The New Face of Progressive Politics

The Takeaway | Nov 27, 2017

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All this week we are looking at the current state and future of the Democratic Party. On Monday, we heard from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the longest serving Independent congressional representative in U.S. history.

Today, we go to a new face in progressive politics: Andrea Jenkins. She became the first openly transgender African-American woman elected to public office earlier this month when she won a seat on the Minneapolis City Council, representing Ward 8.  

Jenkins ran under the banner of the Minnesota Democratic Party, called the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, or the DFL, and won with over 70 percent of the vote — a victory she credits to her grassroots campaigning.

But Jenkins isn’t wedded to the Democratic Party. She’s an independent, the result of what she sees as problems of representation within the party. The Takeaway spoke with her about those problems, and what the Democratic Party can do to bring enthusiasm to groups that she says it often neglects.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich 

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