This cycle Nick LaLota will have an opponent who’s not a Republican-lite corporate shill. Blue America has endorsed Lukas Ventouras and you’ll be hearing lots about him. Let’s start with this guest post in which he introduces himself. If you like what he has to say, please consider contributing to his campaign here.
Guest Post By Lukas Ventouras: They Tell Me I Cant Win… Here’s Why They’re Wrong
My name is Lukas Ventouras, and I am a first-time candidate running for Congress in NY-01. Sprawling almost all of Suffolk County, New York, from Huntington to The Hamptons, including the Shinnecock Nation and Shelter Island, it is expansive, and diverse, both culturally and socioeconomically, making it a microcosm of the US.
In recent years, many Democrats have tried, and failed, to win this district, ever since Democrat Tim Bishop lost his bid for a 7th term to Lee Zeldin in 2014.
In the years since, it has been characterized as a “red” district, because of the over-performance of Republicans year after year. Now, represented by Nick LaLota, the district is being completely written off by prominent Democrats, local and national, with a source close to a former nominee telling me that former nominees and prominent local Dems are sitting out of a race they “do not see as winnable.”
I can translate that though. It really means, “nobody locally is willing to put in the work to flip the seat because they don’t believe they will personally benefit.” This bothered me, not because I wanted primary challengers, but because it highlighted a real problem. That for most people who get involved in politics, their personal calculus is always their main priority.
This is a known fact about politicians, but it is particularly disappointing to know that there are few who are willing to roll their sleeves up and dig in, in a moment when we need leaders to rise naturally and fight against the war on the working class. However I sat there knowing, that, having been running for 6 months at that point, I was doing the right thing. In fact, I grew more confident about my chances in that moment, knowing that a lack of authenticity and drive has plagues candidates in the past, and that I would not have that issue.
My philosophy of politics is simple, but it is also very clear that it’s different to many of the people who have run before, so perhaps it is what sets me apart, and gives me a fighting chance of victory.
My theory of politics is less preachy, less identitarian, and less corporate.
Be authentic, don’t treat communities as monoliths, and be humble.
Don’t tell people you know what they need; let people tell you what plagues them, shut up and listen to working people.
Stop accepting super PAC money and billionaire cash. Go off script. Show people you’re as mad as they are.
Use less slogans and articulate more solutions. One thing in particular which bothers me to no end, is an insistence our previous nominee had on courting Republicans. Which leads me to perhaps my most crucial point.
We need to be running actual Democrats, specifically those who are able to articulate an agenda which materially improves the lives of working families, how they plan on acting on said agenda in order to implement it, and how they are prepared to fight for this agenda and against those who oppose the progress they represent.
What we have had instead, are candidates who would rather spend their time attempting to convince voters they are just like the Republicans, but better, and pointing fingers at problems rather than articulating solutions.
I am here to break the news to these folks. If you give an electorate the choice of one person and another person, the latter claiming to be radically different while also adopting the former’s views, a population will usually choose the former, as of course, they appear wholly more authentic. When did Democrats start fearing having an opinion? We need to be bold, and unafraid to stand for something. LaLota’s agenda is clear. He talks a big game about Main Street, while being paid by special interests to work for Wall Street.
He relies on Democrats lacking a cohesive message and targeting him for specific actions he’s taken, and relying on kitschy slogans like “MAGA Minion,” while he lies about being a warrior for main street, because he knows that he comes off as more authentic in comparison.
Democrats now, have seemingly shown up their hands in defeat, unable to come up with an alternative strategy. The story of Democrats in NY-01 is one of low energy, turnout, and excitement, and a lack of strategy and outside the box thinking on the part of our past candidates.
We haven’t had a candidate in a long time who was a true working class champion. We haven’t had a candidate in a long time who is willing to say things as they see them, highlighting DC corruption and the persistence of money in politics as an impediment to any change. Suffolk county is a scrappy place, and they like a fighter. They want to feel that they are being represented by a warrior for their best interests. I am that person, and I am unafraid to articulate the issues we face. Underfunded schools litter the district, while rich enclaves benefit from some of the best educational opportunities in the country. Nearly 100,000 of our brothers and sisters in Suffolk county live paycheck to paycheck, below the poverty line, while Nick LaLota votes to give more tax breaks and government subsidies to billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
We have not had a candidate who is truly humble, who is willing to learn and meet people where they’re at, in communities long taken for granted as sure votes by the Democratic establishment. I must, and will earn every single vote I receive, I am not taking a singular solitary soul in this district for granted. We have lacked candidates who show, with authenticity, that they are passionate about the issues, and are ready and willing to fight anyone standing in the way of the people they aim to represent in DC. In short, we’ve been missing a pitbull, someone with real doggedness, who won’t shy away from the battle ahead.
We need a candidate who is willing to go out and fight for an expanded social safety net. I heard no mention of this from most of our previous nominees. Nor did I hear, the notion that we must fight tooth and nail for unions, passing the PRO Act, and advocating for card-check. What about fighting against government corruption? Why have no past nominees taken a stand against money in politics or congressional stock trading? Perhaps it doesn’t, in fact, pay off to run meek, spineless, campaigns based on Donald Trump’s personality.
The key to winning as I’ve articulated, and why I’m bullish about our chances to win this seat together, is not as complicated as we imagine. We must stand up for working families. Advocate for paid family leave, an expanded child tax credit, expanded social security and Medicare/caid, expanded access to healthcare, no matter your socioeconomic status. We must build houses, get money out of politics, ban congressional stock trading, and empower unions to the fullest extent in our capacity. The only way this country is going to improve, is by unshackling the working class from their financial burden, and making Long Island affordable for all. No candidates have ever talked about this, and it’s a shame. Long Islanders just want to feel seen, and feel like you have a plan for them. This isn’t a “MAGA” district, and I hate that characterization. The last campaign for this seat was one that thoroughly trashed Trump supporters as a definitive campaign strategy. This is a district full of hard working, red white and blue blooded Americans, regardless of political affiliation. Bash the politicians, not the voters.
So yes, people, including a former nominee, who I under no means have any ill will towards, did tell me I have no chance to win. But they’re wrong. Nobody will out work me, fight harder, articulate an agenda better, act on implementing this agenda and fighting those in the way, with more vigor. Nobody has approached this race like I have, with humility, grit, and meticulous hard work, starting as early as I have, visiting places which are neglected and taken for granted.
They tell me I cant win, but they’re wrong. They just haven’t seen someone as passionate, who is willing to work as hard as I am. They tell me I can’t win but they’re wrong. We are going to win, and we’re going to do it together.
