What do you think of when you hear the word politics? Backroom deals? Corruption? A fundamental lack of diversity? Lindsay Brown wants to change that. This June, she will make her first run for United States Congress, challenging Republican incumbent Congressman Leonard Lance of New Jersey’s 7th District.

I first met Lindsay at a café in my hometown. She had driven over an hour to meet me, a prospective volunteer. I was struck instantly by her graciousness, her relatable nature, her drive, and her passion for making New Jersey a better place. I caught up with her last week to discuss running for office as a woman, learning how to be more assertive, and the state of politics in America.

Elizabeth Brennan: What prompted your candidacy?

Lindsay Brown: Donald Trump, haha. I know a lot of women running this cycle will say the same, but my journey was a bit different. Like most people whose heads were buried in the sand of the leftist media bubble around Donald Trump's inauguration, I was terrified that our country was sinking into fascism. I marched in the Women's March in DC and went to a few other protests and started bombaring my elected officials in a panic, but protesting and activism didn't feel like I was actually accomplishing much. I had this nagging feeling that there was more I could be doing. When Mitch McConnell kicked Elizabeth Warren out of the Senate during Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearings and said, "Nevertheless, she persisted," that line struck a real cord with me. There aren't many women in office at the federal level, much less women my age, and the fact that Elizabeth Warren has become such a household name fascinated me. I realized that she got there by running for office and on a whim, "Googled" what was required to run. The first result was money (ha!) but constitutionally, you only need to be 25 and a naturalized US citizen for 7 years, which I very much am. I mentioned these facts to my best friend who emphatically insisted that if I'm even remotely considering it, I ought to just run. We discussed it, and my reservations, and ultimately I decided that it was what I needed to do to feel like I could have a real impact on the political system and the future of the Republican party.

EB: What unique perspectives do you believe that you, a millennial woman, bring to the table?

LB: As a millennial, I graduated in the middle of the 2008 recession and struggled to find a job despite my expensive and hard-earned bachelor's degree. While everyone was hit by the 2008 recession, my generation was hit especially hard because the low salaries and part-time gigs we took to stay afloat in those years have a permanent ripple effect on our earning potential and anything we did or didn't manage to save for retirement in that time. My generation is also the first generation to be shouldered with the staggering amounts of student loan debt that we're seeing, so couple that with struggling to get employed out of school and ramp up our careers, and add to that all of the difficulties with rental housing becoming increasingly more expensive because of the 2008 mortgage crisis, and you have the first generation since the Great Depression to have life-long financial difficulties that are not even something they have control over because our parents' and grandparents' generations caused it. When it comes to understanding middle class economic struggles, millennials corner the market.

As a woman, I understand all of the usual women's issues that women candidates mention in their runs for office but as a millennial woman, I am uniquely positioned so that I see the strides we've made since the Feminist Revolution of the 60s and 70s but I also see how far we still need to go, coming of age in a time when girls are told that they can be anything they want to be but not being told that we'll still need to work twice as hard to prove ourselves along the way. We were raised to believe that we can have it all because previous generations fought for that right, and while we *can* have the career and the family and the supportive husband, the second shift and emotional/invisible labor are still real and under-appreciated aspects of life as a woman in my generation. I'm not sure how much of that requires legislation but cultural change starts from the top and we need women in positions of power to lead by example and encourage cultural and policy change that allows women to experience true equality in the workplace and at home.

EB: What is a progressive Republican?

LB: A Republican who is socially progressive! Or, a phrase that's more appealing to other Republicans, "socially moderate but fiscally conservative." Examples of progressive Republicans from the past include Teddy Roosevelt (champion of the 8-hour workday, the weekend, and anti-child labor laws, creator of the National Parks Service, and legendary trust buster), Dwight Eisenhower (creator of the National Highway System, among other accomplishments), Nelson Rockefeller (look up the "Treaty of Fifth Ave"), and Millicent Fenwick (civil rights and women's movement), among many others. We believe in being fiscally prudent with government spending and not expanding government for the sake of creating new programs and bloating bureaucracy, but we believe in promoting social welfare and genuinely believe that people are inherently good and that we need to acknowledge each person's inherent humanity.

EB: In what ways do you think our political parties may change in the future?

LB: Oh man, this is really tough to gauge. Our country and the two major political parties are at a crucial fork in the road. The two parties have been moving further towards neoliberalism, corporatism, and globalism together for the past couple of decades, but there is a renewed vigor and activism as a result of first Bernie Sanders' candidacy and then Trump's subsequent win. There are factions of both parties who are looking for reform and change. I do see a shift towards populism in both parties. The media has twisted the word 'populism' to be synonymous with white nationalism, but it's not. Populism is government for and by the people. I see movements on both sides pushing both parties in that direction but, like the Tea Party movement, it may be a flash in the pan.

EB: How do you think we can reconcile the bipartisan tensions that have ravaged America?

LB: BE CRITICAL OF THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME. I cannot state this enough. Regardless of how much you trust your media sources, be critical of every single thing you read. Read multiple sources and compare what those sources state differently and what they state in common. Be critical of who is being sourced in a story you're reading—are they going on the record with their name and position, or are they an anonymous source who will only go on background? When you step back and don't take what you read or see or hear as gospel, it's a little bit easier to open your mind to listening to other people who may not believe exactly what you do, and that's where political conversations can start to become productive.

Also, take a step back and remember the humanity of every person you criticize—political figure, voter of the opposite party, or otherwise. Don't let propaganda and rhetoric allow you to dehumanize half of the country.

Systemically, I think the only way we could reprogram a large swath of Americans to stop being so divisive is with a massive overhaul in our education system and even then, it would be decades of learning to be critical media consumers and to treat each other with respect and dignity. In the meantime, we need to hold our friends and family accountable for being assholes to people they don't agree with and check ourselves as much as possible.

EB: What is the first issue you will tackle if elected?

LB: Honestly, as much as I'd like to say "oh, I'll start with healthcare!" or "I'll start with education reform!", I think it's important to be pragmatic with voters. I will start with whatever piece of my platform is relevant and likely to actually gain momentum to pass when I'm sworn in, in January 2019. With the 24 hour news cycle being what it is I really can't predict what will be prescient 8 months from now. That said, my platform is comprehensive and I will work towards the ultimate goals of the platform with every piece of legislation I sign on to and vote on, while best representing the people of my district and Americans at large.

In an ideal world, I'd start with a public works jobs program to bring jobs to the American people and rebuild our infrastructure, as well as bring down student loan debt by allowing students and recent graduates to work off their education debt in service of the country, closely followed by comprehensive education reform. So many of the political issues we tackle today are side effects of economic unease among the majority of Americans. Healthcare, immigration, and how we handle crime and race relations are all issues that take on greater importance when we are economically vulnerable.

EB: If you are not elected, will you remain involved in politics? How can you best serve the people of your district?

LB: Yes! I know too much about how messed up the system is, (and I know too many people involved in politics who I'll remain friends with,) to not stay involved. It's like the mafia (although possibly more corrupt here in NJ!)—once you’re in, there's no way out.

I can best serve the people of my district by working both within and out of the system to bring more transparency to the process and the machine and hold our elected officials accountable. As one of my projects in coding bootcamp, my team worked together to create an app that uses your address to introduce you to your state-level representatives (state assembly and state senate), providing information to contact them and basic details about what committees they sit on and their voting history on the last 10 bills to pass the state senate. I've been in contact with NJ ELEC (election finance committee) to gain access to election finance reports and put that data about donors side by side with your reps' voting record so voters can be more informed about what their representatives are doing after we vote them in.

Also, if I'm not elected, I will definitely run again, either for this seat or something else. Most people don't win their first race! Persistence is important and the exposure and experience of a first campaign is invaluable to building a base and a network to run again and ultimately win.

EB: What has been the most rewarding moment of your race thus far? The most challenging?

LB: All of it and all of it? The whole race has been enormously rewarding AND challenging.

The most rewarding is the recurring moments where I go somewhere and am recognized by complete strangers who are like, "You're that lady running against Lance but you're a Republican but you're progressive! You're such a badass!" It's a little daunting to have my reputation precede me but it's also such a cool feeling and something I never anticipated being part of my life.

The most challenging is every time I have to psych myself up to go work a room or canvas [going door-to-door to ask for voter support.] I am naturally an introvert. I prefer to hang back and listen; spending the night in on the couch is even better! Pushing myself out of my comfort zone to run and all that it's entailed with teaching myself networking skills and personal salesmanship has been exciting and came more naturally than I expected, but it is still a challenge.

EB: Politics is, without a doubt, a “boys' club” right now. What is the one piece of advice you’d give to any woman running for office?

LB: Don’t take anyone's shit. If someone tries to give you a hard time about anything—your experience, your looks, your age, your positions—dish it back. Politely and respectfully, of course, but don't just stand there and take it and meekly say, "ok, thanks" and walk away. I have a whole thing about how it's a cultural problem that we value certain obnoxious personality traits in men as being "leadership material" and those traits are, in turn, labeled as "bitchy," "bossy," or "shrill" in women, and we really ought to be appreciating leaders who treat others with respect and lead by example, but that is a rant for another time. That said, if someone is trying to steamroll you, don't stand down. Be a bit sassy/opinionated/strong/choose your own adjective. Speak truth to power.

Oh, also, practice self care and make sure to get enough sleep. I know you said *one* piece of advice but campaigning is exhausting, especially if you have a family and/or a full-time career outside of politics. You aren't putting your best foot forward in any area of your life if you aren't well rested and feeding yourself reasonably well and doing what you need to do to feel sane. Even when I don't have a particularly heavily scheduled week I'm mentally exhausted by trying to juggle a campaign team with my job and family stuff. It's a lot, and most men get a free pass on a lot of things if they're campaigning that women either don't get or don't allow themselves to take.

EB: If you could do it all again, would you change anything? Why?

LB: Nope! I could probably list a bunch of things I should've done differently—started canvassing sooner, canvassed more, attended more events, raised more money—but it's all part of the learning experience and since no campaign happens in a vacuum, I've had to take into account months of commuting 3 hours roundtrip to Manhattan every day, several months of intensive homework during my coding bootcamp, and family obligations that have come up and limited my capacity for campaigning. To quote Omar Little in The Wire, "it's all in the game, yo."