She’s back.
Former Seattle City Councilmember and proud socialist Kshama Sawant launched her congressional campaign for the state’s 9th District Monday morning outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, flanked by members of Workers Strike Back and a healthy dose of indignance at establishment democrats.
Taking aim at 15-term incumbent Adam Smith, Sawant slammed the 9th District Democrat as a “warmonger” for his votes backing the 2002 Iraq War, his unflinching support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, being bankrolled by AIPAC, Boeing, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX—and his recent fanboying over “anti-woke” crusader Christopher Rufo, all while hand-wringing about the so-called “radical left.”
Smith has called for the arrest of “left wing” fascists who support a ceasefire in Gaza.
“He sounds more like a Republican than republicans,” Sawant said, quoting from a social media comment about Smith. The congressman has agreed with Rufo’s stance that leftist ideas have had undue influence over America’s cultural institutions.
But Smith wasn’t the only democrat Sawant called out on Monday. She lambasted progressive darlings Washington state representative Pramila Jayapal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and even Bernie Sanders for what she sees as blind loyalty to a Democratic Party that sold out the working class long ago and never looked back.
“Everybody knows Democrats like Adam Smith, and Republicans too, are owned, lock, stock, and barrel, by Big Pharma and corporate donors. That’s why, if we want to win, we have to flip the script on both billionaire-backed parties,” Sawant said. “We need to build a militant, independent movement that fights unapologetically for working people, and lays the groundwork for a new party, not one beholden to capitalist interests. Under this system, the billionaires own everything: the wealth, the land, and yes, the politicians.
Sawant previously served on Seattle City Council for a decade (2014 – 2024), surviving a recall bid in 2021. Her platform is centered around policies she says that that same party has largely failed to deliver, including affordable housing, rent control, and universal health care. The latter of which is why her and Workers Strike Back announced that they’d be working towards a 2026 ballot measure that funds health care for Seattle residents by expanding the pre-existing Jumpstart Payroll tax on large businesses.
“This is a fighting strategy to break through the political gridlock. If we can win real victories in even one city or state, it can serve as a battering ram to force national change. That’s how Canada won its universal healthcare system—starting in just one province, Saskatchewan, before expanding it nationwide,” said Sawant.
On the steps of the federal building, Sawant was joined by about two dozen supporters including Jonathan Rosenblum, Rizwan Samad, and Shirley Henderson. Several of her supporters who spoke Monday said they live in Adam Smith’s district, which includes South Seattle, Kent, Skyway, Auburn, parts of Bellevue, and Federal Way.
Most voiced deep frustration with Smith’s position on Gaza, citing it as a major point of disillusionment.
“This man can’t hear…Can’t see the suffering. It’s time for District 9 residents to vote against this warmonger. We are better people. We cannot support genocide, “ said Samad, who shared that he’d reached out to Smith in the past to change the congressman’s stance on Gaza to no avail.
Rosenblum, a fellow D9 resident and vice President of the National Writer’s Union, who’s worked with Sawant since her first city council run, echoed the call for a moral reckoning in the district.
“Adam, if you are listening, this is for you. I am an active Jewish community member. Your threats will not stop me. They will not stop my Jewish friends, nor our Palestinian allies, and our allies in the broader movement. Your threats only embolden us to fight on for justice in Palestine,” said Rosenblum.
On Monday, Sawant made clear that while she’s running to represent the 9th District, she is not interested in representing those who support Israel’s actions in Gaza. When two media members in attendance echoed right-wing talking points asking her to denounce Hamas, she dismissed the question as a distraction from the real issue: the tens of thousands of Palestinian lives lost since October 7, 2024.
But it wasn’t just Gaza that fueled supporters’ opposition to Smith. It was what they view as a broader failure by establishment Democrats to meaningfully resist the Trump administration. For Henderson, the co-owner of Squirrel Chops, Smith embodies a party more comfortable with compromise than confrontation, even in the face of rising authoritarianism.
“We are seeing a complete lack of fightback from the Democrats—who are, in fact, carrying out similar attacks themselves at the state and local levels across the country. They’re cutting state and city budgets for essential services and refusing to tax the rich to fund what working people need,” said Henderson. “Just recently, Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson, backed by a Democrat-dominated state legislature, approved millions of dollars in cuts to social services and attacks on public sector workers.”
Smith, a Ranking Member of the House of Armed Services Committee, previously faced challenges from his left in two of his last three campaigns. Most recently defeating community organizer Melissa Chaudry last November with 65% of the vote.
Whelp, I guess this will be the first time I will be pleased with a Smith victory.
Did Jill Stein agree to help with Sawant’s campaign?
Well, that just guaranteed Smith re-election.
Final Fantasy Sawant MXIV: The Movie; The Game: Parte Trois, REQUIEM 1/2
Borrowing a phrase from Douglas Adams, she has a whelk’s chance in a supernova of winning. I doubt she’d even make it past the primary since whatever sacrificial lamb the Republicans run will get at least 30%.
“It was what they view as a broader failure by establishment Democrats to meaningfully resist the Trump administration.”
She spent the entire campaign attacking the Vice President -particularly in rust belt midwestern states.
Gall doesn’t even have this much gall.
In my opinion she’d do more good focusing on issues, like healthcare as mentioned, than this likely futile campaign.
Tenny? Where you at on this one? I thought naming Sawant was like your Beetlejuice Candyman…
Hahahaha – I needed a laugh, thanks comrade!
It’s truly hard to to tell who’s more delusional – the orange fucktard or sawant. My personal favorite was calling out Jayapal – truly a chef’s kiss capper (what a clown show).
This move should insure Smith’s reelection and end Sawant’s political career.
I see a future for her of vying with goodspaceguy as the biggest clown in the election brochures.
Only the powerless can attain this level of moral purity.
The last thing Washington needs is to send a Trump supporter to Congress. Vote Smith.
Zero chance.
My vote is for Kshama Sawant.
About two months ago I mentioned, “the Stranger’s ritual biennial endorsement of a no-experience, no-support, no-hope, single-issue candidate against Rep. Adam Smith (D-Forever).” Looks like the Stranger finally found a candidate with actual experience in governance — and it will count heavily against her. (Getting subjected to recall by Seattle’s most liberal constituency will work wonders in the suburban portions of the 9th District, no doubt.) She served in elective office for ten consecutive years, and yet this article cites not so much as one single accomplishment of hers from that time. The Stranger’s silence truly speaks louder than does the Stranger’s words!
“He sounds more like a Republican than republicans” says Sawant.
“The Democrats were the party of slavery, and of slave owners — that’s in their history” says Sawant.
Who’s the one who sounds like a fucking Republican again? As a reminder, the descendants of the Democrats who supported slavery are all republicans now. Check out which slave states are blue now (hint, none). The parties don’t represent what they used to. Sawant sucks so so bad, and she’s willing to mislead for votes. Fuck her.
Taking a break from campaigning for Trump to campaign for herself.
She’s got a lot of damn gall to talk about billionaire-backed parties when she is plugged into the same Russian cash flow that Jill Stein is.
The virtue signaling between here and Chaudhry should be pretty awesome. If there is a debate for this seat I do hope its televised so we can watch them both try to outdo each other with ridiculous claims.
Absolutely not.
I’ve cut Sawant a ton of slack over the years despite many misgivings over her personal abrasiveness and her near-total lack of interest in the constituent service aspect of council membership (among other things). To her credit, she moved the city’s political center of gravity to the left, a shift that has proved durable and has resulted in some good legislation that fortunately didn’t require her personal involvement. But teaming up with the known Putin asset Jill Stein’s campaign in crucial swing states to restore Trump was a bridge too far even for me. I’m not a fan of Adam Smith and I hope a better challenger emerges. But I’ll never support Sawant for anything again.
The district has the following areas: Algona, Auburn (part; also 8th and 10th; shared with Pierce County), Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue (part; also 1st), Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Des Moines, East Renton Highlands (part; also 8th), Fairwood (part; also 8th), Federal Way, Kent (part; also 8th), Lakeland North, Lakeland South, Mercer Island, Milton (part; also 6th; shared with Pierce County), Newcastle, Pacific (part; also 10th; shared with Pierce County), Renton (part; also 8th), SeaTac, Seattle (part; also 7th), Tukwila
She might convince SeaTac and South Park voters to vote for her but she’s not winning the majority of those districts.
“This is a fighting strategy to break through the political gridlock. If we can win real victories in even one city or state, it can serve as a battering ram to force national change. That’s how Canada won its universal healthcare system—starting in just one province, Saskatchewan, before expanding it nationwide,” said Sawant.
One of the bigger problems with our political discourse, and our information sources that help fuel it, is that the cognitive dissonance required to use this as an argument for federal office doesn’t immediately generate howls of derision.
If finished at least second in a “top-two” primary- which is possible- it would be amusing to see how many “Vote Blue-NO MATTER WHO!” right-wing Democrats insisting they now had a patriotic duty to vote for whichever neanderthal the GOP put up.
We all know they’d do it- just as they’d have campaigned for Trump if Bernie had been nominated in 2016 or 2020, or for Reagan or Bush if Jesse Jackson had been nominated in 1984 or 1988, and just as their Scoop Jackson-militarist parents or grandparents did it to McGovern in 1972. The “Democrats For Nixon/Democrats for Reagan” toxin still flows through some veins.
23: Sorry- and Stranger could you finally put in an edit button?- that should have read “if Sawant finished at least second in a “top-two” primary- which is possible…”
@23: If Sawant finished second in the top-two primary, then that means Rep. Adam Smith took the top spot — and not by a small amount, either! In your scenario, any Republican candidate would be eliminated. So, there would be no Republican on the general-election ballot. (Rep. Smith should then win the general election in a landslide.) This simply repeats last year’s general election, but with “Sawant” instead of “Chaudry” as the name of the loser on the ballot. (Sawant might be able to make Chaudry’s loss look respectable, however.)
Where on earth did you get the idea a 15-term (!) incumbent would lose a primary election?
Gosh, I know who will have my vote!
@22 I’ll play along – if by some socialist / republican miracle Adam Smith was primaried by Sawant and some other mythological republican, I (lifelong democrat) would either write in a name for the general or skip this vote.
Reasoning, Sawant did as much to give us Trump as any other republican – as such neither is trustworthy enough to send to DC.
But the chances of a republican finishing top two are almost as laughable as comrade Sawant being a viable candidate, so I’ll stick with the democrat in the race (as the difference between a democrat controlled federal government is infinitely better than the shitshow of the last 5 months).
@23 — why do you believe that the primary in the 9th would result in two Trump supporters advancing to the general?
@28: Because bitter Bernie Bro’ is bitter. From @23: “…just as they’d have campaigned for Trump if Bernie had been nominated in 2016 or 2020…”