Democrat Pulls Off Incredible Upset With Just $56,000 (w/ LaKesha Womack)

Hey, everybody. It's Tim Miller. Welcome back to the bulwark takes feed and I'm really delighted right now to continue our series of inspiring and surprising. And in this case, like insanely shocking new freshman Democrats in the house. We're going to go to North Carolina and introduce you to Lakeisha Womack, who won in North Carolina's 14th Congressional District. What'd you do? What'd you raise about five bucks for this campaign? I raised a little bit more of about 56,000. I think the report said so, you know, I sent average of 41 cent per vote. So I think my donor's got a great return on their investment. That is huge. You beat our Republican Tim Moore. This was on nobody's radar and I mean nobody's radar. I was on the list of kind of stretch districts that I wanted people to contribute to because I thought, you know, that maybe if it was such a big wave, maybe we could win there. I had included Cyril Jefferson, Mayor of High Point. Hopefully we'll get on here soon and his district and the other side of North Carolina. And even that one, when I was talking to Anderson Clayton, the party cheer, she was like, oh, maybe she's like, maybe I love Cyril, but maybe your race against Tim Moore wasn't even on the radar. It was just a safe Republican district. And in the most delicious part of this, I think the reason why it happened was that Tim Moore, your opponent was the speaker of the house when North Carolina jerrymandered the state and he jerrymandered himself out of a seat. Is that basically what happened? He did. He did. He did. Absolutely. But you know, I think one of the the strategies that I implemented was for the race to stay under the radar because I knew with him being such a powerful Republican that if we raised a lot of noise, that they were going to dump money in to help him keep the seat. So I actually plan to stay under the radar, you know, built a very grassroots community focus campaign. And by the time people started paying attention, like, Hey, you know, this might get out of hand. It was, it was too late. So this is like, your district is basically just outside of Charlotte a bit into rural. And what's kind of like Gastonia, right? Isn't that the town? And they're telling us about the district. Yeah. So people consider it a jerrymandered district, but I like to say it's diverse because we have farmland, we have urban suburban. And my goal going into the campaign was if I could get this diverse district to agree on what our congressional priorities are and what our values are, I think that's a great blueprint for America. And so as I went around the district, everyone was focused on accountability and affordability. And so I just stuck with those topics and no matter where I went, people had the same priorities. Well, tell us about you now. What's where did you come from? You know, give us a little first date like origin story. Yeah. Yeah. My favorite color is blue. I know, but I grew up in Southern Alabama, graduated from the Alabama School of Math and Science, which is a public boarding school undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt, managed my first campaign when I graduated from college in 2000. And my client didn't win then because he didn't take my advice, but he's now in the Tennessee General Assembly, been a former financial advisor had my own consulting firm for the past 20 years. Currently, I work with the CDFI here in Charlotte, designing loan products for business owners. I'm an ordain minister. I've written 20 books very involved in the community. So I put in the work. So yeah. Another ordain minister. I know it's a lot of us. A lot of you guys on the Democratic side. Tell me about that origin story. How do you how do you start to do that? Well, you know, my mom's been very involved in the church for a long time. And when I was pregnant with my son, I moved back home with her. And we're from a small town about 10,000 people in the whole county. And there's really nothing to do but go to church. And so I actually fell in love with church because of the food. I knew if I went to church that at the end of the day, like there was going to be fried chicken and pound cake and, you know, just being around the church long enough, you know, the spirit, you know, just got into me. And I started preaching probably about 15 years ago. So then you decided to get in this race. Did you have it? Did you? I assume you still have another job? You have to we work in. I mean, like, I don't think you were planning on being in Congress in January. Like, could give us that. Like, what was the deal with that? Yeah. I was hopeful, you know, I had a plan to win. I actually went through the campaign school at Yale and emerged America. So I had, you know, a pretty strong campaign plan. And I knew that Democrats have been overperforming Republicans in 25 by about 10 points. And this was only on R plus eight district. And so I figured that if I could just hit my vote numbers, that I could win. And so, you know, I just focused on hitting those numbers and turning out the votes in the areas that I need it to. I saw an election night, were you, what were you thinking? Like, did you have a party? Like, just give it, paint us a picture. Yeah. We definitely had it get together. So I think it was about 50 of my family friends and volunteers that came together. And we had been tracking the numbers through early voting. And I was ahead, like every day, I didn't go under 50%. So when the early votes came in because, you know, the unaffiliated were, you know, the unknowns. And so I said, you know, if we're ahead, you know, when the like, when the early votes come in, then I felt like we had a good chance. And we didn't go under 50% all night. And so, um, yeah, we had a plan and worked the plan. It seems like you believe it seems like you kind of, I was hoping to get like, you know, what Tim? I was crying. I had no idea what to do. I didn't know, I have no plan. But it seems like you believed in yourself. You had faith in yourself. Yeah. Of course. Like, it was not going to bet on me. I've been on 20 campaigns. We're on election night. I thought we are going to lose. Okay. Yeah. That's, that's not, that's not crazy. Um, I want to do a little bit more on, on your origin. So I was reading about you. So, um, when you move back to North Carolina in 2016, I mean, it sounds like you had some medical issues, some financial issues. Yeah. Yeah. And that that's part of your, your story as well. Talk, talk to us about about where you came from. Yes. So in 2016, I came to Charlotte to work on, I'm Hillary's campaign and, um, my son was living with my family in Alabama at the time. So I brought him, you know, to Charlotte to start school. And I thought I had saved up enough money. And, you know, money goes out really fast. And so we got to the point where we're living in a hotel. So even though I wasn't what most people would consider traditionally homeless, I said, you know, we're housing insecure because I didn't have an address. And I had a medical emergency. I'm a type one diabetic and, um, got sick one day and my son ended up having to call 911. And he was in the ambulance and I was flatlining, um, woke up in ICU. My son ended up in foster care that week. And, you know, it was just really hard to rebuild myself. But, you know, ten years later, I bought my first house in one of Congressional seats. So, um, that's crazy. I mean, ten years ago, you're in, I mean, you're in an ambulance. You don't have secure housing. Your kids in foster care for a second. That's just a decade ago. You know, and to go from that to here to winning this race, I mean, how does that make you feel? Well, I think it helps people to resonate with why I'm so passionate about the issues that I'm passionate about. So when I talk about, you know, housing security and food security and the education system, like those aren't things that, you know, I get stories from other people, but they're very personal to me because I know what it's like to win the system, um, exists. But you're in that missing middle where you make too much money to get help, but not enough money to get ahead. And so those are the issues that I'm very passionate about working for because like most people are not lazy and it's not that they're not doing enough, but they're just not making enough and there just aren't, you know, programs in place to provide that assistance. And so that's what I want to go to Congress to work on. And I think a lot of people just resonated with that story because there are a lot of people right now who are facing some of those same challenges. 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I'm coming back to you in that hospital. In 2016, I'm like, in 10 years, you're going to be in, you're going to be a congresswoman like what would you >> I would say no way. Like, give me out of the hospital first. (laughing) - That's why I'm on the hallucinating. What kind of drugs do I have me on right now? - Exactly, exactly, exactly. But you know, by the way, I was trying to, you know, balance, you know, find food for my son and making sure I have enough insulin. And you know, someone told me a story of a lady here who, you know, only can buy one pile of insulin every three months. And you're supposed to, a valley is supposed to last you one month. So she's only eating once a day because she can't afford enough insulin to eat. And, you know, in a country like this, we just should not have people making those types of decisions. And so, you know, that just keeps me motivated to keep fighting. - How's your son now? How old is he now? He's good. He'll be 21 in two weeks. Yeah, yeah, so he's coming to DC with me for orientation. So he'll get to see a lot of the, the hardest. - Will he with you on election night or he faced a lot of dinner? - Oh yeah, no, he was with me. He's been my campaign photographer. So a lot of the pictures that people see, you know, he took those pictures. - Does he have as much faith in this W as you did? Or what is he, I don't know, he was definitely there. I think he was cautiously optimistic, but he's been with me on the whole journey. And I think now he thinks he's a campaign strategist because he won his first campaign. So, so we'll see. - Maybe he is. This is as good a start as any, you know, a lot of people start in politics accidental. You know, it's not, it's not like being a brain surgeon, you know, you can figure it out on the go. - Yeah, I think, you know, the key, the key is just keeping people first. Like that's what was instrumental in my campaign. I worked really hard with my county party chairs. Like they were amazing with hosting meet and greets and listening sessions and town halls. And, you know, instead of focusing on raising money, I just focused on the people. And I did about five to seven campaign events per week. And I showed up for the people and they showed up for me. - Amazing, and see a bunch of volunteers and stuff too. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can afford staff. So, yeah, get on. - Was literally your staff you and your son? Was that it? Was that the whole staff? - For the most part, fun the most part. But I didn't have like some incredible key key. - This is how America is supposed to be though. And this is unbelievable. This is like, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, but updated. - Right. - You know, Ms. Locacia will make goes to Washington, you know, it's changed a lot. But like, that's how it's supposed to be. You know, people have been through struggles who are talking to people in their community. And, you know, who care about their concerns are now gonna go represent them. You know, campaign shouldn't be about all the consultants and all the bullshit. - Right. Well, you know, and that was one of my philosophies going into the races. We keep saying like we want to get money out of politics and we want to end citizens united. And so I felt like someone needed to run a major campaign and test that theory out. Like, if we get money out of politics, then if we focus on people, can we win? And so I think that, you know, I showed that it's possible. - 56,000, Elon spent 500 million. He's got nothing. That's inspiring. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think a lot of people are just like scared to like take that risk because they're so used to spending the money and doing the mailers and all of that. But, you know, people really got to know me. And so I don't think people were just voting against Tim Moore in his record. But they said, you know, this is somebody that we believe is gonna fight for us. Like we've gotten to know her. We know what she's passionate about. And they were able to make that connection. - I want to talk about what you want to do in DC. But we got to do one more thing that they threw at you. So in October, you got to, you got to warrant, somebody served you a warrant at a campaign event. - Yeah. - Over, I guess, a rental car from 2019, from that period where you were struggling financially. - Right. - What happened? I mean, seven years ago, like, what was to deal with that? - Listen, I can't talk about it because, you know, I have a court date coming up. But I have to tell people, you know, think critically. If I had stolen a car, would they really wait six years to come and find me to talk about it? Because I'm very active in the community, very active on social media. So if I did this thing, like, would they really wait until the week before early voting starts to, you know, serve me? And so I think, you know, again, like, people saw it for what it was because people got to know me. And, you know, they knew my story. And so when they saw the attacks, like, they were like, you know, that's not her. And so I think it didn't work the way he anticipated. It was going to work. I think people just got more energized to get out and get the votes out and to keep fighting for me. So, what do you think prompted? I mean, do you think you don't know? - He was losing. He was losing to a candidate with no money. And he didn't have time to, because, you know, the campaign did fly under the radar. And so, you know, you weren't paying attention to it. Like, nobody was talking about our race. And I think he thought he had it in the back. And then they probably ran a poll around like late September, early October, and saw that he wasn't performing as well as they probably thought he was going to perform. And the only thing that they could do was attack. And so, you know, they found like some issue that was a non-issue and tried to make it into an issue. - And so what did you think when they came and said, like, you were served, like, what? - Oh my god, I cried. Like, I was at a campaign event. And it was like so emotional, you know, because like, I've never been served with anything before. And I had to speak at the event. And by the time I got on this stage, I was just like, water works. But again, like, people got to see me as a human. And I think so often, people see politicians as like, these teflon creatures. And I was like, no, like, this hurts my feelings. And I'm about to go home and eat some ice cream and get in my bed. And, you know, I don't know how like, it's gonna take me to get up. But I got so many, you know, messages of encouragement to like, keep fighting. And that people still believed in me. And so I just got up every day, despite the headlines calling me a car thief and a felon. But, you know, that's not, that's not the whole story. And what's my lawyers get everything shaken out then I'll be able to talk about it. But it was hard. It was hard. - I mean, it's really like out of a, the whole thing is crazy. And it's like, you're in a hospital, insecure, housing. You know, it's time to take care of your kid. Fast forward seven years. You know, it's kind of a Roger Marshall thing. Like, they're coming back at you over some, you know, debt issue from seven years ago to try to keep you from being in Congress. And here you are. You defeated the guy that like got to draw his own district. Then after that. - Exactly. - Do you have to tell your other job that you're quitting? Like, what's going on with that? - Well, they know. So I'm a consultant. So, you're a consultant, so it's fine. You have to check in. - Yeah, yeah. They knew I was running for Congress. So, you know, they had a feeling. And, you know, I do an amazing work. So, they had a pretty good feeling that I was going to win because I'm amazing. - All right, so you get, you get to D.C. What, I mean, what's on the top here agenda? Like, I've been doing these interviews. It's like one thing that's, you can look at it both ways, right? Like, one thing that's cool about the Democrats maybe have a 260 house members. There's a lot of people might be able to focus on their own things because there's, you know, a lot of different people to share the work. On the other hand, you know, it's going to be a little harder to hurt the cats than maybe they thought it was going to be. But what would your priorities be when you get up there? - Yes, and definitely accountability and affordability. Like, that's what I've been running on and that's what I want to work on. I think this administration is the most corrupt and incompetent administration that we've ever seen. And now that, you know, Stephen Miller is the new chief of staff, like, I think it's just going to become even more chaotic. And so, I think Congress has a responsibility to bring this administration in because we are a co-equal branch of government. And they don't get to just do what they want to do. And waste our federal tax dollars when we have seniors receiving less than $100 a month and snap benefits. I don't even know what you buy in groceries for less than $100 a month right now. We have, you know, so many people who have decided not to renew their health insurance premiums because they can't afford it. And those who can't afford it can't afford the deductible and the copay and their medications. And so, you know, we're going to have to tackle those affordability issues. So, you know, healthcare and housing are definitely top priorities for me because when people are stabilized at home, then they're able to go out and work and be productive citizens. But when you're trying to figure out how you're going to put food on the table and if you're going to get evicted next month, then it's really hard to stay focused when you're at work. - So, in addition to affordability and accountability, I think that there's probably going to be some big fights ahead over immigration and funding around that. What's your reaction to Steve Norris' promotion and what do you think the Democratic Congress should be doing around ICE and immigration? - You know, they're agents of chaos. And so, every day I feel like they wake up trying to figure out how they can make the world a worse place. And I think that that's what made voter turnout so high because when I was in line talking to voters and early voting, I would say, you know, what brings you out to vote? And 95% of the people would take a deep breath and say everything. And so, I think they're expecting the Democrats to go in and, you know, at least try to slow down if not put a stop to, you know, what this administration is doing. But as far as like immigration, I definitely believe that we should give ICE a chance to regulate themselves. And if they don't, then we need to look at how can we abolish them or at least defund them because I don't believe most Americans want their tax dollars spent on rogue enforcement agents. And we can have secure borders without having people being shot and run over in the streets. Like I think it's just very inhumane. - It's hard to imagine them regulating themselves with Steve and Miller getting a promotion. I mean, you could have, you know, look, we had it, I forget earlier this week, I talked to somebody that was like, you know, with Trump, but who the hell knows? He gets beat a lot and maybe he's like, hey, maybe I want to be deal making Trump again and go back to getting that. But if you're promoting Steve and Miller to Chief of Staff, to me, that says that that's not the point. - Yeah, most definitely. And so, but you know, we have to give them a chance because we're the nice people, but I don't think- - You might be the nice person, I don't have to give them a chance. But that's okay, that's fine. - But I don't think that chance, should extend very far. I think that, you know, we should call them in, give them an opportunity to, you know, state with their position and their plans are going to be. And if it doesn't align with what is humane and make sense for the American people, then we need to take serious action to either defund or abolish that department. All right. I'm just, I don't know. I, I, I, and I kind of want to play this video for my daughter a little bit. I just, you're a rational confidence in yourself and belief in yourself is like, is like really inspiring. And honestly, I, I know what you're saying about, like, sure, you had to kind of believe in the optimistic, but like, you raised $56,000, like the other, you know, there, there wasn't a lot of support for the campaign, like the, you know, from the national party and the politicians, etc. And like, the other guy was the speaker of the North Carolina House, like, you know, a very powerful Republican and a Republican state. And for you just to, like, say that you could pull yourself up, get in there, do it one person at a time and, and like, really believe that you could win. I, I, I just found that very inspiring. Well, I appreciate that. But I had some amazing people supported me along the way, like my county party chairs, so many organizations that, you know, and I think Timora just done like so much damage around the state that there are a lot of people who wanted him out. Like, they were protesting in front of his office every Friday. People were showing up at events with cardboard cutouts of him. Like, there was a lot of people who were voting against him as well. So I can't take all the credit. Yeah, yeah, I can do more. I'll give you both. The belief in yourself is inspiring, but also the strategy. And this is something that we were, I was, I was saying this to people last year. I was like, I think it's going to be a bad year. And if you want to run in one of those seats, so, you know, the Republicans usually win by eight or nine or 10 or 11 or 12. Like, this is the time to do it. And, and, and you, you saw that. And, you know, recognized to come with a plan and got in there. And here we are. It's a, it's a beautiful thing about America. There's been a lot of down-talking America lately, but this is a beautiful part of it. You know, that's what makes this country so great. Like, that's why so many immigrants want to come here, because you can start from the very bottom and, you know, become successful. And I'm just happy that I'm able to be an example of that. Me too. Don't let them dampen your spirit in DC. You know, that happens sometimes. You know, DC can be oppressive, so you keep this going. I press it. And let's, I mean, oppressive, like emotionally, spiritually and emotionally oppressive. All right. And I guess, oppressive for the people who live there since they don't have voting rights too, but I'm entered in the emotional sense. But you keep it up. I'm really proud of you and happy for you. Thank you so much. And let's stay in touch, all right? Yeah, for sure. I'm a part of your fan club. So I'm just happy to be here. The Bullwork Fan Club? Of course. Of course. Like, I watch you on MS now, like all the time. And you know, one of the things is like, people expected it to like know everything about everything. And so I'm always watching and listening to your perspective. And it's helped me to like, stay abreast of like issues. So yeah, I appreciate that girl. Let's stay in touch. You're like a painting. You didn't even know. All right. I'm going to counter it as a win because I get a lot of losses in my resume. So I'm counting this one, okay? Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much. That's LaKisha Womack. Congresswoman Elect. LaKisha Womack. Enjoy it. I'd everybody subscribe to the feed. We'll be seeing you soon.