No, not her opponent — though Adam Smith is unbeaten in a 35-year career. It's the two-party system, which hasn't lost to an independent campaign here in a century, Westneat writes.

Kshama Sawant, the socialist who served a decade on the Seattle City Council, launched a “working-class, antiwar, anti-genocide” campaign Monday, June 2 to unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Smith in the 2026 election.

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.