ADVERTISEMENTs
Kshama Sawant launches congressional bid in Washington
Sawant is running under the banner of Workers Strike Back, a political formation she helped launch after leaving office.
-
Staff Reporter
- Mon, 02, Jun 2025
- 16:59 EDT
- 77
.jpeg)
Kshama Sawant / Wikipedia
Indian-American politician and economist Kshama Sawant announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington on June 2.
A former socialist Seattle City Councilmember, Sawant is running in the 9th Congressional District of Washington to challenge the long-standing Democratic incumbent, Rep. Adam Smith.
Also Read: Indian American attorney Anuj Dixit announces congressional bid from California
Sawant launched her campaign as an independent socialist, during a press conference where she pledged to bring what she called “a fighting strategy” to Congress on behalf of working people and the antiwar movement.
Sawant, who served on the council for ten years before stepping down in 2023, outlined a platform that includes Medicare for All, ending U.S. military aid to Israel, a $25 minimum wage, and new taxes on major corporations to fund public services.
“My decade as a socialist on the Seattle City Council was fundamentally different,” Sawant said, citing her role in passing a $15 minimum wage, expanding renter protections, and enacting a tax on large corporations known as the “Amazon Tax.”
She framed her campaign as a response to what she described as the Democratic and Republican parties’ failure to represent working-class interests.“We won because we didn’t put faith in the utterly failed strategy of trying to reform the Democratic or Republican Party.”
Sawant pointed criticism at Smith, who has represented the 9th District since 1997 and serves on the House Armed Services Committee. She accused him of prioritizing corporate and defense industry interests and held him partly responsible for U.S. foreign policy decisions.
“Adam Smith has blood all over his hands,” she said, referencing his votes in support of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ongoing U.S. military aid to Israel amid the war in Gaza. She also criticized his ties to the defense sector and health insurance industry.
Sawant is running under the banner of Workers Strike Back, a political formation she helped launch after leaving office. The group also plans to lead a national campaign called Free Healthcare Now, starting with a 2026 Seattle ballot initiative to fund a universal healthcare program through taxes on large local corporations.
“The Democratic and Republican parties are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the health insurance industry, Big Pharma, and the billionaire class,” Sawant said. “We need to turn the tables on the parties of the billionaires.”
She said her campaign would refuse corporate donations and, if elected, she would take only an average worker’s wage, a policy she adhered to while in office.
“Working people won’t win free healthcare, a seat in the U.S. Congress, or anything else without organizing in the millions,” Sawant said. “Our experience in Seattle shows that we can defeat the rich and their political servants.”
The 9th District, which includes parts of Seattle, Bellevue, and South King County, has long leaned Democratic. Sawant’s campaign could test the staying power of progressive, third-party movements in a solidly blue district and sets up a high-profile challenge to one of the state’s most senior congressional figures.
Related
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
ADVERTISEMENT
.jpg)
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login