Candidate Spotlight: Kshama Sawant

Independent Candidate for U.S. Congress in Washington's 9th District

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Kshama Sawant is running as an independent socialist for Congress, challenging longtime congressman Adam Smith. Sawant previously served ten years on the nonpartisan Seattle City Council as a member of Socialist Alternative, the only member of that party ever elected to public office in the United States. Civoren spoke with her about why she's running, her record in local office, and how she sees her campaign fitting into the current political moment.

Why She's Running

Sawant frames her campaign as a fight against what she describes as overlapping national and global crises: the war in Gaza and its expansion into the West Bank, ongoing U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, climate change, and domestic economic strain. She pointed to polling showing historically low approval ratings for both major parties and for President Trump as evidence that voters are looking for alternatives.

Her campaign platform centers on three main demands:

• Ending U.S. military aid to Israel and instituting a permanent arms embargo
• Establishing free healthcare for all, funded by higher taxes on wealthy Americans
• Raising the national minimum wage to $25 an hour

Sawant says these positions build directly on her record in Seattle, including her role in passing the city's $15-an-hour minimum wage and tenant protections, such as a law restricting rent increases on units that fail to meet basic maintenance standards, during her time on the city council.

When asked how she would build coalitions in Congress without the backing of a major party, Sawant said her approach differs from traditional bipartisan dealmaking. She argued that the Democratic and Republican parties largely agree on core economic and foreign policy questions, despite what she called surface-level differences, and that meaningful change instead comes from mobilizing voters directly.

She pointed to her first city council campaign in 2013, run on a $15 minimum wage platform that critics called unrealistic at the time. She said the wage increase was secured within months of her taking office in 2014, a result she attributes to using her position to organize public pressure rather than negotiate quietly with colleagues. Seattle's minimum wage now stands at $21.30 an hour, which Sawant's campaign describes as the highest in the country, including cost-of-living adjustments she says she fought to include in the original legislation.

Contrast With Rep. Adam Smith

Sawant is challenging Adam Smith, a 29-year candidate and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. She criticized his support for military aid packages, including bills she says would significantly increase U.S. war funding and defense cooperation with Israel. She also cited his voting record on immigration enforcement funding, his 1997 vote related to Medicare and Medicaid changes, his 2008 support for the bank bailout, and his vote in favor of the Iraq War.

Sawant's campaign says it has built a larger donor base within the district than Smith's, while acknowledging he has outraised her overall. She described her campaign's canvassing operation as the most extensive mounted against Smith during his tenure, and said her team has spoken with tens of thousands of voters so far this cycle.

Civoren was unable to independently verify all figures and voting-record claims cited above at the time of publication; readers interested in the full legislative record can consult official congressional voting records.

On Political Compromise

When discussing whether she'd ever moderate her positions to win over more voters, Sawant said no, arguing that her past victories came specifically from not softening her message. She agreed that it's fair to say her campaign is a fight for her values and principles rather than an appeal to the masses. She recalled being advised in 2013 to downplay her socialist identity to appear more mainstream, advice she said she rejected. She described her campaign as oriented toward building a broader political movement rather than pursuing a conventional electoral career.

Beyond the campaign and politics, in response to the question of a recent moment that made her laugh, Sawant said she's known among friends and family for being prone to giggling fits once she gets started. She mentioned a Seinfeld episode as a recent source of laughter, describing a scene between George Costanza and his therapist.