Seth: Hey, Allie.
Ally: Hey, Seth.
Seth: Hey, so we got another great candidate running
for Congress in Tennessee.
It's Victoria Broderick, she's out of District four, and she's
another great millennial candidate, progressive candidate, and I
can't wait to talk to her today.
Ally: I can't wait either.
It's our first female candidate.
You made this arrangement, you arranged this interview and I feel like it
was a very special gift to me, so I can't wait to get to talk to her.
Seth: Yeah.
Yeah.
We met.
Ally: See on the other side.
Seth: All right, sounds good.
Let's get it.
Ally: We have another congressional candidate today, and I'm
going to just bear with me.
It is.
Victoria Broadway.
Okay.
I had to use the Oprah Voice.
I had to use the Oprah voice because this is the first female
congressional candidate that we have had on the show so far.
One of more to come.
Let's, that's the caveat.
Um, but I'm insanely excited to finally have a gal pal to talk to on the show.
So, Victoria, are you there?
Victoria Broderick: I am.
Hi.
Ally: Hey, welcome, welcome.
So, Victoria, you are running for congress in Tennessee's fourth district, correct?
Victoria Broderick: I'm,
Ally: and I did some research on you and.
I saw that there was something specific that triggered you to run
for political office, and I'm using the word trigger intentionally.
Um, and that specific thing is personal to me as a woman, personal to me as a
woman with two daughters and personal to so many women across our country.
So if you wouldn't mind, um, talk to us a little bit about your
background and what prompted you to run for Congress in Tennessee.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah.
So, um, my hard launch was in 2024.
That is when I decided to run against my opponent.
And, um, basically I was on a district wide call because I was a one of,
uh, a county chair of one of the, at the time, 93 counties in Tennessee.
Found out he was gonna run an oppose and I sent over my dead body and picked up a
petition over a weekend and some liquid courage, and I was off to the races.
Um, but my journey really started in 2022.
Um, a year prior.
In 2021, I suffered an IUD fail, um, and found out I was pregnant.
Um, and was navigating a very, like, what, what could be a
very complicated pregnancy.
Um, unfortunately I miscarried and you know, then again, you know, you're
dealing with the medical system, you're dealing with all the issues that come
up with that you're dealing with just not learning everything on the fly.
Right?
Well, a month later I found out I was pregnant again and again.
Not a healthy start for a pregnancy right after a miscarriage.
Um, you know, shocking the doctor shocking the system, shocking the family.
Having to navigate the medical system again and again, a
more complicated pregnancy.
Um, because just the, the way it started, luckily for me, I gave birth
to a beautiful baby nine months later.
Seth: Congratulations.
Victoria Broderick: Yes, we, we adore him.
Even though I don't quite trust him 'cause he is not supposed to be here.
And that is a joke for, I've been a lot, I get pushback on that joke.
But no, we adore him.
He was.
It was wanted and loved and you know, it's a happy surprise.
Well, while I was on maternity leave ro overturned and I
just could not stand that.
I could not stand the idea that now, a year later, almost to the day.
Of what I was experiencing now would've been more complicated.
Mm-hmm.
My doctor's arms being one arm being tied behind their back, I wouldn't be
getting the same medical care, et cetera.
Tennessee's trigger ban was going to go in effect, so I did the logical thing.
I started a TikTok account and became the friendly neighborhood liberal and started
doing voter education and why you should show up in local and state elections.
I was already pretty plugged in with the party at that point, um, because.
I didn't realize that it's not normal to be a five-year-old watching the West
Wing, but like that was me as a kid.
And then, um, you know, I worked on a campaign in 2019.
That was my first work, but I've been always a little bit political.
Um, started the friendly neighborhood, literal, uh, liberal on TikTok,
which was kind of a joke because, you know, people considered me radical
at the time, but I wanted it to be fun and friendly and inviting.
And then I also became a county chair a month later because I was
like, okay, I'm gonna change it on the ground and be involved in the
party, uh, and change the party from within while also educating voters.
And then fast forward to 2024.
You know, I lost my election, but for those you don't know,
I was a first time candidate.
I had no name recognition.
I ran my campaign as a mom of two tiny humans.
At the time for fur babies, I foster with a local humane society.
I worked full time, I ran a campaign in five months, and I raised
over $120,000 as a first time.
Ally: Incredible.
Victoria Broderick: And I mean, this is, this is what being told three days into
me picking up a petition and being on the ballot, that I would be lucky if I
raised $50,000 and I got no party support.
So like this is a phenomenal race and we felt it on the ground.
We felt it in 2024, where it just felt different and people were showing up
even with everything else going on.
Mm-hmm.
And about 15 seconds after I lost, I decided I was gonna run again up, because
I was like, let's keep the momentum going, let's keep the work going.
Let's keep moving the needle because you know, that's the goal is to move
the needle, make the change, and the numbers reflected that work.
We learned that between 2022 and 2024, I grew the district and that
is what we felt on the ground.
And now here I am running my second congressional race and
I've been running consistently, consistently since May of 2024.
I have not stopped working.
I still work full time.
I work in the tech industry.
I work in support.
Um, Seth and I actually met over my logistics experience.
Um, we were up on a TikTok live debating, and I talked about international
domestic logistics when it comes to tariffs and yeah, that's just a little
bit about me and how I got here.
I mean, it, it feels wild telling the story, but this is what we need.
We need change.
Ally: I am exhausted Just hearing all of that, but also so impressed.
Um, I love that your response to losing that race in 2024 was like, okay, well
we're just gonna keep it going then.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah.
Ally: We're just gonna, we're we're gonna, we're gonna win it next time,
but we're not gonna lose that momentum.
Incredible.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah.
'cause most candidates burn.
They don't do it again.
Yeah.
They, they, they get, and I'm like, I'm an athlete.
You know, you don't, you don't.
Fall down on the field and because you missed the goal, you get
back's up and you go catch it.
Oh, you're not ex soccer player.
You know those jokes that your coaches make if you're younger and they're
telling you like, all these things will pay off in your life later on.
It literally does.
Like it does.
I thought that my coach was dumb and now I'm over here like, no, I'm making,
Ally: yeah.
Yeah.
Love that.
Seth, I know you have a ton of questions, so I don't wanna Bogart your time.
Go ahead.
Seth: Yeah, exactly Allie and I mean, don't, don't get me started
on this sports stuff 'cause this interview will go all the way left.
Don't go, don't get me going.
It's already March Madness.
All right.
But uh, again, Victoria, it was so impressive to see you
grow the district in that way.
I mean, $120,000 and that is unbelievable.
As a guy who does sales for my own sports teams.
I'm lucky if I can get 20, so I need to talk to you about that.
But anyway, uh, as we go, as we go into, uh, the primaries and the
midterms, you know, I mean, obviously you have the momentum from last
time, but also, you know, just a few months ago we saw Afton Bain.
Really come in, in your, in your home state of Tennessee, and I mean, come
within single digits of a victory.
And so with your own momentum and then seeing Afton do what she did,
what, what kind of encouragement does that give you heading into
your primaries in the midterms?
Victoria Broderick: I mean, that one I love Afton.
I actually love that I got, I met her on the campaign trail.
We have become not close friends, but we're friends.
Like I get to text her and talk about things and I loved supporting her race.
I don't, I don't know if you gotta see, but I literally was on the
ground canvassing for her, making sure that we were outreach, like
reaching out to all my creator content.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, contacts to try and like get more momentum around it.
I mean, that's what we saw.
So like Afton went up in a primary against men and she was the most
progressive candidate on the ballot.
But here's the thing, Afton Iss an activist at heart.
She won her seat because she started as an activist.
There is this famous picture of her getting arrested at the State House
because she was literally speaking out for ch like for children's rights,
I believe is like what the story is.
Um, and so like.
In this fear, this is her work.
Her her game, her field game was so strong and just everything that she offered was
different for voters because voters around here listening progressivism isn't scary.
If you like eight hour work days, that's progressivism.
If you like your weekends, that's progressivism.
It is progress with purpose.
We're not out here offering anything other than I want working
class people better represented.
I want your life to be easier.
And Akin represented that she's a working person who is real and
sings Dolly Parton nine to five.
When she gets, when she gets going, and then, you know, I
happened to have a conversation with her when she was considering.
She mentioned to me that people had reached out and asked her to run for
office, and I said, girl, do it like.
Go for the special election.
Let's do this.
Let's flip this seat.
And what we saw was a growth in that district and a voter turnout and
excitement and, and, and a single digit margin in a 22 plus district.
Unreal.
Seth: And
Victoria Broderick: what's ironic that is my district is a 22 plus district, and one
of the counties in my district, Rutherford County, is on the map, the national map.
For flippable counties.
And what does that mean for me, that means I flip my seat because that's
where the majority of my votes, I think it's like 55,000 of my votes
came out of Rutherford County.
And what did I offer in 2024 that wasn't already in, I was working class mom.
I'm offering progressivism.
I'm not, I don't shy away from the hard topics.
I don't abandon marginalized communities.
And it's fought me respect.
It's fought me.
Republican ticket, like Republican votes who, 'cause they come to my,
my, um, protest and, um, forums and they're just like, you sound moderate.
Which is literally my favorite thing to hear in a world district in Tennessee.
Tennessee, because for those of you all know, district
four, it doesn't touch Memphis.
It doesn't touch Nashville, it doesn't touch Chattanooga.
I am literally in the middle.
Of this very Red Sea, but it wasn't always that way.
It's been gerrymandered that way.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
What, what we learned in 2024 is my messaging works,
my work speaks for itself.
And the great thing is the field director who did all that
field work for Afin on my team.
Oh, that's, so
Seth: let's go.
Cool.
Let's go.
Well, I, I, I'm, I'm super jacked to hear about that.
I mean, as a, as a guy who grew up in the South, seeing.
Democrats gained momentum right away where, around where I live.
I told you my, my, my father was raised in Nashville.
My, my grandpa lived and died in Nashville.
Uh, and so to see that change.
It's so encouraging.
It's so cool.
Uh, I wanna talk to you about the super majority in Tennessee
and we talked about that.
Um, you know, Mississippi just got done breaking their own
super majority over there.
And again, that's just proof of the momentum that we have in the south.
Talk about the super majority in, in Tennessee and, and the
work that you wanna do there.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah, so I mean like a lot of people don't
realize Tennessee is a unique state.
We are a super majority in our state legislature, but we also have
a majority of our federal seats are held by Republicans, as well
as we have a Republican governor.
We also have the added bonus of most right wing medias now housed in the
state of Tennessee, in Nashville.
So this is a very, very calculated move by the right year testing round.
Now, what does that mean for a super majority?
Well, Tennessee wasn't always red.
We used to be purple.
We used to have, my district itself was blue up until 2008, and people
wonder how it flipped and why we've always felt like a red state.
And I tell people all the time, it's because there was a down ballot initiative
in the 2008 to 2012 range, which lit, literally, they flooded the market and it
allowed for school boards to be flipped.
Red and then the people work their way up through the system.
And it is when my opponent, Scott Derale, became the now 16 year
incumbent, um, and was elected in office and has stayed here ever since.
And we haven't been able to touch him.
And that is because Tennessee is not, while we are, if you go in
our election office, you see every like voting booth that will say
number one in voter integrity.
We're 51st in voter turnout.
We are 40, 48th in voter turnout in 2024.
That's not first in voter, like in voter safety or voter, you know?
But what it is is voter suppression.
It's gerrymandered and voter suppression because I think it's
like something like 2000, 200,000 voter, if they showed up to vote on
Democrat, we would flip every seat,
and
Victoria Broderick: it's a small, it's like such a small number.
So what we need is people to stop being apathetic.
I'm not, I'm not afraid of losing my election.
I'm afraid of voter apathy in 2026.
Seth: Absolutely.
I wanna talk to you about, uh, a, a, an issue that's close to your heart.
And I think, uh, uh, right, it rings, uh, uh, loud and true with progressives like
myself and Allie, uh, universal pre-K you know, as a, as a mom, as a parent.
I think that's something that.
A lot of parents are looking for in this world where increasingly one
income is not going to pay the bills for middle class households in America.
And so as a working mom, as a parent, I know that that's something close
to your heart and I wanna know what, just, I want you to dig into that a
little bit deeper for our audience.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah, no, I, it is on, it is something that's on my platform.
You can go to Victoria, the number four tennessee.org or.com and you
can see that I want Universal pre-K and that it's not just because, you
know, I want an outlet for working class families who are like myself.
Both parents are working and we need a good place.
We know that pre-K education, that starting early, we catch things earlier.
They get a more equitable start in life and.
It's social bonding, it's learning how, and if we take the pressure off
of parents to pay that additional amount of money, you know, et cetera,
we can save, it saves money in the long run because you're, if parents don't
have to worry about, you know, where their kids are going to school, they
have, they have that pre-K option.
They can go straight from daycare.
Maybe they're only paying now two years.
Childcare for a, for a young child instead of paying from now, like one to
all the way up to almost five years old.
Um, just depending on the area of we live in.
So again, these are all things that can be done and it it, people are
like, how are you gonna pay for it?
Seth: Course
Victoria Broderick: taxes.
Ally: Yeah.
Victoria Broderick: Making corporations pay their fair share.
Ally: Exactly, and corporations should be incentivized for a program like that.
You're going to have increased productivity.
You're going to have parents that are basically more available because they
can afford to have their children in, in, you know, in daycare services.
So it seems like a win-win to me, but you know, they never
quite look at it that way.
Victoria Broderick: They never look at it that way.
They, they think, we think short term, they don't think long-term outcomes.
And it's not a one size fits all because like it's not just universal pre-K,
it's making sure education system is up to par with the rest of the world.
You know, the average child is going to the school at like what, five years old.
Whereas in other countries, they're starting as early as three years old.
That is a huge amount of time to lose in a very young developmental life.
I mean, I'm in the thick of it.
I have a three major and a 5-year-old, and I said teenager specifically
because like he is a whole personality that that IU DFA miscarriage and an
immediate pregnancy baby who would've thought it, but he's so smart and
that's because we had something unique.
That others like that other parents and generations didn't have before.
And that is, I had two pandemic babies, so you know, there was more free time in some
ways to just really hone in those skills.
He also has an older brother who it was a full pandemic baby.
Ally: Yeah.
Victoria Broderick: And he, you know, I had so much more time
with him and so did my husband.
It shows, it just shows in how advanced they are, um, just overall.
And we know that that works.
The science is there and the, the parents need it at the end of the day.
So, I mean, it's a win, win-win for everyone, you know, if we're quoting
the office, it's definitely a win win.
Ally: Can we really quickly go back to the incumbent.
Um, your opposition, Scott, I believe you said his name was, what's his full name?
Victoria Broderick: Scott Derale.
Ally: And how is that working out for your community?
How, like what are, how is he, obviously you must feel that he's falling short in
terms of servicing, um, his constituents.
So what's he like?
How's that going?
Victoria Broderick: I mean, he's potatoes.
That's not a better way to describe him.
So a lot of people don't know about Scott Dejero, and that's not
because he's, it's because, I mean, he's been in office for 16 years.
I mean, he is no different than Marjorie Taylor Greene.
However, he's not loud and proud like some of his counterparts.
So, Scott Derale was elected in 2011, 12 2012.
He is a 16 year incumbent, but he is most famously known because after he
was elected, it came out in divorced proceedings that he had pulled a gun
on his wife and dry fired through the door to force her to get an abortion.
Ally: What,
Victoria Broderick: wait, there's more.
Just go on and hold the beer there 'cause this is gonna get worse.
Uh,
Ally: okay.
Victoria Broderick: Forced two other partners to get abortions, one of
which he had to drive out of state and.
The reason he had to force these two other partners to get abortions is
because he was a medical doctor trading medicine for relations with his patients.
He is no longer that because he, uh, had to step away for obvious reasons.
Now, he is a Tea Party member.
He is a mago Republican.
He has been voted by a conservative magazine, one of the worst Republican
representatives in the house.
And has been quoted in closed door sessions that if he speaks with,
uh, constituents, he loses votes.
Ally: I, I can't close my jaw right now.
I'm having problems shutting my jaw.
Victoria Broderick: He is, he is a potato.
He has been in office, but like I said before,
Ally: how did all of those scandals not drive him out of those all
came out while he was in office?
Victoria Broderick: Came out while he was in office.
Ally: This is, this is so typical of the Republican party, you know,
Democrats, um, and progressives.
We hold ourselves to such a higher standard.
We have a very low bar, a very low threshold in terms of tolerating
the, any kind of action that would seem untoward, right, or that
might negatively affect the party.
And now you've got this guy.
Doing this stuff and he was not like, chased out of town
with pitchforks and tiki.
How,
Victoria Broderick: I mean, he doesn't come back to the district.
He doesn't come back unless he, it's a friendly event.
And I mean, he doesn't have to, I mean, he's a, he's sitting on $500,000
right now in his campaign fund.
I a working class mom.
I don't have $500,000 or I wouldn't be working right now.
I would be campaign full time.
I mean, this is what we're up against.
You know that, that $120,000, the great part about that is that as all small
dollar donations, 95% of it is small dollar donations, so $200 or less.
Scott, he is 99% corporate hack money.
Corporate money and APAC money, this man doesn't have to lift a finger and only
1% comes from small dollar donations.
Does he, is he beholden to constituents and District four?
Absolutely not.
That's why.
Ally: And that,
Victoria Broderick: that's
Ally: what I was going to ask you, like obviously your fellow
community members in your district must be completely frustrated and.
Over this guy.
I would imagine.
Victoria Broderick: You would hope so, but unfortunately, no.
Most voters, they vote party lines, they don't really care.
Voter turnout is crap and voter suppression is not good.
Here is like really not good here, you know?
So what has happened?
It, you have, it's a twofer because we've got this Republican incumbent
in a, a super majority state where most of our seats are Republican.
Then you have a Democratic party that is trying to figure out how
to function in this new modern post-Obama, you know, Republican party,
Ally: right?
Victoria Broderick: This is a long-term thing.
This didn't start in 2008.
It didn't start in 2002.
This goes, I mean, if you wanna go all the way back, it goes
back to the Civil War, but.
The Republican party really pushed forward in 2000, in the early two
thousands and how they narrative really the eighties is part of that as well.
So that happened.
And then you have the Democratic party that's trying going by Obama era ideology,
the moderate will get the vote, et cetera, and putting forward moderate voters who
are supposed to grab the swing vote.
But swing voters don't vote on moderates.
Yeah, they vote on the economy.
So what do you, what do you, what is the swing voter gonna do when you know
Democrats are out here getting lost in the sauce with Republican talking
points and Republicans are over here like, I'm gonna lower your taxes.
I'm gonna make gas cheaper.
I'm gonna do all the thing.
So it's, it's a catch 22.
So that is why I, myself, and not only working within the party because
I wanna see progressive change.
And I wanna see better representation, but I'm also a candidate offering
something different in District four.
And what we learned in 2024 is it worked.
Ally: Amazing.
All right.
I need, I need to process all of that.
So Go ahead.
S
Seth: Yeah.
So I'm
Ally: gonna', that's insane story.
Insane.
Seth: It's wild.
It's wild man.
Truly.
I mean, there, there, there really is like no standards.
For maga, I mean, it's, uh, it's unreal.
Uh, yeah.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna go with my, my basic millennial question now, uh,
as, as a fellow millennial, I mean, you got, you and, uh, other people
that we have interviewed here on this show, you guys represent a, a
completely new, fresh wave of leadership.
And I just wanna know, as a, as a millennial and as part of that
movement, what does that mean to you?
And, and, and, and how do you want.
To see our generation kind of take up the mantle and start to take our
country back, uh, to where we were.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah.
Um, I always joking to say I'm millennial trash.
Um, but, uh, I can't quote, I can't take credit for that, you know, just a little.
Um, but as a millennial, I think we offer something like a unique perspective.
We remember the nineties.
Most of us remember the eighties and the nineties.
I mean, I have, I was born in the nineties, but I have like
80 eighties nostalgia, you know, raised on Star Wars and.
Indiana Jones and like the West Wing and the American president, like these
are our foundational, like awareness.
We had Nickelodeon and like all of that.
Yeah.
And so like as a millennial running for office, I never
saw myself in this position.
I literally, it was never my dream to be president.
I was always political, but it was never like this political
side of myself really didn't take hold until watching my country.
Really just be the beginnings of, you know, the Trump administration
and watching how he just swooped in and took over an entire party.
And, you know, as a millennial, I was like, no, no, no.
Like, we've all seen this movie.
Like we've all seen it.
We've seen what, what?
This is it.
Why isn't anyone saying no, no, we've seen it.
We're good.
You know, the Jurassic Park quote where Jeff Goldblum says.
Everyone was too busy with like, can we, they never asked, should we?
And you know, this is where I'm at as a millennial, as I'm watching
all these things take precedent.
And I'm like, no, no, we've gotta bring back some of that nostalgia.
But like with getting rid of the systematic oppression
that is plaguing our country.
And I, I, I think, you know, I'm doing that and also as a candidate, I look
different and I think that we're, we're groundbreaking in that way.
Candidates no longer can be a 2D two, two sided person.
We have to be 3D and you know, we have to be a triple threat.
We have to be able to be personable.
Understand the, like the nostalgia and understand, you know, culture while also
being able to speak correctly and sound good and make videos and then be policy
makers and understand the legislation.
So I think we do offer something that's different.
You know, it reminds me of old school Hollywood, where the triple threat is
dancing and act like it's the same thing.
Ally: Yeah, I can, I can definitely see that.
And I think, you know, also millennials, um, you know, Seth, you've talked
about before, living through like the recession of 2008 and the collapse of
the housing market and, you know, a lot of you coming into the workplace, into
the workforce during that time I think has been really, um, really sort of.
Pivotal in, in informing your worldview.
Victoria Broderick: Mm-hmm.
I mean, that's a great point too, because like my work career looks different.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I went to university, I went to Austin p let's go
pee in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Um, and, you know, I graduated in 2015.
I literally graduated as we're rolling into an election year and rolling
into, um, like seeing all these things.
Progress in our country.
You know, I, I knew that Trump was going to be a problem in 2015, um,
but I went into a workforce with a degree thinking I was gonna get a
decent job and it just wasn't that.
So I wor have been working in customer service.
I mean, I've been working since I had baby teeth, but like.
You know, as I go into a, you know, you got the degree, I did it in four
years, did it in one year, less than the average, the national average.
All these things to be proud of.
And I walk into a workforce that isn't prepared for me, that had spent four
years telling me to get a real job.
As I'm working at a, as a barista, my full-time going to school full-time, this
is probably where the crazy schedule.
Things were learned,
Ally: right?
And
Victoria Broderick: what we doing, it was learn and getting told every
day, get a real job, get a real job, and then I go out to get a
real job and it's not there and you know it, and then I get a real job.
In 2016, I moved into international domestic logistics.
You know, it was outside of my scope.
I, you know, I had always grown up in the tile industry.
My, my dad worked in tile, so.
He utilized that knowledge.
And I went in and I started working and I started learning about the process.
Trump had been elected, but I was like, oh, we'll be okay.
And then the tariffs hit in 2018 and my international domestic logistics job was
now facing, um, some real consequences.
We were a small, a small company, a small business that, uh, helped
source for bigger companies that people would recognize the names for.
And over overnight I had $3.5 million worth of freight on an ocean liner
that all the contracts were paid out for, and we were trying to figure out
how we're gonna pay the additional 'cause I think it went up to 30%.
Don't quote me on that for the, like, you know, keyboard warriors
who might be watching this.
I, I don't remember exactly the tariff amount, but I remember it
was enough of a jump for the owners.
To literally say, well, I guess we're gonna go out of business.
Ally: Ugh.
Victoria Broderick: And they didn't go out of business, but some of us lost
our jobs and I was one of those people.
My job was outsourced to China.
I had went from being a sourcing coordinator, coordinator who could
tell you how long it was gonna take, put in special orders, et cetera.
Literally learned all the things about freight and tile, et cetera.
Um, you know, importing from China, Italy, Spain, and India.
To having to figure it out again.
And you know, I worked temporarily at another job and then found another job.
We decided to move back to Tennessee 'cause we were living at tech in
Texas at the time and moved back to Tennessee, get a domestic logistics job.
Learning all about domestic, like the domestics, more of the
domestic side that I had had before.
And then the pandemic hits.
Ally: Mm-hmm.
Victoria Broderick: And Trump handles it the way Trump handles
everything, which is, um, not good.
And I witnessed an industry, truckers and, you know, freight go from
what would've been $900 to $5,000.
And again, I lost my job and I lost it for two reasons.
The pandemic, and also I was a new mom.
There were no prote protections for new moms, and I was forced to come
back, ma, from maternity leave before I was ready, and I lost my job.
Four days after returning from maternity leave, I was written
up for poor work performance.
Ally: Wow.
Victoria Broderick: So, I mean, these are your core to my, you know, to
my existence, to why I am running for office is I'd witnessed it at,
at the front end of what happens.
But I've also, you know, I was lucky.
I found another job.
I'd worked a campaign and the, the guy who was running for office just happened
to be like, Hey, I would love to rework for my team, even though he lost his
election and I got a job and started in.
Um, the tech industry where I became, um, tech support.
I tell old people when I go out and I'm trying to explain my job.
I'm, I'm the person who asks you to turn it off and on.
Again, that's me.
Um,
mm-hmm.
SAS Pro.
So project management, you know, um, online learning, all the ins and outs.
I, I'm the one, the first troubleshooter on this.
It's been an interesting industry to work in, um, taking all those skills
that I've learned pre previously and then putting it into tech and learning tech.
Um, but now I get to also witness what happens, you know, in the tech
industry because not only did I get to experience what was a positive,
you know, post, post having baby experience with my second child.
I also witnessed what happens with those lack of protections in a job
because your brain's just not ready to come back for work, you know?
Yeah.
It's just too much to ask a person who has literally grown a whole human for
almost an entire year, gives birth to it, and then is in the thick of motherhood
and parenthood to come back to work and pretend like she can answer an email.
Yeah.
It's a big ask.
And then I also got to witness how the tech industry handles waves of the
economy and how it it can negatively affect, and now we're seeing ai.
So I think I'm uniquely positioned to understand what this administration
is doing when it comes to tariffs, as well as understanding what we're
not doing when it comes to AI and our industry and corporations when
we just don't put any guardrails.
Around protecting consumers and mm-hmm.
Yeah, I'm going to Congress to change these things because I've not only
witnessed it firsthand, I know that a spec specifically when it comes
to ai, we are in a dangerous spot.
Um, absolutely guardrails for consumers and workers.
Seth: And I just, I relate a little too well to that, not the pregnancy
part, but I swear to God, like,
Ally: thanks for
Seth: clarifying
Ally: that Seth.
We were
Seth: very
Ally: confused
Seth: a
Ally: publicly,
Seth: so graduating out of the recession, you know, thinking that I'm gonna
have a job in tv, news, newspapers, whatever, coming out outta the recession.
All the newspaper staffs are cut in half.
The news station staffs are cut in half.
You're having to work part-time.
I mean, you're getting into the gig economy, but what is the gig economy?
I thought I was gonna get a full-time job.
Nope.
Uh, and so it, it is just, it having to reinvent yourself over and over again
and learn new skills for the gig economy.
It's just, it's, it's wild.
So, yeah, like I think our.
Our generation has this, has this trauma where we entered the adult
world in that was turned upside down from what we were told our
entire lives it was gonna be like.
So I'm just glad that you're in the position that you're in, you're running,
and you know, I'm so glad that we got to talk to you today to kind of round
things out because I think a lot of people don't understand the struggle.
Ally: For sure, and I think you're just remarkable.
Thank you.
Um, I, I don't, I, I'm, like I said earlier, I'm exhausted just listening
to this journey, but somehow, um, you seem so well, well equipped for it.
And I mean.
Victoria Broderick: I'm just fun, size and feral.
That's it.
Yeah.
Ally: I love that.
Sure.
Victoria Broderick: If we can get at, you know, if you go to, there
is a link you can buy that shirt.
It, it says fun sized and feral.
Um, and then, you know, Victoria for Congress on the back.
And that was because I, I've said it for a while now.
Put.
I was at a cre.
I was at the remove the regime in DC and remember your oath in DC and I said it to
a couple of co bigger content creators.
I like, please put that on their shirt.
And I was like, I need to trademark this today.
Ally: That is so cool.
I love that.
I've always, I've often called myself fun size 'cause I'm a, I'm a short girly.
Seth: I'm
Ally: I'm,
Seth: and a half and a half does count.
Ally: Yes, that's right.
Oh, we, we count every half.
Victoria Broderick: Oh.
And I think people, all the time they meet me and they think that I'm taller.
Like I can't tell you how many people I've met.
And they're like, I just thought you'd be taller.
And I was like, it's 'cause I'm unhinged.
Ally: It's the personality that makes.
The stature.
Right.
I get that.
Why I totally get that.
Um, well this has been amazing.
Yeah.
Before we get into how to help you and your campaign, I have to ask
you a question that I ask every candidate just for confirmation.
You do not, will not accept corporate PAC money or foreign
interest money for your campaign.
Is that correct?
Victoria Broderick: I do not.
I was actually unique In 2024, I was the only federal candidate to sign a
pro peace pack where I said I would not take APAC money and that I openly
supported the Palestinian people.
Um, so I am uniquely positioned.
I do not take corporate PAC money.
I do not take APAC money.
I am a small dollar donation girly, and I am proud of it.
Ally: I, and I'm proud of you for that.
I love that.
Yeah.
So, um, okay.
Tell us how to support you.
What do you need right now?
Is it donations?
Is it volunteers?
Is it everything?
And how can people find you?
Victoria Broderick: Donations.
Donations are key.
I am trying to do this full time.
You know, we saw a lull in 2025.
That's normal for election cycles, but a lot of people forget that money outta
politics doesn't include candidates.
And quite often we are put to the task to raise all this money as well as.
People see that money as value.
I, I got the question a couple days ago of like, why am I talking about the $120,000?
I was like, because not only does it winnow for endorsements and you know,
more, more donations like from bigger people who can put out the, you know,
max out to $3,300 here in Tennessee.
Um, it also wins over voters.
And quite often voters really go on that.
They go on that social commodity.
So how can you support me?
Donate become a, become a recurring donor.
$5, $10, $25. You won't regret it because not only do you get to
donate to my campaign, you also get a handwritten thank you note of my donors.
Every single one in 2024 got a handwritten thank you card from your truly, I even
got people and call like call outs.
Um, there is a resistor Vic.
He is big on TikTok.
I did not know he had donated to my campaign.
Had no idea.
And I wrote him a thank you note and then he made a video and all of his
followers wanted to do that as well.
Like we're just shocked.
I have people literally send me pictures of them, put it up
so you get a thank you note.
You get multiple if you continue donations.
I do send out several because I love my donors, especially if I know you.
You get a little, a special note.
Um, but.
How you can help me.
If you can't donate share, go to my social media page.
Share it out with 10, 15 twin friends.
Encourage people to vote.
You can go to my website where I edit everything.
You can see my actual work as well as you can see all where my PA platform is.
I am running on safety, affordability, freedom, and equity in 2026.
What does that mean for you?
It's a safety net to protect you.
It is a making sure that corporations are paying their fair share so that
you don't feel that at the gas pump.
It is making sure that your healthcare is affordable and accessible to you.
Mental health, dental, et cetera is a fair, you know, when we talk about
affordability, people think about the economy, but they think about the gas
pump, they think about the grocery store, making them pay their fair share.
Is the point, making sure that your corporate, but your corporate job is
paying you fair wages is the point.
Making sure that you have universal healthcare because that not only
helps your company, it helps you.
These are all things, and I mean freedom.
At the end of the day, I want you to be able to love who you love,
get the gender affirming care that you need, because I don't know your
body, and as a governing person, I should not be telling you what to do.
Your medical doctor and yourself can guide that messaging all the way, however
you decide to do that, I support that.
And also, what good is the American dream
Ally: if you can't afford it?
Victoria Broderick: So all the things I've been saying, freedom is there.
And you know, for the two Ps, I am a gun owner.
I am not here to take your ground, but I am here to address an issue.
And then lastly, but not least, equity.
We deserve equity in our, in our small businesses so that you have a same chance
of being successful as a big business, you know, so that you as an individual
don't have to worry that you're gonna be priced out of the market by a corporation.
So that you're not having to worry about, you know, what your, if you're
black, brown, and indigenous or a marginalized community, you don't have
to worry that you're not gonna get a fair shot at life because of those things.
So in 2026, we're running on safety, affordability, freedom, and equity.
You can find me a Victoria, the number four, tennessee.com.
Dot org.
You can see all of my policy.
You can seize the safety afford.
Affordability, freedom and equity.
As well as you can sign up to volunteer.
You can find all my social medias 'cause these campaigns run on people like you.
And like I said, I'm not afraid of voter app.
I'm not afraid of losing.
I am afraid of voter apathy in 2026.
I need your support because we can flip this seat and we're
gonna flip the house in 2026.
Ally: Love it.
I, hell, I, I'm, I'm a fan forever now.
Um, you're an absolute delight, Seth.
Thank you for, um, thank you for coordinating this with Victoria.
I like to think absolutely.
This was a gift to me.
This was a, this was a gift for me because it's our first VML guest,
Victoria Broderick: and I al I had a joke, but it felt a little inappropriate,
and I don't know if you'll keep this in.
I was like, oh, I get to pop your cherry.
Ally: Yeah, we're keeping that in.
Seth: Yes.
Here we're, we're on Substack.
Ally: We're allowed to say all the things.
Victoria Broderick: I just got three notes because I said that.
Ally: I actually believe that.
That's very true.
Victoria Broderick: No, was like, no, no, no.
She's super school.
Ally: Well, Victoria, thank you so much for joining us.
And Seth, thank you for, uh, making this happen.
Victoria Broderick: Yeah, we were
Seth: of course.
Yeah.
This, this was a treat.
Victoria, thank you so much for the time.
Victoria Broderick: Of course, Seth always has me on TikTok.
That's how we met.
So I'm super thankful you that Seth.
I'm super.
Thankful for all of you, for Allie having me on agreeing, working with my schedule.
'cause you know it's wild over here.
Ally: Yes.
Victoria Broderick: So just making the time, like everything
worked out, like that's my thing.
It's like everything's just gonna work out in my favor 'cause
I'm willingness into existence.
We're flipping this seat and I'm gonna get a book deal at the end of it.
Ally: All right.
Let's go.
I love that's manifest it.
Absolutely.
Alright, Victoria, we'll stay in touch.
Big things to come for you.
Victoria Broderick: Thank you.
Ally: Well, that was delightful.
Seth: Oh
Ally: man, I love her.
Seth: What?
And, and I, what an absolute treat.
I mean, she, she is sharp as a t.
She is.
I mean, how many place does she have spinning Allie?
I mean,
Ally: I,
Seth: Victoria really does it all.
Ally: I mean, I, you know, I, my kids are grown, but I remember my
working mom days and there's just no way I would be able to manage.
Everything that she's managing with such young kids and with such
positivity and grace and energy and like, this is what we need.
This is what we're looking for.
She's so bright, um, so engaging.
Really interesting.
Great storytelling.
Very insane story by the way, y'all, that, that story about, about Scott
is, I I'm never getting over that.
Seth: Hey, it's, it's unbelievable and I mean.
You know, it's a great opportunity for somebody like Victoria to completely
change the landscape there in Tennessee, that guy he is so GOP, so maga, so you
know, basic bitch, if I may say so.
Myself and Victoria represents a complete change in leadership.
In priorities.
And she's just so sharp, man.
I mean, talking about, you know, she's, she's in tech.
She runs her own website.
She's a mom.
She's a, she's an, she's an animal mom.
She volunteers, I mean, we didn't get into it, but she she's an
Ally: activist.
Yeah.
Seth: And, and she's, and she also hosts, um, a foreign exchange student on top of
that, folks, I mean, I know I'm exhausted.
She's unbelievable.
I mean, folks, you are not ready.
For the millennial wave of leadership, there's a lot of AOCs out there
and they look just like Victoria.
And so, you know, if you are in the great state of Tennessee, even if you're
not out in Tennessee, you gotta we, you gotta back people like Victoria.
She represents a complete change in the face of not only our politics,
but the Democratic party as well.
She's uncompromising, she's not taking money.
From Big pacs.
She's not taking money from Israel or other foreign entities.
Um, and so I I, I'm just so pleased that we could get her on this program
and, uh, and, and talk with her.
'cause I mean, wow, what a great, great time.
Was, had
Ally: absolutely great time talking to her and we'll stay in touch with her for sure.
'cause you know her, we've seen her on sub lives.
She's around.
And she'll always make time to talk about this, you know, the passion that she
has to change her district in Tennessee.
So we'll definitely be hearing more from Victoria, but that was a great
guest, our first female guest.
Mm-hmm.
Many more to come and, uh.
Just a great, great day.
Thank you Seth, for making that happen.
Seth: You got it.
Ally: See you soon.
Seth: Alright.