She Fought the Far Right Online for Years. Now She Wants to Do It in Congress

"Kat Abughazaleh knows how to create viral moments online. She's an old pro, in fact, capable of posting clips of herself that can rack up millions of views. But engineering attention in the physical world is a decidedly different challenge-one that Abughazaleh was struggling to solve on an overcast afternoon in July. The 26-year-old, who is running for Congress in Illinois, was sitting outside her campaign headquarters in Chicago, trying to connect with prospective voters during the area's annual taco crawl. Some people were stopping to chat, but others hurried along in search of their next carnitas fix."

"That day, at least, the solution was simple: hot sauce. Abughazaleh got a taste for the stuff growing up in Texas and never let go. She hauled out the collection of bottles she keeps in her office-many of them sent by a supporter-and lined up over a dozen on a table for pedestrians to douse their tacos. Within minutes, locals sloshing to-go margaritas in plastic cups stopped to pepper her with questions, like her stance on organized labor (pro), what her "main issue" is ("antiauthoritarianism"), and her thoughts on contemporary sci-fi and fantasy ( Red Rising is superior to A Song of Ice and Fire)."

"With help from a volunteer who translated, Abughazaleh explained to a Spanish-speaking family that her office doubles as a mutual aid hub, stocked with free pantry items and open to "everyone except ICE.""

Kat Abughazaleh, 26, built recognition by countering right-wing talking points and producing viral social media clips. She is running for Congress in Illinois and is translating online fame into in-person campaigning. She used a hot-sauce display at a local taco crawl to draw voters and spark conversations. She identifies as pro-organized labor and names antiauthoritarianism as her main issue. Her campaign office doubles as a mutual aid hub stocked with pantry items and explicitly excludes ICE. She engages Spanish-speaking voters with volunteer translators and receives visible support from passersby and honking drivers.

Read at WIRED