Congresswoman Lee shows up as the most progressive candidate with anti-war advocacy and early support for universal healthcare

LOS ANGELES — In a lively debate between the top four candidates vying to be the next U.S. Senator from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee emerged as the true progressive candidate in the race, showcasing her unparalleled record of championing issues of importance to working families and communities of color.

Among the issues that commanded focus were the escalating conflict in the Middle East, housing, and healthcare. Lee stood out as a progressive champion who legislates with a lens of lived experience — whether it was demanding a just transition and equitable input for climate policy, abolishing the Jim Crow-era filibuster, supporting single-payer healthcare from the start, or guaranteeing every Californian the right to affordable, dignified housing.

Her distinct position as a candidate with a story that matches those of everyday Californians stood out in an exchange with Republican candidate Steve Garvey. Lee, who experienced a period of houselessness, denounced Garvey’s commentary on his experience of “going up and touching the homeless” as patronizing, out-of-touch, and offensive.

On healthcare:

• “I believe healthcare is a human right, it should not be driven by the profit motive. It should not be competitive. It should not be about industry. I think what you do in the past and your experience is a predictor of what I would do in the Senate. When I was in the California legislature, I led on the very first bill to look at how we would establish a single payer, which would afford affordable, accessible health care for everyone in California. I was one of the original cosponsors of Medicare for All. I didn’t wait 14, 15 years. I started right then…”

On representation:

• “I’m the most experienced, I’m the most consistent progressive who gets the job done. I have been able to deliver for Oakland and my entire district and for all of California.”

On reproductive rights:

• “Reproductive freedom for all is important.”
• “We have to make sure to elect enough senators to codify the Women’s Health Protection Act and end the Hyde amendment. This is about our freedoms. It’s about women’s decisions, people’s decisions to control our own bodies.”

On housing:

• “A lot of homeless individuals look like me. A Black woman with children on the streets. We have to make sure children have safe housing, and I’m going to make sure the federal government invests in our unsheltered population.”

On protecting our democracy:

• “If anyone on this stage believes that Donald Trump should be President because of his position to dismantle this democracy, then where are we here as a state and a country? I will fight to make sure that we protect our freedoms, to protect our democracy and to protect Donald Trump from ever again running for public office, And right now I’m taking him to court. I’m the lead plaintiff in the NAACP lawsuit to hold him, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers accountable. He is not above the law.”

On Israel-Gaza:

• “The only way Israel is secure is through a permanent ceasefire.”