Kshama Sawant

Kshama Sawant, born on October fifteenth, nineteen seventy-three, is an influential Indian-American economist, politician, and activist. She made history by serving on the Seattle City Council from two thousand fourteen to two thousand twenty-four, becoming the first socialist to win a citywide election in Seattle since Anna Louise Strong in nineteen sixteen. A member of Socialist Alternative, she was the only representative from the party to hold public office until a faction split to form Revolutionary Workers.

Before entering politics, Sawant worked as a software engineer and later transitioned to become an economics instructor in Seattle after immigrating from India. Her political journey began with an unsuccessful bid for the Washington House of Representatives in two thousand twelve, but she achieved success the following year when she won her council seat.

In December two thousand twenty-one, Sawant faced a recall election, narrowly surviving by a margin of three hundred ten votes, or zero point seventy-six percent. This marked the first recall election in Seattle since nineteen seventy-five, highlighting the contentious nature of her tenure.

In January two thousand twenty-three, Sawant announced her decision not to seek re-election, opting instead to focus on promoting the Socialist Alternative campaign Workers Strike Back, aimed at unionizing workers. By two thousand twenty-four, she had left Socialist Alternative and established her own party, Revolutionary Workers, and in June two thousand twenty-five, she launched her candidacy for the two thousand twenty-six United States House of Representatives election in Washington's ninth congressional district as an independent.