Claire Valdez (Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo) is a member of the New York Assembly running for a seat in Congress. She’s also a proud Democratic Socialist, a progressive wing of the party gaining ground in the success of elected leaders like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). U.S. Senate candidate and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe/D-MN) is considered a progressive Democrat and won the backing of Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in her decisive primary win in Minnesota. We’ll speak with Native Democratic organizers about how the pressure to move to the left is being received by Native voters and also whether it is a viable long-term strategy.

GUESTS

Kalyn Free (Choctaw), Democratic National Committee (DNC) member from Oklahoma and DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC)

Kevin Killer (Oglala Lakota), co-founder of Advanced Native Political Leadership and former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe

Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of the Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund