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Left Out Loud is a progressive political podcast breaking down the biggest stories shaping our democracy. From up-to-the-minute political news and midterm election coverage to in-depth interviews with grassroots Democratic candidates, the show spotlights the voices and movements fighting for real change. Smart, informed, and unapologetically loud, Left Out Loud pairs sharp analysis with humor and plain-spoken commentary, cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters. If you care about elections, organizing, and the future of the Democratic Party—and you like your politics with a little personality—this is the podcast for you.
All right, Jessica Salas, welcome.
Welcome to Left Out Loud.
Such a pleasure to have you here today.
I appreciate you joining
us, taking the time.
I know you're busy.
So many candidates right now
are just extraordinarily busy.
Yeah.
It's, uh, eight days until the primary.
Yeah.
And I'm actually... Uh, I
do a lot of this by myself.
Mm-hmm.
I don't have a campaign manager, so I'm
actually posting something right now.
So you're
running for Congress in
Oregon's 3rd District.
Um- Correct ... for myself and for the
audience, what... That don't know Oregon
that well, what is the 3rd District?
Where is that located?
What does it consist of?
It's...
It consists of what you would
w- imagine Portland to be.
Um- Okay ... so it would be all
East Side Portland, on the east
side of the River of the Willamette.
Um, North Portland all the way down
to Sellwood, but a central east side,
like a perfect square is cut out.
Okay.
So I don't have the central
east side of Portland.
Goes all the way into Gresham, all
the way up to Hood River, down to
Mount Hood Village, Damascus, Happy
Valley, and Brentwood-Darlington.
Okay.
So it's a giant chunk.
A giant chunk.
Wow.
Yeah, it sounds huge.
Yeah.
Um, so I wanna start off just kind of
talking about your backstory a little bit.
I always love reading people's bios.
I thought yours was particularly,
um, informative and vulnerable.
You know, I really felt like I got
a chance to get to know you better.
And you talked about sort of growing
up in difficult family circumstances.
You know, there was, uh, challenges
within the family, financial hardship.
Um, and, and feel free, a- as...
You know, it's whatever you're
comfortable sharing on here, right?
You can expand- Oh ... on
that if you choose to.
But, um- I'm huge open book.
Oh, good.
Good, good.
Me too.
Okay.
Um, so but my question is, you know,
having kind of gone through all of
that and sort of being forced, as a
lot of us are when we are in difficult
circumstances like that, to grow up
quickly and become self-sufficient,
do you think those hardships, um,
impact the way that you will govern?
And do you think there's an advantage
to people that have experienced that
type of hardship in a governing role?
I do.
Um, I think it influences
a lot of w- who I am today.
Um, you can either let a lot of
the challenges that you face either
break you or let it make you.
And I... It took me a while to
get to where I am, um, and a
lot of self-reflecting- Yeah
um, and forgiving people, uh, that
I never thought I would forgive.
And, uh- I think once you take any of
these situations that I've been through,
which is, uh, honestly probably too many
for one person, but it- Yeah ... I think
it's shaped my view of where people
come from and, uh, how they got there
and why they're still in the situations
that they're in or I'm gonna take that
obviously with me to Congress- Mm-hmm
um, and let it influence the
way that I'm, I will govern.
Um- Yeah ... I think a lot of the things
that I've been through, um, could have
been avoided, um, if we had like, a better
programs for addiction or, um- Mm-hmm
... mental health care or, uh, if people...
I- you can call lines, uh, for like
if there's suicide helplines or rather
than like domestic violence as well.
Yeah.
And the people who experience that
and who are the ones putting those
people through those experiences have
the option to call those helplines.
Mm-hmm.
Right?
To get, to talk them through it.
But if we just had a better mental
health system and medical system, a
lot of these things could be avoided,
and I think that's what I'm bringing
with me to Congress if I- Makes sense
when I get to Congress.
Yes.
That's right.
When you get there, and
that makes total sense.
Yep.
So, uh, hi, hi, I'm Seth.
Nice to meet you.
Hi.
Uh, and thank you so much-
Hi ... for coming on the program.
Uh, really appreciate your time.
Uh, going on your website, uh, you
know, you're very thorough, uh, but
you, and you have a lot of topics.
But I noticed that AI is
actually on two of those topics.
And so obviously we know that AI
is coming, um, whether we like
it or not, but obviously it's
something that we have to rein in.
And so as, as it is something that,
um, that concerns you as part of your
platform, how, how do you, how, how
would you like to see, uh, the United
States take this next step as far as,
you know, putting up some guardrails for
AI, not only for us, but for our kids?
Yeah.
Uh, I think that also ties into my
dopamine tax, uh, thing as well.
But- I wanted to talk to you about that
too- ... 'cause that, that was cool.
I was like, "What is a dopamine
tax?" It's, tell people about that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, well, dopamine tax, uh, is essentially
keeping people who create social
media, um, ac- held accountable for,
um, people's mental health and their
lifestyles and whatnot because it affects
a lot of people in different ways.
It, it personally has affected me.
All you see is good, good, good and
what everybody is, um, constantly doing.
Right.
And it... I compared myself a
lot to people doing this and
got really depressed over it.
Mm-hmm.
So you're just fully- Forcing
yourself with all of this dopamine
constantly, constantly, constantly.
And it causes so many things to
your brain that nobody has any
control over, um, not even yourself.
And so I think we should keep
the camp- the, the, um, companies
responsible, uh, for these things,
just like prescription drugs.
Like they- Yeah ... it's
essentially a drug.
And- Yeah ... we are all addicted to it.
Um, but with AI, I believe it is
unfortunately inevitable, I believe.
Um, we have no choice.
But we do have data centers now, and
we need a better way to regulate those
and, uh, create better resources for
them in order to function, and not put
it on us as a people, um, with our bills
and our homes, which is the planet.
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, uh, pretty much just
reigning it in like crazy.
Uh, I guess like you just g- you just
adopted a dog, now you have to train it
new tricks and potty train it and whatnot.
Uh, except you just gotta go
full force with it out the bat
because if they don't know it now,
they're never going to know it.
Um, and these companies really need a lot
of regulation in order to function for us
to live as a society and continue to grow.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Yep, absolutely.
Oof.
Yeah.
So, um, I, I think Oregon from,
Oregon from my perspective, and
maybe I'm wrong and you can tell me,
obviously, you're, you're living there.
I, I think of them of, as having
a pretty strong independent
streak politically as voters.
Um, so how, how do you, how are
you connecting with voters that
are independent-minded and maybe at
this point in time are just feeling
sick of both political parties?
I have a feeling you probably run
into that where you live quite a bit.
Yeah.
Yeah,
absolutely.
I'm actually one of those people.
Mm-hmm.
I, uh, the way that I approach
these people, um, which it's
mostly the younger crowd as well.
Yeah.
Um,
my approach to a lot of these things is I
shouldn't be the one... I sh- I shouldn't
run this campaign as like a typical what
you would think as a campaign to be.
Yeah.
I'm going in a completely different
direction, and I get a lot of unsolicited
advice on what I should be doing.
Mm-hmm.
But
also I've never done this before.
I don't come from this world, so
I'm going to- Right ... approach
it with a different mindset.
Um, so when I reach these people, no
matter the spectrum of what they're on,
I just sit there and I listen with them.
And literally the o- the only thing all
of us really want is to be heard and seen.
And especially in this day and age
with social media, um, we have all...
I believe, like, I was
just talking about this.
Um, we all have very indibil-
individualistic selves where we
all think that we are special-
Mm ... I guess you could say.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And, yes, so it's created a pretty
big narcissistic society and, um,
but even then your voice is still so
drowned out, and you're basically,
like, swimming against the current- Yeah
... and trying to get your voice heard.
So what I do is I go to them.
I don't g- I, yeah, people knock
on doors, people call people,
cold call, but a lot of the time
no one's gonna answer the door.
I don't like answering my own door.
Mm-hmm.
And I don't like answering a phone
number that I don't even know.
Mm-hmm.
Rather than a text message, you know?
Right.
So I'll go to bars, strip clubs,
um, I'll go to weed shops and I'll
just- ... drop off, um, zines.
Oh.
So I have little zines that tell
you all about who I am- Okay
and, like, why I'm running
for Congress, essentially.
And, um, when you open it up- Oh,
that's brilliant ... completely
it shows you how big the district is.
And you call them z- you call
them, you call them zines?
Is that, like, short
for magazine, I guess?
Zines, yes.
Yes.
And it shows- Cool ... the whole
district when you open it up completely.
So these are things that, one,
a lot of people don't see.
Mm-hmm.
And it really, I think it stands out
and- Yeah ... people are very interested.
Um, but I've sat with people who are
like, "Oh, I..." On the back I'm,
it says, "Register as a Democrat by
April 28th," so this is an old one.
Um, but they're like, "I don't want to."
Yeah.
And I go, "Understandable.
Here's the thing, it's a closed
primary and if you want anything,
if you want somebody new you
have to register as a Democrat.
And you know what else?
When I win, we can have a de-registration
party," and everyone's like, "Let's
go." I'm all, "All right, let's go."
Yeah, and that, and so I
imagine that's a great point.
Probably another challenge in Oregon is if
you have all of these independent voters
and they're not registered for a party,
they can't participate in the primary.
And so typically is the termi-
turnout pretty low in Oregon
when it comes to primaries?
I'm, I've been looking at the past
primaries and general elections
and, yeah, they're fairly low.
Yeah.
Um, I'd say between 8,000,
800,000 to, um, like, what is it?
A million.
Uh-huh.
But after that- Doesn't really
get much higher than that.
Okay.
Um, but I'm seeing every day they
update it for us for the Democrats of
how many people turn in their ballots,
and right now we're at, like, 600,000.
Oh, great.
And it's eight days till left.
Okay.
So I think everyone is seeing where we're
going, and it's a very desperate time,
and everyone's actually paying attention
that now we're getting people to vote.
It's not- That's wonderful ... early, but
hi.
That's fantastic.
I'm glad to hear that.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's been, it's
been, it's been safe.
Yeah, 'cause if they're not, if
they're not registered, I mean,
it's all a moot point, right?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I thi- I think a lot of
people are understanding that too.
I had to explain a lot about what
closed primaries are, and my earlier
literature, literature wasn't like this.
It was just regular political litera-
literature, like postcards and stuff.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
It just didn't feel like me.
But I did write, like, on there
that it's a closed primary.
You have to be registered as a Democrat
if you want your voice to be heard.
Yeah.
Because there's, it's only me,
it's the incumbent, and that's it.
There's not even an independent.
You know what I mean?
Oh, you're kidding.
Whoa.
Yeah.
Wow.
There's a Republican, but he came in
out of nowhere, and he, he doesn't have
a website or anything up, so, Okay.
Dang, okay.
Well, that's a- ... that's a, I mean,
uh, that, you're, that's unique.
Uh, as far- Very ... as, like, as
the people that we've interviewed
so far, I mean, that is a- Mm-hmm
very unique circumstance, so I mean,
people need to know about that.
Yeah.
People need to know about that.
And so, uh, one thing I, I wanted to
ask you about, uh, you know, with, with
being a progressive, uh, obviously we
are super anti-PAC, super PAC spending.
Uh, Citizens United, one of the worst
things to happen, uh, to this country.
But something really caught
my eye on your website.
It says, "For every dollar that
Congress spends to, uh, to study
policy, corporate lobbyists spend
$34 to that dollar to control or
kill it." And that blew my mind.
And, like, and obviously I knew the,
that it's a huge problem, but putting
it in that, you know, perspective.
They're spending 34 times what Congress
is, is doing to try to create policy
to help our lives, and the corporations
are going, "Oh, no, we're gonna, we're
gonna spend, spend, spend so that
never sees the light of day." Mm-hmm.
And so ta- talk about that a little
bit more as far as, you know, the
corporations and their interference in
creating policy that helps Americans.
Well, they don't.
But it's only to benefit them.
What I did recently was kind
of go down a rabbit hole, which
was creating two websites.
It was a website against my incumbent, and
then the other one is Whopaysmyrep.com.
Right.
And I basically built a whole website
that goes back to the API, calls
back to the API, the FEC website,
and then I downloaded all of their
information for this election,
for this primary 2025 to 2024.
And, or, 2026, my bad.
Yeah.
And and, uh, I put it in my own database.
So it calls back to that database.
You can see where folks get
their money from, the trail.
Mm-hmm.
So, like, you can see it like
AIPAC to, um, uh, who is it?
Uh, Progressive Voters
of America or something.
I forgot what it's called.
And then to the candidate.
And everywhere how it doesn't touch, and
it made me feel so disgusting, uh, to
just see the whole thing laid out and
watch how all of these corporations hold
such a strong hand in our government.
Mm-hmm.
Um, for...
It, it actually blew me away, and then
I went down another rabbit hole, and
then my whole team was like, "You really
need to get out of this rabbit hole."
I was like, "My bad." Yeah.
But, um- I get that.
I mean, I'm the same way.
Like, when you start to kind of
consume this information, something you
didn't really know before, it's like-
Yeah ... I, now I need to know everything.
Everything.
Yes.
I wanna know
everything.
I'm the same way.
Yeah.
And it's just crazy that not even, not
even just them spending that money.
On top of that, the candidates or
incumbents still have to raise money-
Yeah
...
in order for them to pay their staff.
So it's like, "Oh, what's
the easiest way to do it?
Let's side with this lobbyist,"
or like, "Let's side with
this corporation." Mm-hmm.
"They'll give us, like, the max amount
of money and just continue to go."
And it's, all of it is so corrupt.
Yeah.
It needs true... It all needs to
just burn down and start over again.
Um- I agree.
I agree.
I mean, we really, realistically, we
need, we need people in Congress saying,
"Okay, uh, you know, n- we have to
somehow get this corporate influence
out of our government." And I don't know
that it'll happen at the federal level,
but, you know, states have the ability
to say, you know, to pass legislation
and say, "Listen, we don't allow
corporate money- In our state- Mm-hmm
right?
We don't allow our politics
to be bought or influenced.
And I hope to see more and
more of that happening.
Um, I, I think Hawaii just
passed that no corporate money
is allowed in their politics.
It was just a few days ago.
So- Love to see
it ... you'd love to see it.
I just, you know, if the federal
government can't do it, um, we
can certainly put pressure on our
local politicians to do it, right?
Right.
Absolutely.
And make up... Because right now,
i- i- it, right now is the time.
I mean, we're seeing how much
influence, uh, foreign entities
have over our elections.
Mm-hmm.
Like, l- Israel is in the spotlight
for that right now, and rightfully so.
Uh, corporations are, are affecting,
uh, us every day in terms of the, the,
the amount of the, like, the tax breaks
that they were just able to acquire.
I mean, uh- Mm ... Apple,
Microsoft, Google all received,
like, $8 billion, uh, in tax cuts.
And y- when you think about
where that money could be
going, it just blows your mind.
But it's just, I want, I want my, our
listeners to understand it's not just
about the things that I just mentioned.
It's, they're, they're literally
going in and killing policy that
Congress is trying to write.
People talk about, "Oh, this
Congress is the laziest Congress.
This is the, you know, the-" Mm ... "They
put, they put out the least legislation."
Well, these companies are literally
spending $34 to every dollar to make
sure that they don't write policy.
Yes.
And that, and that- Right ... and,
and people need to understand that.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
There's another thing I like to do,
um, with folks for them to fully
understand when I say, like, to
tax billionaires out of existence.
It's what... Do you both know what
one million minutes to a year is?
No.
It's about 1.9 years.
Okay.
Right.
One billion minutes to a year, 1,902.
Right.
Yeah.
It's, they could be giving
away so much money every day
and still be a billionaire.
And I think that's- Yeah ... uh,
that's such a great point, Jessica,
because I think, you know, it's hard
to conceptualize what a billion is.
You know, a lot of people just think of
it as m- more than a million, but, you
know, after a million, what is it really?
And it's so much more than a million.
I mean, it's- Yeah ... you know,
they... I've seen so many different
sort of metaphors or analogies of,
you know, how many lifetimes it would
take to spend a billion dollars.
And it's just, it's so excessive.
It's so gross and unnecessary.
Unnecessary.
Yeah.
It makes me wonder why people are so
attached to money, but I guess they are.
Yeah.
With money comes power.
Mm-hmm.
So I guess
it- Yeah
...
it's- Yeah ... just being- Being
the individualistic narcissistic
self trying to be special-
It, exactly ... in a way.
It's a sense of- Yeah ... like,
o- omnipotence, I guess.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I don't know.
It's, it's just gross.
You know?
It's, it's, like, dystopian and weird- Yes
to hoard that much money and not
do anything positive with it.
In fact, most billionaires do the
exact opposite with all of that wealth.
Um, so you have- They spend it
to influence our government.
I- yeah.
Right.
Exactly.
So you have a, a broad platform.
You know, I took a look at your
platform and your policies.
Um, a, a, you know, kind of
a lot of what I would expect
from a progressive candidate.
You talk about healthcare and education
and housing and affordability.
If, let's say right now I kinda wave a
magic wand and I say, "Okay, you can go
to Congress, but you can only, you can
only take one of your issues with you.
That's the only one you get,"
which one would you pick?
That's so hard.
I know.
My, my dog is punching me.
What do you need?
Um,
I think the most important...
Yeah.
No, I would say tax the
billionaires out of existence.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because with that comes- Prosperity
for everyone ... a solution.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Solution to homelessness, solution
to healthcare, solution to mental
healthcare, solution to childcare.
It would- Okay.
Crazy infrastructure.
Yeah.
Travel infrastructure.
Mm-hmm.
Planes.
Yeah.
I mean, w- we're talking
about trains, man.
Like, China- Mm-hmm ... literally
just spent, like, a couple billion
dollars and built this opulent,
unbelievable train station with, like,
17 tracks and a hotel- ... and a mall
in there for absolutely no reason.
Just 'cause they're unbelievable
when it comes to that kinda stuff.
And, you know, y- you just think
to yourself, like, man, we,
we build NFL football stadiums
for more money, for more money.
More money.
So where, where's the money going?
There's so much money in America.
Mm. And we just... And, and so many
people are just like, "Yeah, well,
I'm okay with making $55,000 a year.
I think that's fine.
And, you know, those
billionaires probably earned it.
They probably were s- working
with the sweat of their brow."
Like, and you're just like,
man.
They think because they work hard,
the billionaires work hard, but
that's- Right ... not it at all.
They're m- Mm ... sweat o- they're
making the money off of the
sweat of their own, their backs.
And it's- Right.
Or they feel some weird- It's
crazy ... some weird, like, um, sense
of, of, um, like they owe billionaires
for their own- Yeah ... existence.
Like, if it wasn't- Give us jobs.
Right.
Like, we can't be- Yeah ... mean
to them, guys, 'cause they
give us our jobs and our money.
No Come on.
No.
Come on.
No.
Get real.
They
are exploiting you.
Yeah.
But okay.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Seth, do you have-
Yeah, yeah ... do you have a question?
Well, I, yeah, I wanted to talk
about, uh, housing, because as a
millennial, uh, this is just something
that is always on my mind heavy, and
I know that it affects all of us.
Uh, because, you know, the, the average
home buyer now is, like, 41 years old.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
And
it used to be 28 years
old just 30 years ago.
Uh, and everything has, you know,
doubled, tripled, quadrupled.
I'm sure out in Oregon it's insane.
I mean, I've s- I see some of these
houses and the prices out there,
and I mean, of course everybody
wants to live out on the West Coast.
Why wouldn't you?
Mm-hmm.
It's absolutely gorgeous.
But with that comes, you know, being
basically priced out of the market
as a, as a young- Yeah ... as a young
person, as a young professional.
So what would you like to do, um, to
try to make sure that, you know, the
younger generations have a foothold
in terms of being able to buy a house,
and, and with that comes generational
wealth and, and other things?
Well,
I'd say with that, because that's
also how the billionaires stay- Right
... relevant, is they don't, they don't
get taxed on any of their, you know,
like, second properties or something.
Mm-hmm.
Um, along with, what
else, what else is it?
Uh, when they inherit things
they're not taxed on that either.
Um,
but- Yeah, they used to
call it the death tax.
Yes, the
death tax.
Scare everybody away.
The death tax, ah!
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but it's, it's basically...
The first thing to tackle I think
would be vacation homes, Airbnbs.
People are buying them up in
order to create, to be a landlord.
You know, abolish landlords, um,
and- Yeah ... uh, and it's, it's just
unattainable, and there's a lot of
people that I know that are struggling.
And I know a friend that's a
realtor, which I'm fortunate enough
to have bought a house last year.
Um, I wouldn't have been-
Congratulations ... able to do it.
Thank you.
I wouldn't have been
able to do it by myself.
I did it with my fiance.
Mm-hmm.
Um, he makes, I th- uh, he
makes twice as much as me.
Yeah.
And, um, I make bare minimum.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
And it's... And I, even then I'm lucky
to have a job while I'm doing this.
Uh, they don't know that I'm
doing this, but that's okay.
Right.
Um...
We won't tell.
Um, but yeah, getting rid of
those vacation homes in order to,
um, free up some of those homes.
Yeah.
Because why- We already have hotels.
We don't need that.
Yeah.
Just rent a room in
your house or something.
I don't know.
You don't need the h- to have to
h- have a whole house in order
to make extra money on the side.
We have all these people out
on the street that need help.
Um, more affordable housing, but
like actually affordable housing,
and not just say like, "Yeah, we're
gonna charge this much for it, and
you're gonna get a shit apartment."
It's actually affordable h- housing that
is well-built and ready to go for all
of us humans that desperately need it.
Um-
And on top of that, we gotta
start building more homes.
Yeah.
I mean,
we're, we're, and we're, we're desperately
short there as well, and Kamala was
gonna build three million homes that
we desperately need that our, that our
younger generation desperately needs.
'Cause yeah, like if you g- if you
don't have a significant other that's
willing to throw in on a house with
you, it's very unlikely that you're
gonna be able to do it on your own.
Pretty unlikely.
That, my, like those houses, I just
had, um, gosh, it was a long... It was
towards the beginning of my campaign
that I had done a segment, video I
suppose, about my incumbent, how she
got in about when she was a state rep.
She passed a bill, and the bill granted, I
think, like $5 billion to create housing.
Um, and since then, that was back
in 2022 or '23, since then it,
homelessness has gone up by like 70%.
So it's also trying to keep accountable
where this money is actually going-
Right ... and how it's being used.
Yes.
Uh, seeing it through, and I think
also that it's gonna be h- I know
crazily and impossible to pass, but
like a public audit system for the
federal government would be amazing.
But even then, just for Oregon
would desperately need it.
Yep.
And I think, you know,
that's another thing.
State by state, we have to start
sort of cleaning up our own, our own
communities in terms of, you know, we
only have so much control over what the
federal government does unfortunately.
They're their own machinery,
um, you know, uh, in DC.
But- We have to get more involved at the
community and at the local level and,
and push for- Mm-hmm ... accountability
and transparency and things like this.
You know, it is an oversight, right?
If you get a big chunk of money for
a project and you're not seeing the
project happen, start asking questions.
Where'd that money go?
Yeah.
'Cause this is what we were supposed
to get and we're not seeing it.
Um, and I think- Mm-hmm ... we just
have to, we have to get better as a
society of becoming more involved,
especially at the local level, 'cause
that's where real change happens
that impacts our day-to-day lives.
Yeah.
I think we have a lo- a, a sense
of wanting community, but we
don't know how to get it back.
Agreed.
I think we lost it after COVID.
Yeah.
And- Mm ... so we we're fending
for ourselves in a way, and now-
Mm-hmm ... we're all struggling.
Um- Yeah ... and I think if we just
get community back of caring for one
another, they would finally unders-
well, folks would finally understand that
we're better together than we are apart.
And- Yeah ... yeah.
I agree.
It's one of the reasons, uh, you know,
one of the many reasons we love doing
this is just getting to know people
all across the country and kind of
building this progressive community.
Um- Mm-hmm ... so before we get to how
people can find you and support you,
because your primary is imminent, right?
It's eight days away I think you
said, which is- Eight days ... wild.
Um, so before we get to that, p- and just
politics aside, what's your, what's your
favorite thing about living in Oregon?
That's also really hard.
Um- Yeah
...
I moved out here- You
can say multiple things
...
okay, I will.
Um, I moved out here and I thoroughly
enjoyed... Um, as much as I love the
sun, um, I am a desert rat a little
bit, uh, 'cause I grew up in the
desert, but I just love the seasons.
Yeah.
I love the nature.
Um, once I got to know people here, I
realized how nice everyone was- Mm-hmm
and, um, you know, I got, I got a lot
of great friends, uh, being out here.
And, um, I got a dog, and then one
that I technically adopted 'cause my
friend passed away and I inherited
it, so now I- Aw ... you know.
It was, uh, I don't know,
it's just... it's really me.
It actually feels more like home
than Southern California ever did.
Wow, that's so nice.
Well, you make it sound wonderful.
I've always wanted to visit.
Um- Oh, please come ... I know,
maybe now I'll have, you know, a
reason to once you win this election.
So your primary is in eight
days, um- May 19th ... May 19th.
You have- One opponent basically?
Yeah, just the incumbent.
Crazy.
And how long has...
Who is your incumbent and how long
have they been serving in that role?
Uh, Maxine Dexter,
and this is her first term.
Okay.
So- And I decided randomly I wanted
to run, um, and- Wow ... then
did research on her and found
out she took some APAC money in.
Oh, boy.
APAC spent money supporting her and,
uh, opposing her, uh, main opponent.
Wow.
And, uh, we- no one found out until
after she won the primary, 'cause
then they released all of the
FEC details and- Yep ... company.
And, and that's the
other thing that people don't understand
about these PACs, is that they'll
spend money on both sides of the aisle.
Mm-hmm.
They don't, they don't favor anybody.
They're just looking- No ... to curry
favor and to say like- Influence
... "Hey, we... Y- Yo was one." Yep.
Remember that?
Yeah.
"Yo was one." Yeah.
It's not about the issues for them.
Oh, yeah.
It's about control.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
Exactly.
It's scary.
It is really scary.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, and it's... And so it brings
us, Seth, you get to ask the,
the final question we always ask.
Okay.
All right.
So, uh, yeah, a- as we always do, we break
out the Bernie, uh, Chuck Schumer scale
from the, uh, from the right side of the
aisle of the, uh, of the Democrats to
the, to the far left with our guy Bernie.
Um, and we just wanna always ask our
people, uh, do you take any corporate
money, any, uh, super PAC money,
any money from foreign entities,
uh, as part of your campaign?
Never, and no I don't.
Yeah.
Great.
That's what we love.
That's what we love.
And, uh, you know- I made-
... obviously progressive grassroots.
Uh, your, your campaign funded
by, you know, regular voters.
Regular
everyday working class people, and
I print all my zines out at home or
at the library because it's free.
Mm-hmm.
Um, that's why it's black and white.
I love it.
Um, I have posters.
Mm-hmm.
I have posters that I post up on, um,
uh, the telephone poles and like tape
on windows that are like abandoned
buildings, library, all of it.
Yeah.
So progressive candidate through
and through, funded that way.
Uh, no cor- no corporate
PAC money, things like that.
And I mean, you're your
own campaign manager.
You're printing out zines.
I mean, look, folks, uh, if you want
a candidate that's, that's gonna
do... they... that can do a lot of
things, you got a lot of plates-
Resourceful
...
a lot
of
plates spinning, okay?
Resourceful.
I mean, you need to- ... you
need to take a look over here.
So, uh, once again, just really, really
glad you came on, and, uh, I just- Thank
you ... s- so much luck to you 'cause, uh,
y- I mean, you're- Thank you ... you're,
you're, you're one of, you're one of the
people that, that Oregon needs, honestly.
Yeah.
So Jessica, quickly tell us, tell the
audience, um, your website address so
they can find you, and are you on all
the socials?
All the socials.
Uh, my website is
J-S-A-L-F-O-R-oregon.com, JSALforOregon.
Okay.
Just short for Jessica Salas.
Um, and, uh, my... all my
socials are @JSALforOregon.
And, uh, just be on the
lookout- Yeah ... on May 19th.
For sure.
I sent my headshot to New York Times and-
Nice ... to CNBC and all those things,
so you'll see my face, win or lose.
That's fan- that's so cool.
And, and obviously we're
hoping that you win.
Um, I love your energy.
You have a really calming energy- Yeah
... which I am always, like, drawn to.
Um- And I think... And we need
that, I mean, especially now, right?
Everything feels- Mm-hmm ... so chaotic.
Everything feels so out of control, and
to have someone that is so resourceful
and truly grassroots, you could not be
more grassroots, um, and, and calming
and thoughtful, um, I think you're
gonna make a great congress member.
Thank
you.
You can make me- Absolutely ... I cry
a lot, but you're gonna make me
cry.
It's okay.
Me too.
Me too.
Jessica, thank you so much
for coming on Left Out Loud.
Yeah.
It's really been an honor, and we're
gonna keep our eye on- Thank you ... your
race, and hopefully we're gonna be
popping bottles and celebrating.
And when you win, please come back
and let us know how things are going.
Absolutely.
Yeah,
absolutely.
Yeah, I... if I win
the par- primary- When.
When ... when, when- Yes ... I win the
primary, I essentially win the general
because it's such a blue district that-
Amazing ... it, it's always been blue-
Yeah ... for years, so that's scary.
Well,
we're gonna keep our, we're
gonna keep our eye on it.
I can't wait to see your headshot, and
I know it's gonna be in the win column.
Um, I just won't even speak any
negativity into existence when
it comes to this situation.
So, um, come back to the show.
You're a friend for life, and look forward
to whatever happens with this election.
I know that really good things are ahead
of you, so thanks again for coming on.
Thanks.
Thank you so much.
Thanks again, Jessica.
All right, bye.
Bye.
Oh, Seth, that was Jessica Salas.
What a treat that was.
Yeah, yeah.
I dug her energy.
I mean, I just think she's so calm
and centered, and there's just a
wisdom to her that I really enjoyed.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, when you, when you talk about
the emotional- Mm ... people that are
in office right now, somebody who is
cool, calm, and collected like Jessica-
Yeah ... is like a breath of fresh air.
It really is.
You know?
And, and, and she has
her priorities in order.
I, I love all our
candidates 'cause they do.
Mm-hmm.
And she was t- and she
was pointing that out.
You know, even in a, in a Democratic
primary, her opponent or the incumbent
is, has been taking APAC money.
On the take.
You know?
And,
and you really understand like just like
the, how far they've got the claws in
there, in our- Mm ... in our system.
So we gotta get them out.
We gotta get people like Jessica in there.
Uh, 'cause not only is she gonna,
you know, hold down the Democratic
principles that we love, but
she's not, she's not on the take.
Yeah.
There's
nobody tapping her on the shoulder
asking her for that favor back.
Yeah.
So, you know, folks, make
sure that you check her out,
especially if you're in Oregon.
But, you know, even if you're not,
um, from there, th- these folks
can always use, you know, donations
and phone banking, especially now
that it's, it's coming down to
the wire for her and her primary.
So, yeah, primary's coming.
Yeah, her primary is, is, is what?
Next Tuesday, I think.
Yeah.
So, um, you know, probably the best
thing you can do for someone like Jessica
that close to the primary, find her
on social media and share her posts.
Yeah.
Get the word out.
You know?
That's really impactful.
Um, but she's just fantastic.
I really enjoyed talking to her.
I love how grassroots she is.
I mean, going to the library to
print out z- the zines that- You
know what I mean ... she's passing
out and i- You know what I mean?
Like, it's that kind of y- you
know, ingenuity and creativity and
resourcefulness that these establishment
politicians, uh, they're not...
They just don't have it.
They don't have that.
They've never struggled.
You know, they don't have that sort
of... She's spent so many years
working in the service industry.
She's just resourceful.
Yeah.
And, and I think that's missing from a lot
of our politicians and in our politics.
Yeah.
We're looking for real people.
Yeah.
I mean, it doesn't get realer than having
to go print something at a library.
Right.
Been there.
Yeah.
Done that.
Yeah.
Like, that's exactly
what I'm talking about.
And, you know, she didn't print that in
her giant Xerox machine on the sixth floor
of some, you know, palatial skyscraper.
Right.
You know?
She's a, she's a regular old person
with great morals, and she goes to
her local library to print stuff off.
Those are the people
we need in Washington.
Those are the people who
understand the, you know, the
struggles of everyday people.
She's in touch with that.
So, you know, love Jessica, and I,
and you know, all the, all the love
and, and support to her, and love.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Check her out.
Find her so- find her, uh,
go to her website, go to her
socials, spread the word.
Week Away is her primary, and, um, I
think she's the right girl for the job.
Yeah.
So we've got interviews now, more
tomorrow, another one the next day.
We're gonna stay on this.
We're gonna keep going.
We're gonna prioritize the release of
these based on their primary schedules
so we make sure that we're getting
these out ahead of the primaries,
um, for these incredible candidates.
And we're gonna be tired, but we're gonna
keep going, so- Yeah ... uh, literally-
This is the time Yeah, this is it.
We're- This is the time.
Everything's
coming down to the wire.
I mean- Mm-hmm ... folks, we're,
we're stacking these interviews up
for you guys to let you know there are
people around you that are, that have
the same kind of values as you do.
So make sure you share the podcast.
Make sure you share the clips online.
Yeah.
I mean, these are people who
are really worthy of your vote.
Absolutely.
So I will literally see you tomorrow.
Literally.
Let's do
it.
All right.
Let's do it again.
Bye, Seth.
All right.
Bye.