MAJOR GARRETT:
00:01:20
Why do you want to be in Congress? Because I saw a primary where I believe I could represent my values as a voter, and, therefore, I felt it to be my moral obligation to go and compete for those because we are at a time where our children are going to be asking us, what did you do in this moment? In this moment in our democracy-- which anybody will tell you feels like a very dramatic shift-- what did you do? And more than anything in life, more than Congress, I want to be a parent, and, therefore, I want to be able to tell my children that I did everything I could. How do you size up this primary and being as young as you are? And you're a democratic socialist. As I understand, that would be the line you would have. Is there anything about the Mamdani experience that informs or inspires you? Well, Zohran's campaign inspired a whole wave of candidates who believe that taking certain positions that could be characterized as unpopular could actually be effective if they are based on your moral convictions. Zohran had a focus on affordability because he wanted to make this city more affordable for New Yorkers. Now, affordability has largely become a buzzword that politicians are throwing around, assigning whatever meaning to it they want. But Zohran meant what he said, and he said what he meant, and that really resonated with people. He got hammered for taking a human-rights position on Palestine. People would not let him forget it. Meanwhile, not his job. This is something that the media was slamming him for. This is something his opponents were slamming him for. But he took his position not because it was the most convenient but because it was what he truly meant. So I'm hoping the Mamdani effect we see, beyond a focus on how it's more expensive to be a person now, is candidates who are willing to take positions based on their moral convictions. Is affordability a cutting issue in a congressional district with a per capita income of $75,000? Well, I think with where the economy is going right now, affordability is a very broad conversation. For example, I think that Medicare for all is part of the affordability conversation. There are a lot of parents and grandparents in my district whose children are going to college, and they're graduating with student debt into a job market that's been eviscerated by AI, and they are not getting entry-level positions that are putting them on the path to get decent benefits. So when they turn 26 and age out of their parent's healthcare plan, God forbid they have a terrible accident or fall ill. They could go broke seeking these resources. Therapy-- I know therapy. I'm a school-shooting survivor-- is terribly expensive. And we have the resources in this country to be providing Americans with this help. We just need to be giving it to people. So I largely reject the notion that a lot of people have given me that people in my district are only thinking about their pocketbook when they go to the ballot box. New York 12 voters are very educated. They are very progressive. They care about all Americans, and they want to see candidates who are focused on uplifting Americans' lives. Does anything about this process, Cameron, intimidate you? I mean, a recent entrant into this race, Jack Schlossberg, very famous family. You can outline for my audience his relatives' family tree. I mean, the whole thing is rather intimidating. I'm running against a lot of big money. My candidates all have-- or excuse me, my opponents have all raised a pretty sizable amount. And while my campaign has a lot of individual donors and a lot of volunteers, we do not have a lot of big money coming in. And that's challenging, and I think that our political system is rigged in a very negative way where the people who have access to more financial resources are always going to have an easier time winning races. Is it personally hard for you to make those calls for raising money? I mean, making calls to ask people for money is so soul crushing. And fortunately, I believe in what I'm doing, so when I ask people to financially support my agenda, I really mean it. And if they connect with me on a policy level, that is something that is important to both of us. But it's like the system is designed to be as demoralizing as possible for people who do not have a high-dollar Rolodex, and that's why there's great organizations like Run for Something, which is run by a woman named Amanda Litman, that offer resources to candidates who are struggling to break in but need to be competing in races. You are demoralized but not deterred, correct? I'm more motivated than I was when I launched, and I am also more tired than I have been in the past eight years. Two things can be true at once. But I have a lot of people who believe in what I'm doing. I'm very inspired by the stories I hear about people-- about what our policies can do to make their lives better. And at the end of the day, if I lose sleep doing that, there are people in this country who are losing sleep for much worse reasons, so I'll deal with it.
MAJOR GARRETT:
00:05:58
Cameron Kasky, I appreciate you coming in. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
