SPECIAL: How Leftists Can Run, Win, and Govern - featuring interviews with six Democratic Socialists who have been elected to public office

Current Affairs

Across the United States, over the last few years, democratic socialists have been running for office in numbers not seen for a century. The Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns may not have been victorious, but socialists have run for city councils, state legislatures, and even judgeships and won. In this special 90-minute audio documentary, Current Affairs talks to members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who have reached elected office about how they campaigned, why they won, and how they have been able to use the power of their office to advance a progressive agenda.

This presentation is meant to inspire those who wonder how you can effectively change things without compromising your principles. It touches on questions like: What kind of backgrounds do socialists who make it to office come from? How do they pitch their political views to voters? How do you assuage the fears of constituents who are, for example, worried about violent crime? What are the first things that happen to you when you become a state legislator? How can coalitions function effectively? How does corporate lobbying actually work? What do you do if you're in the minority and can't pass legislation? What kind of opposition will you encounter from the "party establishment"? Can you actually succeed at meaningfully changing public policy?

Local and state offices are extremely important, and more within reach than federal office, but their activities are often unknown to the average person. This program peels back the curtain and shows how the "sausage" is made in state government and how leftists can be effective there.

Elected officials featured in the program:

• Sara Innamorato (Pennsylvania State Representative)
• Nikil Saval (Pennsylvania State Senator)
• Vaughn Stewart (Maryland State Delegate)
• Emily Gallagher (New York State Representative)
• Robert Peters (Illinois State Senator)
• Franklin Bynum (Houston Criminal Court Judge)

A transcript of the full interview with Robert Peters was published in Current Affairs here.

Edited by Tim Gray.