to abortion in California’s state constitution and ensures abortion access without gestational limits up to birth.

Similarly, in 2019, Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), the landmark Bill that declares abortion a “fundamental right” in Illinois, removing restrictions like parental notification for minors and allowing late-term abortions if a provider deems it necessary for the patient’s health.

Both Newsom and Pritzker advertise their abortion services to out-of-state residents.

Pete Buttigieg — Former Mayor of South Bend, IN, former Transportation Secretary, and 2020 presidential candidate, Pete is a prominent voice for progressive activism. Though mild-mannered and unassuming in stature, like his cohorts on the left, Pete fully supports open borders, government mandates, and mutilating minors, and promotes abortion as a right.

Buttigieg has forged a staunch alliance with progressive social justice activists, like BLM Inc., and is a proponent of reparations. In a CNN interview, Buttigieg said, “We need to confront the fact that the wealth gap is tied to systemic racism, and a commission on reparations is a way to start.”

As Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg integrated “health equity” into infrastructure, advocating for transportation policies that address disparities in minority neighborhoods. These are precisely the types of initiatives people cheer for in a rally, yet never yield benefits to the people they were promised. Pete’s tenure as Transportation Secretary yielded few notable achievements that benefited the country.

Cory Booker — Former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and current U.S. senator since 2013, Booker is known for advocating social justice and progressive economic policies. Booker is a leading co-sponsor of the Equality Act, reintroduced in 2023 and 2025, which seeks to amend federal civil rights laws to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill mandates access to sterilization and surgical mutilation of minors and requires schools, businesses, and religious institutions to accommodate transgender individuals’ preferred pronouns and facilities. In a 2023 Senate speech, Booker called the act “essential for equity,” framing any opposition as sheer bigotry.

In his quest to codify Roe v. Wade, Booker supports unrestricted abortion access and co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) with AOC. This plan would federally ensure abortions without gestational limits or parental consent.

Booker also tacitly supported the Defund Police movement, introduced a bill to end cash bail, and is a proponent of decriminalizing certain drug offenses.

More recently, Booker made headlines by refusing himself a bathroom break for a record-setting 25 hours as he filibustered on the Senate floor.

Climate catastrophism is another unifying theme of these 5 rising stars, whom we hope will rise no further. AOC pushed for “climate equity” and “fossil fuel divestment,” while Pritzker signed into law that Illinois will be 100% clean energy by 2050 and 40% renewable by 2030. The only element required for these unattainable ideals to fail is the passage of time.

Similarly, Newsom signed into law that all new passenger cars sold in California be zero-emission by 2035, effectively banning gas-powered vehicles. As Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg allocated $7.5 billion to build EV charging stations. Current estimates indicate 37 were built, which puts the per-unit cost at about $202 million. Take a deep breath of our cleaner air.

Senator Booker was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, a socialist scheme masquerading as a planetary atmospheric remedy. The American Action Forum projected that it would cost up to $93 trillion over the course of a single decade.

Which brings us back to globalism.

Never forget that globalism’s goal is to weaken nations and strengthen supranational oligarchies. Its tactics are simple: mass migration, government censorship, monetary collapse, depopulation, elimination of faith, and the dismantling of the family unit. This is why it is of the utmost importance that we always lift our eyes higher to see the animating forces behind these radical politicians.

This is also why, as Christians, we can actively oppose the policies and ethos of dangerous leaders while praying for their personal repentance and finding life in Christ. It is not a biblical ethic to accept the antichrist initiatives of depraved politicians in the name of love. We are called to pray for our nation, spread the Kingdom of God on Earth, and pursue truth while trusting the souls of truth’s opponents to the Lord’s keeping.

Share your prayers for and about these rising stars below.

Keith Guinta blogs at www.winepatch.org. He is a husband and father, and he has been a worship leader and church planter. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162638010.