Former Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant has seen a fair share – and then some – of her name in the headlines during her decade-long leadership role in the Emerald City. There doesn’t seem to be a middle road for this politician – people either love or hate her. Recently, she lost her campaign for Congress, and losing is not a good look for her. There was no graceful acceptance, congratulations to the other two candidates, or even a “we’ll get ’em next time.” Instead, the independent socialist called for a “militia movement” to overthrow the “capitalist system.”
Seattle Socialist Plays the Blame Game
Sawant took to social media to brag about her campaign, blame everyone else for her loss, and toss out a call for a militia movement. Her X post started with, “Our campaign was by far the strongest ever by an openly Marxist candidate for the U.S. Congress,” touting a “historic 16.9 percent of the vote in a five-way race.”
Sawant said they achieved what success they had despite many obstacles.
“Both the Democratic and Republican parties maneuvered by running candidates specifically to block our campaign from getting into the November election, which would have resulted in a head-to-head battle between our campaign and genocidal Democrat Adam Smith.
“We faced a corporate media blackout, and hostility and outright attacks from DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] leaders and many ‘progressive’ podcasters.
“Many labor leaders shamelessly endorsed Adam Smith, while others remained silent, effectively supporting Smith.”
The former councilwoman went on to criticize the Democratic Socialists of America as well as the Democratic Party. “The DSA strategy of appeasing and, worse, rehabilitating the discredited Democratic leadership and their rotten party is a dead end. In this age of imperialist war, genocide, and climate catastrophe, we simply have no time to f*** around.”
After all the blaming and name-calling, Sawant then demanded a call to action: “We urgently need militant movements of the working class and a new mass party that can defeat the billionaires and both their parties. And we need revolutionary socialist campaigns like mine that don’t try to join the establishment and help administer the capitalist system, but instead fight to overthrow it.”
Who Is Sawant?
Sawant became the first socialist councilmember in Seattle in 2013 and spent a decade using that office as a platform to further her agenda. She fought for the country’s first $15 minimum wage, an end to all military aid to Israel, and even the first tax on Amazon. She was very active in the community, often participating in public demonstrations. In 2020, during the height of the George Floyd protests, she let protesters into City Hall, who demanded the resignation of then-Mayor Jenny Durkan while also calling to defund the police.
That kind of action didn’t go over well with everyone. Big business and the Democratic establishment joined forces to get her recalled in 2021, but she managed to beat them. In 2023, though, Sawant voluntarily ended her public role.
Free with the Daily Briefing
85Essays
Unravel the Constitution
Hamilton, Madison & Jay’s complete case for America, free and searchable in the Publius Reader.
Free with the Daily Briefing. Unsubscribe anytime.
In her next venture, running for Congress, Sawant ran on high-ticket items such as ending all military aid to Israel, including a permanent arms embargo, free healthcare funded by taxing the wealthy, and national rent control. Her desire to end capitalism is a growing platform for socialists and is increasing in popularity among voters.
A 2025 Gallup Poll showed that just 54% of respondents viewed capitalism favorably, the lowest to date; in 2021, that number was 60%. While Americans remain more negative (57%) than positive (39%) toward socialism, the move toward a socialist country is an alarmingly growing trend that politicians such as Sawant are taking advantage of.
Sawant’s congressional campaign may be over, but her crusade against capitalism clearly isn’t. After a decade of pushing socialist policies in Seattle, she isn’t abandoning the cause just because voters denied her a trip to Washington, DC. And with socialism gaining favor, particularly among Democrats, she may read those shifting attitudes as proof that her revolution simply needs a little more time. Losing gracefully is one option. Blaming the system and calling for its overthrow apparently have a bit more flair.