Utah’s 3rd congressional district hasn’t sent a Democrat to the House of Representatives since 1994. In 2016, Hillary Clinton only received 23% of the vote, while Barack Obama received only 20% in 2012. UT-03 is the district of infamously ridiculous former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who used his position as Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee to launch a partisan smear campaign against Hillary Clinton. But 2018 Democratic House nominee James Singer believes that he can break the Republican stranglehold on his district this year with an unabashedly democratic socialist campaign focused on “bring[ing] back the welfare state” and ending inequity.

Initially, James Singer was running for the U.S. Senate in Utah against incumbent Republican Orrin Hatch, who announced in February that he is retiring to allow former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney to replace him in the Senate starting in 2019. But witnessing an assault on Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands, James Singer realized that he would be most effective as a candidate for Congress in Utah’s 3rd. The district is currently held by Republican John Curtis, who was elected in a 2017 special election by a 32.4 margin over Democratic nominee Kathie Allen. Curtis, who first ran for office in 2000 as a Democrat, is vulnerable given that he lacks the strong incumbency advantage that delivered Chaffetz easy victories during his tenure in the House. Having earned the Democratic nomination at the party’s state convention, James Singer is hoping to ride the blue wave to unseat Curtis in November.

James Singer joined us on the podcast to discuss why he identifies as an “indigenous environmentalist democratic socialist,” dismantling a racist immigration system, and the polite white supremacy of Utah Republican Senate nominee Mitt Romney. Listen on iTunes or in your browser below:

Make sure to follow James Singer on Twitter @urbannavajo, like him on Facebook, and check out his website.