Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez look to November at 2026 March on Washington: ‘The tide is coming’

Civil rights leaders and Democratic lawmakers, alongside hundreds of protesters, rallied on the National Mall on Friday to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington, with many speakers emphasizing the importance of November’s midterm elections.

The 2026 “Defend the Vote” March on Washington , organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and Martin Luther King III, took place 63 years after the iconic march where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

The speakers at this year’s march included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and National Urban League President Marc Morial.

Many of the speeches focused on Democrats turning out to vote in November for the midterms, while decrying recent Supreme Court decisions on voting rights and the Trump administration’s actions that speakers condemned as having negative effects on Black Americans.

Jeffries used his speech at Friday’s rally to implore attendees to get out the vote in November.

“We certainly have come a long way in the United States of America, but we still have a long way to go,” Jeffries declared.

“These are challenging times in this country right now. We have a hater in the White House, a reckless and costly war of choice raging in the Middle East, a Supreme Court that’s out of control,” he said, before arguing that Black Americans are particularly hard hit by the Trump administration’s policies.

Jeffries concluded his brief remarks by urging Americans to vote for Democrats in order to take back the House in November so that the nation can “continue our march towards a more perfect union.”

“This November, the first of many tides is coming,” she told attendees, urging them to “summon the collective genius” of the 1963 march.

“The tide is coming, and this time we intend to win it all,” she said.

While introducing Ocasio-Cortez, Sharpton notably compared her to the late New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who ran a groundbreaking campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. The comparison comes amid speculation about Ocasio-Cortez’s potential presidential candidacy in 2028.

Spanberger told the attendees about her state’s progress and urged them to continue the fight against the Trump administration at the ballot box this November.

“The right to vote is about more than a ballot, it’s about whether we believe every person should have a voice in our democracy,” Spanberger stated, listing off a number of progressive milestones the Old Dominion had made since she took office and noting “all of that happened because of voting.”

Spanberger concluded her remarks by declaring, “Let’s vote this November and let’s win!”

Morial told the assembled crowd that “you cannot say ‘America First’ while you suppress the vote,” referencing President Trump’s campaign slogan.

“We say it’s time to put the American people first,” he added before listing several progressive agenda items he said would be on the ballot in November.

“We will fight until hell freezes over, and then we’ll fight on the ice,” said Morial, who noted that he’s participated in the numerous commemorations of the 1963 march.

Sanders struck a slightly different tone than many of the other speakers, stressing that Martin Luther King Jr. believed “political freedom and economic freedom are inseparable” and that “it’s not only voting rights that are under assault today.”

Sanders emphasized that the 1963 march was the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” and reminisced about how he attended the event as a college student, calling it an experience that he has never forgotten and one that has had a lasting impact on his life.

“Tragically, that dream of a more just and equitable society has never been under greater threat than it is right now,” Sanders said, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.