A progressive intraparty fight is unfolding in Washington’s 9th Congressional District, where independent socialist Kshama Sawant is challenging longtime Democratic Rep. Adam Smith. The race has become a test between a more confrontational brand of left politics and a more established, institutional version of progressivism.
Sawant, who served 10 years on the Seattle City Council, is best known for helping push through the first $15-an-hour minimum wage in a major U.S. city. That wage has since risen, after inflation adjustments, to about $21.30 an hour, among the highest in the country. In recent interviews, Sawant has described the rise of candidates backed by democratic socialist groups as a sign that working-class voters are turning away from establishment politics.
She has also criticized progressive figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, arguing that they eventually compromised with the Democratic mainstream. Sawant says she will not follow that path, presenting herself as a hard-line progressive unwilling to make deals with the political establishment.
Smith, for his part, describes himself as a “progressive Democrat” and says he has played a practical role in shaping national security policy as the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. He recently voted against the National Defense Authorization Act, saying a defense budget increase to $1.6 trillion would be unacceptable at a time when the federal deficit is nearing $2 trillion.
