Kshama Sawant, the former Indian American socialist Seattle City Council member, is making headlines as she gears up for a run for U.S. Congress against long-serving Democrat Adam Smith in Washington’s 9th Congressional District.
Sawant, who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024, aims to unseat Smith, who has represented the district for nearly three decades. The diverse district encompasses parts of Seattle and Bellevue, along with the southeast suburbs of Seattle.
In a news conference announcing her candidacy, Sawant articulated her motivation, stating, “Most of the time, working people have no political representation under capitalism. Both the Democrats and Republicans serve the interests of the billionaires, and both are war-mongering parties down to their bones.”
Identified as an Independent in a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission, Sawant is keen to leverage her experience on the Seattle City Council. During her tenure, she achieved significant milestones, including the establishment of the nation’s first major city $15 an hour minimum wage, which has since risen to $20.76 due to inflation adjustments.
“Less than six months after my first election, we won the nation’s first major-city $15 an hour minimum wage… It was after our victory here that the ‘Fight for 15’ spread around the country,” she remarked.
In another key accomplishment, she highlighted the Amazon Tax, which she described as a successful effort that generates substantial annual revenue from Seattle’s wealthiest businesses to fund affordable housing initiatives.
Sawant has made a bold commitment regarding her congressional salary, stating that if elected, she will accept only the average worker’s wage and donate the remainder of her six-figure salary to workers’ and social justice movements.
In her campaign literature, Sawant is sharply critical of Smith, labeling him a “warmongering incumbent” who has “blood all over his hands” due to his stance on international conflict, particularly regarding the situation in Gaza.
She aims to utilize her campaign to foster the antiwar movement, spotlighting her disdain for what she perceives as the complicity of progressive Democrats.
Sawant has also taken aim at notable figures like U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, accusing them of betraying their principles by endorsing the Democratic Party’s corporate agenda.
“Working people need elected representatives willing to use their positions to help build mass movements in order to end the genocide and all U.S. military funding to the Israeli state, defeat the attacks on public funds for our basic needs, and win offensive demands like Medicare for All and a $25 an hour federal minimum wage,” she declared.
Originally from Pune, Maharashtra, India, Sawant transitioned from a software engineer to an economics instructor in Seattle after her immigration to the United States. She previously ran for the Washington House of Representatives in 2012 but gained recognition when she won a seat on the Seattle City Council in 2013, marking a significant milestone as the first socialist to win a citywide election in over a century.
Sawant narrowly survived a recall election in December 2021, winning by just 310 votes, the first recall held in Seattle since 1975.
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