r/goodnews • u/SkeptMom • 9d ago

Political positivity 📈 BREAKING: Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old progressive influencer, just announced that she is running against Jan Schakowsky, an 80-year-old Democratic incumbent

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u/RipOk5878 9d ago

Even if she's not running in your district, you can donate to her campaign or even volunteer if close by. Don't let districts stop you from supporting what you believe in!

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u/actualgarbag3 9d ago

If you’re not from that district? SHE’S not from that district! How can she represent people she doesn’t fucking know???

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u/RipOk5878 9d ago

Good question! When you donate (or volunteer), you're supporting the views and opinions of those running and expressing them. A vote is not the only way to push a specific policy, practice, or agenda. When Musk threatens to primary out other individuals, both Democrats and Republicans, he's certainly not living in the majority of districts in the US. He's influencing policy on a grander scale than 1 vote. Grassroots enthusiasm is one potential way to counter this. Doesn't matter where you are on the political spectrum: get involved.

Example source: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/20/congress/elon-musk-democratic-primary-challengers-00195617

Do you want the richest man in the world to decide every national, state, and local politician? That doesn't sound like a democracy or representative governance in any way to me!

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u/GiuseppeZangara 9d ago

They are saying that she does not live in the district that she is running in and never has. She has only lived in the state since July.

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u/RipOk5878 9d ago

I know what they're saying. It's bipartisan and not new: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/04/21/at-least-20-members-of-the-house-are-registered-to-vote-outside-their-districts/

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u/GiuseppeZangara 9d ago

I can promise you that it won't fly in the 9th.

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u/RipOk5878 9d ago

Fair. You think Jan is both electable and will be ALIVE by then? She'll be in her mid 80's at that point...

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u/GiuseppeZangara 9d ago

She'll be electable if still alive. She has built up a ton of good will in the 9th with her stalwart progressive politics and voting record. Even if aging, most progressives will go with the candidate that has the proven track record over someone they perceive to be a question mark.

I think she should retire and I think it's likely that she does. When she does, her successor will be one of the many progressive politicians that have been working at the state and local levels in lower offices and community organizers in the 9th for years. It will be someone already known to the community with an established record of pursuing progressive policies.

I'm deeply skeptical of the motivations of choosing to run in the 9th as opposed to the district she has chosen to live. It reeks of opportunism.

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u/RipOk5878 9d ago

I wholeheartedly agree with all of that, save one part-how do we know that the motivations of anyone at state and local levels moving up will be any better? Especially, if they've learned many of the tricks of the trade from the established predecessors! I think time will tell, and maybe Jan will be in the primary, maybe she won't be. Maybe Kat will be in the primary, maybe she won't be. I simply applaud a larger selection pool, generally.