It’s expensive to run for any elected office—something that’s reflected in the highly educated, wealthy individuals who make up most of our representatives. Sarah Smarsh, author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, joins Violet Lucca to discuss the potential outcome of the midterm elections. With voting, abortion, and the economy on the line, will the “blue wave”—itself a reductive term—be reversed? They discuss outsider candidates, issues impacting rural voters, and Smarsh’s own experience of being asked to run for Senate—and why she decided not to.

Read Smarsh’s essay: https://harpers.org/archive/2022/11/in-the-running-sarah-smarsh-almost-running-for-office-kansas/

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This episode was produced by Violet Lucca and Maddie Crum, with production assistance from Stephanie Hou.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harpersmagazine.substack.com