Our endorsement for the 9th Congressional District of Washington is Kshama Sawant! On Seattle City Council, Sawant was a driving force behind progressive policies and government accountability that made our city a better place. Sawant’s candidacy against Rep. Adam Smith as an independent socialist might be the change we need in Washington, DC. for the last two years of Trump’s presidency.

Love her or hate her, none can dispute that Sawant has been an effective grassroots campaigner who has moved the needle (pardon the pun) on progressive causes in the city, as well as throughout the country. Her years of relentless advocacy for working-class, LGBTQIA+, and social justice issues has garnered her respect among supporters, and admonishments from the establishment: billionaires, corporations, and both political parties. 

Now aiming her sights at Rep. Smith, who has been facing mounting criticism from constituents (the Bellevue City Council even voted to ban targeted protests outside private homes, after such a protest outside his house), Sawant is looking to capitalize on public discontent with him, and the Democratic Party as a whole for its lack of opposition to Trump’s agenda, to become Washington’s first independent socialist representative. 

Sawant served on Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024. During that time, she made good on her campaign promise to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour. She also was the champion of a “Renters Bill of Rights,” which instituted a 180-day rent increase notice, and relocation assistance across the city. She also proposed a millionaires’ tax and expansion of the public transit system. Since her departure from the council, she has continued to put her energy into organizing through Workers Strike Back, holding rallies to oppose AI data centers and ICE raids. 

One of our strongest values at the SGN is LGBTQIA+ rights, and it should come as no surprise that Sawant’s views are just as progressive. In 2016, Sawant was the first Seattle politician to openly support Trans Pride. As a city councilmember, she championed funding Pride Place, the city’s first LGBTQIA+ senior housing complex. Sawant also continues to be active in organizing and campaigning around Trans and Queer rights rallies and events, like the Trans Solidarity March on June 26, 2026.

Other progressive policies she advocates for include ending US military aid to Israel, opposing the construction of AI data centers, and holding Big Tech accountable for its layoffs. 

Unlike most candidates, Kshama Sawant is running as an independent socialist, under her own party’s banner (Revolutionary Workers). Being a socialist, she is a strong advocate for renters' rights, universal healthcare, taxing the rich, and workers’ rights to unionize. And with more and more voters looking away from the traditional two-party system toward other, more progressive (and dare we say) socialist alternatives (DSA membership is at an all-time high of 120,000), Sawant is poised to offer Rep. Smith his biggest challenge yet. 

One of the biggest objections Sawant has against Rep. Smith’s 29-year tenure is his consistent support for US militarism abroad. As chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Smith has voted until very recently to continue military funding to Israel; however, he has also continued to accept money from pro-Israeli political action committees, amounting to $532,044, according to Track AIPAC.

With US public opinion of the Israeli government at an all-time low, following years of relentless military strikes and the high death toll in Gaza, voters across the country are demanding that their politicians to take a more hard-line approach: both against accepting money from foreign government lobbying groups like AIPAC, and in favor of ending of US financial support to the Israeli military (which sat at $3.3 billion for FY 2025).

The Democratic Party leadership’s overall anemic response on the issues voters care about most, as well as Trump’s and the Republican Party’s unabashed assault on US democracy, has many rightfully doubting the effectiveness of our current political system. With this in mind, maybe what we need is a firebrand socialist representative who is unequivocal in her support of working-class people. 

Vote Sawant.