Brianna Westbrook has just announced her run for congress in the 8th district of Arizona in 2018. Her platform includes $15 minimum wage, universal college and healthcare.

She is a part of a grassroots movement called the Justice Democrats ,which is modeled after FDR and Bernie Sanders, and is operating in the Democratic wing with no help from the DNC or corporate interests. A key ideal held by  this group is to crowd funds from voters rather than take large dollar amounts from lobbies that halt progress in the branches by creating a conflict of interest between  the people and big businesses that an overwhelming majority of elected officials are cited to be involved in.

The Bernie Sanders campaign, along with a dubbed New New Deal, referencing the New Deal done by FDR before WW2, to help  rebuild the country’s infrastructure,which has a grade of D as of right now, and create thousands of permanent jobs to stimulate the economy. Brianna Westbrook is going head to head with the infamous Trent Franks,  who has been representing the 8th district of Arizona since 2003. His platform is centered around banning gay marriage and the “patriot” act signed by President George W Bush in 2001. To truly understand the presence of this man in Congress, one must assess the statements issued by his campaign through the course of this election, as well as the perspectives of the official running. A great disparager of abortion, in even the gravest of cases, he has sometimes cited such a sin worse than slavery, which has provoked sentiments of great and equal contrast in both sides of the aisle. Most notably, many political analysts have felt outraged that a voluntary medical procedure that is done with consent and, supposedly,  no pain to the fetus has been compared to generations of misery and suffering that some African Americans claim to even feel through economic repercussions in today’s status quo.

While her opponent has been mired in controversy regarding some of his political stances and statements,   Brianna Westbrook has come out in full support of the LGBT community as a transgender woman herself (since 2013),  as she would like to fight for transgender civil rights on a federal level. Westbrook also supports legislation to help prevent domestic and sexual abuse towards women.A similar law, the Violence Against Women act, which has a sunset provision, was opposed by Trent Franks, despite his endorsement of key pieces of legislation in the past.

While the future of the election seems uncertain, it is important to note that as Arizonans look to see a transformational change in leadership, it is solely dependent on the will of the people whether they choose left wing or right wing politics to navigate the adversities of politics in order to see a better tomorrow. All we can do is wait…