46 ILLUSTRATIONBY SHONAGH RAE FT.COM/MAGAZINEMARCH 7/82020
gillian.tett@ft .com;@gilliantettjust have someone who looks likeyou in office –
policiesmattertoo,”sheadds.
More specifically, while Meng is rootedinthe
centreoftheDemocrats(awingofthepartythat
has increasinglybeenassociatedwith corporate
interests), Choi backsthe anti-establishment,
leftwingpoliciesadvocatedbyprogressivessuch
as Bernie Sanders.She is passionateabout the
needtocombatincomeinequalityinplacessuchasQueens,andfighttheexternaldeveloperswho
wanttobuildluxuryapartmentsthatthreatento
hurt“amajorityofworkingimmigrants[who]are
severelyrent-burdened”inthearea.“Witnessing
theburdensofworking-classfamilieslikemineis
whyIamrunningforoffice,”shesays.C
hoi’sdeterminationmaynot be
enoughto propel her to victory;
Meng has strong support from the
mainstream Democraticpartyin
Queens.But it would be foolish to
ignoreher story.For one thing,it
shows howpeople such as AOC
arehelpingto reshapethe political
landscape, making room for new
voices. It also demonstratesthe
levelofpassioncreatedbySanders
and his ideas,especiallyamong
youngpeople–somethingthatcontinuestotake
establishmentDemocratsbysurprise.
Choi’stale also highlightsawider trend: data
from the PewResearch Center suggests that
46 percent of Democrats identifyas liberal, up
from32percentadecadeago,andtheproportion
of non-whitevoters in the party has leapt from
24percenttwodecadesagoto39percentin2017.
Choi is not the onlyprogressive challeng-
ing amorecentristDemocraticincumbent in
NewYork; in fact, MelquiadesGagarin,who is
of PuertoRicanand Filipinodescent,also plans
to run againstMeng. And Adem Bunkeddeko, a
charismatic32-year-oldwhohailsfromafamilyof
Ugandanwarrefugees,ishopingtoruninthe9th
district.In2018,Bunkeddekocamewithin1,100
votesofunseatingYvette Clarke, who has repre-
sentedthedistrictformorethanadecade.
“Through this campaign,Iamopening up a
door for someone else in the future,”enthuses
Choi, who arguesthat the progressive campaign
“isbiggerthanonepersonrunningforaseat”.As
such,herstoryisinspiring,whateveryourpolitics.
TheAmericandreamcanbepursuedfrommany
startingpoints–includinganailsalon.A
few weeks ago,Iwas sittingin
my local nail bar in Manhattan
whenInoticedastrikingposter
for SandraChoi, ayoung Korean-
Americanwomanwhoishopingto
run for Congress. “Mydaughter!”
thesalonownerproudlydeclared,
pointingattheposter.
Iwasimpressed.NewYorkhasa
vast army of often-ignoredimmi-
grantswho toil fiendishlyhard in
servicejobs.TheChoisareacasein
point:membersofthefamilyhaveworkedinthis
salon,oftensevendaysaweek,forthreedecades,
eversincetheycametotheUSfromSouthKorea.
Foralong time,minorities were significantly
under-representedinAmerica’s politicalland-
scape, thoughthat has graduallybeenchanging.
WhenIarrangeto meet SandraChoi near the
salon,she tells me that withinher owncommu-
nity therewas a“culturalunderstanding...that
youshouldn’t challengethe statusquo”. So the
factthatshehasdecidedtorunforofficeisastrik-
ing sign of the times. Indeed,Choi’sstory also
sheds light on some of the bigger trends that are
changingthemodernDemocraticparty.
It began when Choi’sparents decidedtoleave
SouthKoreainthe1970stofollowtheAmerican
dream. TheysettledinQueens,whereSandra
studiedhard at school while,as she grew older,
alsoworkingshiftstohelpout.Thefirstmember
of her familytoattendcollege,she graduated
fromFordhamUniversitywithadegreeininter-
national studies, then receivedamastersdegree
in securitypolicyatColumbiaUniversity–an
impressive CV that couldhave seen her jump
intoalucrativeprivate-sectorjob(asherparents
dearlywantedherto).
But Choi, 32, says,“My generationhas differ-
ent dreamsfromourparents.” Shewenttowork
in Detroit,incity development,and supported
progressive candidatestherewho ran for office.
She then heardthat AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez
(“AOC”),ayoungwomanofPuertoRicandescent
born in the Bronx, was runningfor Congressin
NewYork’s14thdistrict.
TheChoifamilyhadneverencouragedSandra
toconsiderpolitics;onthecontrary,theydisliked
the idea. But when AOCunexpectedlywon her
race –and teamedupwith three other congress-
womenofcolourtocreatetheso-called“squad”of
progressives–Choifeltemboldened.
Shedecidedtouseherlifesavingstochallenge
the Democraticincumbent,Grace Meng,inher
nativedistrictinQueens–and,thismonth,sheis
scramblingtogetthe5,000signaturesrequiredto
qualifyfortheballotbytappingherlocalnetwork
inchurches,schoolsandbusinesses.
“I have beensoinspired by AOCand howthe
progressivewomenareallsupportingeachother.
It’samazingto seethem there, and think that I
could run too,”says Choi, who believesshe may
be the first Korean-Americanwoman to stand
forCongressinNewYork.“Butit’snotenoughto‘AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez
hashelpedtoreshapethe
politicallandscape,making
roomformorediversevoices’
GILLIAN
TETT
PARTINGSHOTFromNewYork
nailbarsto
Washington