Should Kshama Sawant take over for Rep. Jim McDermott?

Early this morning, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) woke up from a multi-year slumber to realize that, yes, he still occupies the WA-7 congressional seat. And after rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he finally told staffers he’s ready to retire.

The congressman was confident he would be elected to another term (and he’s right, he would have) but said: “…the question was, ‘Do you want to go back there and do it for another two years?’ And the answer was no.”

Now, we begin feverishly speculating as to who will replace him.

State Rep. Brady Walkinshaw declared a challenge weeks ago, telling the Jason Rantz Show, “I think we’re at a stage where we’re ready for the next progressive leader.” There’s no doubt he’s progressive, but the question is whether or not he will be able to inspire any change in D.C. It’s early in the campaign and while he shows some promise, I’ve not yet seen enough specific ideas proposed (just ideological daydreaming).

Related: McDermott challenger says ‘It’s time to have a check on our priorities’

Former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is a name I saw discussed this morning. A friend and fellow political junky reminded me McGinn has pockets of support throughout WA-7. But he’d be an awful pick. He was embarrassing as Mayor and even people who agreed with him ideologically couldn’t stand working with him. Early in his stint as Mayor he told us, “There are people who say I don’t get along with people.” Yeah: lots, and lots, and lots of people said that.

The most promising contender is someone I have an affinity for, despite disagreeing on about 95 percent of her policy prescriptions and philosophies: Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant.

According to the Times, she’s not ruled out a run.

For those of you who dislike her politics, you should actually support her run. She has undoubtedly been influential in local politics (she is responsible for $15 minimum wage movement winning in Seattle, not Mayor Ed Murray) and if she becomes a congressperson, her grip on Seattle politics will be non-existent (if you don’t like her politics, this benefits you).

Will she be effective in Congress? I don’t know. It certainly won’t be easy. Sen. Bernie Sanders has held some form of political office since 1981 and hasn’t moved us towards socialism at all. Can Sawant do what he couldn’t? I don’t know, but she seems to represent a good portion of the district and I’m not scared to have people I disagree with politically from entering the fray.