Kshama Sawant is challenging Rep. Adam Smith for House seat

Kshama Sawant, a former Seattle City Council member and prominent socialist activist, has filed to run for Washington’s 9th Congressional District, challenging longtime Democratic incumbent Rep. Adam Smith in the 2026 midterm election.

Her campaign will announce the campaign on Monday at 10 a.m. outside the federal building in downtown Seattle.

Sawant, who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024, gained national attention for her advocacy of progressive policies, including a $15 minimum wage, rent control, and taxing large corporations like Amazon to fund social services. She was the first socialist elected to Seattle’s council in nearly a century and has been a vocal critic of both major political parties.

“Workers Strike Back has just launched a national campaign, called Free Health Care Now, with the model of bypassing both political parties and fighting for free public health care paid for by taxing the rich through local ballot initiatives,” Sawant said during her rally. “In Seattle, we are preparing to file a ballot initiative in 2026, which would tax the city’s wealthiest corporations approximately $5 billion a year. $5 billion with a B. $5 billion a year to fund free health care for everyone in this city. Are you excited?”

According to a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) document, Sawant’s campaign is listed as an independent.

Who is Kshama Sawant?

Both accomplishments and controversies marked Sawant’s tenure.

In 2021, she narrowly survived a recall election that cited allegations of misusing city resources and leading protesters into City Hall during a pandemic-related closure. Additionally, she faced ethics complaints and defamation lawsuits, including one from a landlord she labeled a “slumlord” and another from police officers she accused of “blatant murder.”

In 2023, Sawant spearheaded legislation making Seattle the first U.S. city to ban caste-based discrimination, a move that drew both praise and criticism from various communities. More recently, she alleged political retaliation after being denied an Indian visa multiple times, preventing her from visiting her sick mother.

Sawant also launched Workers Strike Back in 2023, an independent movement that fights against billionaires and their political servants. The movement is pushing for raises for workers and for workplaces to be unionized while combating racism, sexism, and any other types of oppression. Workers Strike Back also advocates for affordable housing, free healthcare, and reform of the two-party political system.

Recently, Sawant has rallied around anti-Israel protests and demands free healthcare for workers.

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