Leigha Messick

Leigha Messick (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 5th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2026.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m Leigha Messick. Community organizer. Nonprofit executive. Business owner. Southern Maryland born and raised, MD-05 through and through.

I’ve spent my career building things that last and fighting for people who don’t have time to wait. I know what it looks like when systems fail — because I’ve sat at tables where our connection was a failure of that system.

I’m running for Congress because my patience has run out. MD-05 deserves a representative who shows up before election season, who refuses corporate PAC money, who doesn’t soften the truth to protect their seat. That’s not what we’ve had. That’s what I’m here to change.

I don’t come from a political dynasty, or career. I come from this community. And I’m running because the people here — working families, young people, the ones this economy keeps leaving behind — deserve someone in that seat who actually feels the weight of that responsibility.

No mercy. No retreat. No more waiting.

I’m Leigha, and I’m running for Maryland’s 5th District. Let’s get to work.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

No More Funding Their Wars—Humane Diplomacy

I will never accept AIPAC money or funding from any organization that profits from conflict. When your donor list is built on military contracts and foreign influence, your votes follow the money. That’s not representation. That’s a transaction.

I support the Palestinian people’s right to life, safety, and self-determination. I believe in a free Palestine. The U.S. must stop showing up as an arms dealer and start leading with humanity.

Humane diplomacy means we stop measuring influence in weapons sold. We invest in relationships built on dignity, not destruction.

No more money. No more weapons. No more looking away.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Safety Nets That Actually Hold

Every one of us has one life. We should get to live it fully, with dignity, without drowning in bills or working ourselves to the ground just to survive.

This is the baseline. And we are failing it.

Income thresholds that cut people off before they’re stable. Redetermination rules that punish people for earning slightly more. Healthcare denied because the system decided your life wasn’t worth the cost. Nutrition programs buried in paperwork designed to discourage use.

We fix this. All of it.

Healthcare must be accessible to everyone. No carve-outs. No gaps. Assistance programs need to meet people where they are — simple, humane, sufficient.

Every worker deserves more than a wage. They deserve a life.​​​​​​​​​Dismantle the Mob of Wealth

A small number of people own almost everything—what we see, eat, pay, who fills our prisons. A handful of donors have purchased the political seats meant to represent us.

This is not democracy. It’s a club, and we’re not in it.

The prison industry was built on, and remains slavery. When profit depends on incarceration, the incentive is always more bodies in cells. Health insurers deny care for margins. Pharma prices people out of survival. Executives and board members who sign off on policies that kill will be held accountable. Not fined. Accountable. We break up monopolies. We overturn Citizens United. We end private prisons. We get money out of politics. Every life saved is worth whatever it costs me.​​​

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ending the Police state

ICE was never about safety. It was built to terrorize, to separate families, criminalize existence, and operate outside accountability. That’s not bad training, that’s the design of a new military meant to keep us inline. ICE must be ABOLISHED.

And ICE is just one piece. The police state — mass surveillance, militarized departments, the criminalization of poverty — is the same military in different uniforms. We’ve been told this is what keeps us safe. It doesn’t. It keeps us afraid.

Safety is housing. It’s healthcare. It’s food. It’s dignity.