Latest / Breaking The Meta / Georgia 10th District: Flipping a MAGA Seat | Lexy Doherty

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Georgia 10th District: Flipping a MAGA Seat | Lexy Doherty · Breaking The Meta

• Leila S.: Hello everyone, welcome back to Breaking the Meta podcast. I'm Layla, taking on some of the interviews and today we have Lexi with us. Tell us about the district you're running in, what office you're running for and all of the fun stuff. Breaking The Meta: I just want to take a quick moment to thank Layla Staten for taking some time to help me with some of these interviews, especially as she is also running for state house in Iowa. Lexy Doherty: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. I'm super excited to chat with y'all. So I'm running in Georgia's 10th congressional district. I'm based here in Athens, Georgia, where UGA is. And the district is like, you you would expect in Georgia, pretty gerrymandered. So ⁓ we have parts of 20 counties in Northeast Georgia. Breaking The Meta: Also, please consider liking, subscribing, and hitting all those buttons down below. makes it possible for me to keep doing what I am doing, which is interviewing amazing people like Lexi ⁓ and Layla. And for those of you that may be new to Breaking the Meta, just so you know, Breaking the Meta is about having hard conversations, fighting to break the status quo, and the idea that all people, no matter your race, religion, gender, or identity, deserve rights, respect, dignity, and safety. Lexy Doherty: ⁓ actually I just learned that this district is three times the size of Rhode Island. So I'm telling everyone that now. So it's, yeah, it's kind of a big district, but mostly in Northeast Georgia. Leila S.: Yeah. ⁓ so what did you do before running for office? Who are you as a person? Lexy Doherty: Yeah, so I studied geology and kind of climate is the first thing that got me interested in politics in college. And it was really just kind of snowballed from there. The kind of the first thing that made me realize how important politics was, was learning about like oil and gas influence in climate policy. And I just basically got like more and more pissed off the more I knew. So and then After college, I worked as an educational consultant, basically helping high schoolers apply to college. And kind of, it was my job to help them kind of think about the world at large from their kind of small bubble of high school and think about like, okay, what do I want to do with my future? What does the economy look like? What kind of education should I be getting to plan for a future career? All of those fun things you have to decide, you know, when you're like 18 years old. And it was kind of just more of the same. was like, ⁓ this system is just so stacked against the average person, especially young people starting out in life and trying to get ahead. It's like, people like to say that we're a meritocracy and if you work hard, you will succeed. I just, in every direction, I realized that is just so absolutely untrue. ⁓ I'm like definitely a policy person. So that's kind of what made me first get interested in all of this and what made me pull the trigger to run, I guess, almost three years ago now for Congress. Leila S.: Yeah. What was like the final last straw to you running? Lexy Doherty: Ah, my representative is terrible. Mike Collins, if, you know, if you don't know him, he is the one with the mullet, like just like the definition of a good old boy. And he's like always been hardcore MAGA. And, um, so I actually, I kind of came from being a poll worker first and I had followed all my local races. Cause like I said, I'm, you know, I'm kind of a data nerd and, uh, I was looking around to see who was planning to run for this seat. And so the first thing I did was kind of start asking around to see if anyone was planning to run against him because my goal at that time was just to support the candidate. And there wasn't anyone planning to run for this seat. And I thought that was bananas. So I think you probably know what this is like as ⁓ a candidate. It really was one of, I had a moment where it was like, I am the person that I'm looking for. And, you know, if not me, then who that kind of thing. So, yeah, I talked it over with my husband. And of course, I was it's a it's a big decision to make. Right. So I was a little apprehensive and my husband was finally just like Lexi, like, go. So, yeah, that's he was definitely the the thing that made me like really decide to like, OK, we're doing this. Leila S.: Yeah, I think that's a pretty big thing. Like with most people who decide to run for office that they want to deep down, someone else just has to ask them to do it and tell them that they're like worthy of running because there's such a weird culture politics. Lexy Doherty: Definitely. Leila S.: So what are your constituents telling you? What are the people in your district worried about? What are the big ⁓ things? Lexy Doherty: So kind of the same things that everyone hears everywhere, I think. When I am talking to people, most people are concerned about paying their bills at the end of the month and putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head. My district is very working class. I wanna say I haven't looked like the most recent numbers, but the median salary is somewhere around $60,000 a year. So it's like, this is not. a rich community. Most of the people in this district are getting squeezed by raising prices just like, you know, other places. ⁓ Atlanta and Athens are growing, so housing has gotten out of control. you know, it's just affordability, affordability, affordability. And I've it's funny to me now that like that's kind of the buzzword, this cycle, it seems like I've ⁓ I was kind of like joking recently that I've been to talking about affordability since before it was cool. But yeah, that's definitely like, you know, people are really concerned about what's happening in the broader like politics and with this administration, I hear about ICE a lot, but definitely the number one thing that I hear is that people are struggling to get by and like that's what they need the most help with. Leila S.: Yeah. Is ICE a really big problem in your district? Lexy Doherty: So not yet in terms of like actual like ICE raids. There have been some, they're like, they're kind of around, but the big thing that's happening here is the federal government just bought a giant warehouse in my district in like a very rural small town, a town of 5,000 people. And they bought a, it's over a million square feet, a warehouse where they're planning to hold up to 10,000 people in a warehouse. So of course there's a lot of people that are really concerned about that. And one of the crazy things is, so it's in a small town. would like, you would guess they're definitely like conservative leaning, but the people don't want it there because they don't have the infrastructure to have that many people. They, yeah, it's just like one of those things where even if you support the idea of like this ICE ⁓ movement, like people don't want it here because it's just so obviously like inhumane and insustainable. And yeah, it's pretty wild. So that's been getting like a lot of attention and a lot of media on the district that previously, you know, it just really felt like it was kind of like out there somewhere. And now like, it's really hitting home for a lot of people in a way that I don't think it was before. Leila S.: Yeah, I wonder if that would have any kind of impact, not even in politics, just kind of, I guess, ideally, because most people who like support ICE don't see it. Like it's kind of out of their mind, it's out of their neighborhood. And that's why they can support it is because they don't have to see it every day. But when it's in your neighborhood and you're seeing how inhumane and it is, you're more likely to. Lexy Doherty: Yeah. Leila S.: not support it so I'm hoping yeah Lexy Doherty: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's harder to ignore for sure. Leila S.: ⁓ what is your first priority when elected? Lexy Doherty: So kind of, I believe that policy should be directed by people that are kind of like the closest to issues. That's really kind of my perspective on how all of this should work. ⁓ So like I said, when I talk to people, the number one thing that they're concerned about is making ends meet. And so my perspective is like, what's the fastest thing we can do that will change people's lives? And to me, that's raising the minimum wage. ⁓ Like I said, we're in rural Georgia. There's a lot of people here working for less than $15 an hour. And that to me is just, I mean, unacceptable, right? Like there's no possible way in this day that you could support yourself, raise a family, get ahead, have a good life if you're not making a living wage. So that to me is like, that is something the federal government could do tomorrow that would. dramatically change people's lives across the country. So to me, it's like, we can do it. Why not? Let's go. And then, you know, we can work from there on all the complicated stuff. Leila S.: would you say a living wage would equate to in your district? Lexy Doherty: So in my district, when I first started, it was around $15 an hour. I go by the MIT living wage calculator. If you're a big dork, it's pretty cool. They look at a bunch of data on the standard of living and calculate a living wage for individual, family, all of those things in every zip code. And the last I checked, it was over $17 an hour here. So the way I see it, the federal minimum wage has to be the minimum, obviously for the full country. So, you know, to me, I would like it to be probably more like that 17 range because I mean, there's not many places that are lower cost of living than rural Georgia. But I also understand that if we have to do... some negotiating, I would tolerate $15 an hour, but I think anything less than that at this point is unacceptable. And we've got plenty of cities and states that already have higher minimum wages than that. But yeah, in a state like Georgia, where, I mean, the state minimum wage in Georgia is still $5.25 an hour. we are going to be drug kicking and screaming into a higher minimum wage. So I think that's kind of what we have to do. Leila S.: Right. Do you think that raising the minimum wage would have any, for the viewers, do you think raising the minimum wage would have any negative effects on any local businesses in your district? Lexy Doherty: I mean, the difficult truth is that yes, probably. So my mom was a small business owner. I grew up kind of working in her store, terrorizing her customers mostly. But one of the things she really instilled in me is that a business owner's job isn't just to provide services or goods, all of those things. It's to create good jobs. Like you are doing a service for your community. And one of the things that she always said was that employees should not subsidize a business that's not sustainable. And I know that that's a really, really hard thing to hear for business owners. I truly, I empathize with that. Like, like I said, I come from a family of business owners, but at the same time, like, I don't think it's realistic for someone to work less than a living wage. So you can have the luxury of being a business owner when ⁓ My mom's store took a big hit after the 2008 recession and And it was a retail store. So also kind of at the same time there was the shift to online shopping and the store kind of died a slow painful death, but Towards the end my mom couldn't afford to pay employees She was literally working seven days a week like open to close in her store Because she did not think it was appropriate for her to ask someone to work for less than a living wage And, you know, I said, I know that that's really, really hard, but entrepreneurship is hard. And I think if you're going to go into that business and take that risk, I think you have a responsibility to your community to pay your employees a living wage. And, you know, if you need to do something different, I think that's the reality of entrepreneurship, unfortunately. Leila S.: Yeah, I think a lot of the time we have more grace for the business owner than the employee, where being an employee and having employees work within your business is a bit of a luxury. Lexy Doherty: Totally, yeah. Leila S.: It sounds mean. Lexy Doherty: Yeah, like there is inherent risk for sure. I think, yeah, asking someone else to subsidize that risk is like, not being a good member of your community. Leila S.: Right. Yeah. What's the next question? Sorry, I get lost still. Okay. So accountability is a huge concern for voters and everyone right now. What does accountability look like to you personally and within your district? Lexy Doherty: No, no, you're great. Yeah. I think without accountability, like this all falls apart. I really do think it is central to, you know, that those highbrow things like a functioning democracy, you know, if we want that, we should probably have some accountability and people shouldn't be able to get out, get away with doing whatever they want anytime they want. So for me within my district, that looks like ⁓ responding to the needs of the people here. So like I said, I really think policy should be directed by and informed by the community of people that it will ultimately affect. So in terms of like me as a representative, I think that's what community looks like. And, you know, if I don't do a good job, I think my representative should vote me the hell out and get someone that does a better job. ⁓ I don't think it'll come to that, but that's the beauty of democracy is that, you know, we get the chance to hold our leaders accountable. ⁓ But also the problem is with gerrymandering and a lot of these issues, voters don't have the chance to have that accountability at the ballot box like they should. So to me, as like a representative in DC, that looks like passing stronger laws that hold representatives accountable and restrict the things that they're allowed to do. So to me, that looks like campaign finance reform. know, I don't take corporate PAC money. I don't think... Packs should exist at all. Like I really believe we should overturn the Citizens United ruling. To me, that looks like banning Congress members from trading individual stocks. I don't understand how it's not just straight up insider trading. Like if you are in a closed door committee meeting and you have information the general public doesn't have, you should not be able to make stock decisions. Like that's crazy to me. ⁓ And then the third one that's big for me is that representatives should not be able to become lobbyists. because you obviously have an outsized effect. You know kind of the nitty gritty of how things get done. And I don't think former representatives should be making stupid amounts of money for private corporations to go influence policy. Leila S.: 100 % 100 % I think it's ridiculous, so I don't know what- Lexy Doherty: It doesn't sound crazy when you say it to most people. Leila S.: No. I just, I don't understand why someone would serve in Congress, like they'll serve their terms or whatever. They'll be done. And then they want to go back. ⁓ Lexy Doherty: I the disgusting thing is I think it's the money that they're willing There's so many people that are willing to sell their souls for a buck Leila S.: Yes. Yeah, I know I was, I think it was last year, our Senator Chuck Grassley, sorry to the world. ⁓ He had voted yes on some bill and I forget what it was, but it was huge. And the lobbyist donated $5,000 to his campaign. Like you couldn't even bully more money out of them? What? Like how cheap? Lexy Doherty: Yeah. Do corruption better, please. Leila S.: Right? Yeah. If you're gonna be corrupted, at least be good at it. ⁓ Lexy Doherty: Yeah, the old Mendez like gold bars under the mattress. That's, you know, at least do it more dramatically. Leila S.: Right? This needs to be something that can be made into a movie. Like some sort of, like, mysterious story to tell. Just donate $5,000 to my campaign. That's crazy. ⁓ So, how do you approach... How do you see working with Republicans to get things done? What does that look like? Lexy Doherty: I'm Yeah, it's complicated. I think it's harder probably these days than ever before. ⁓ Like I said, ⁓ I live in a rural area outside of, know, kind of Athens and a little bit of suburban Atlanta. I grew up in rural South Carolina in like a pretty small town. it's growing up, I was always the like quirky liberal friend. So like my whole life I have lived and worked and had friends and family that are conservative. And one of the things that I have really found is that most people are half-ass okay. You've got some real nut jobs that are the MAGA types, but most people that are conservative are not that. And I am a big believer in working on issues with people that are aligned and not getting bogged down in purity tests. And I think that can be controversial sometimes, but from my perspective, my job as a representative is to do the most good I can with the job that I have. And to me, if that means working with a Republican on land conservation, right? Hunting is a big thing around here. There are a lot of, it's kind of funny. to watch like what's happening with the EPA, but think about, you know, in the South, a lot of conservatives are conservationists. So I would be totally willing to work with a Republican on conservation and, you know, clean water and clean air, even if we disagree on things like corporate tax policy. So that's how I think about it is one, I think most people are not as crazy as sometimes they're made out to be. But two, there's always gonna be things we can agree on even if the big stuff we're pretty divided on. So I'm just willing to work with people on policy that will make people's lives better. And I don't really care. Outside of truly unethical people, I'm pretty much willing to work with anyone. Leila S.: Right. Yeah. mean, everyone is elected to do the same job for the same reason. Like you were elected to help out. You were elected to serve. Serve. And I think sometimes just reminding people that that's what everyone is elected to do is really important. Lexy Doherty: Yeah. Exactly. I think one of the biggest problems in politics is just blind partisanship. think it has made, because people aren't partisan in the way that like the parties have divided up issues. Like the average person is not like perfectly aligned with the Democratic party or the Republican party. I'm sure not perfectly aligned with the Democratic party or the Republican party. So it just is stupid to me that somehow Like in politics, that's the way we collectively have decided to talk about things because it's just not based in reality. Leila S.: Yeah, I think, I don't know, at least for my generation, like social media having as much of a stronghold on political conversation overall is really bad. And my grandma was right, it is that damn phone. Lexy Doherty: Love it. Shout out grandma. Leila S.: Shout out, grandma. It's just really exhausting to try to navigate that too, because you can't really escape social media. But like I'm in rural Iowa. It is a conservative district. And while talking to people, I have not run into one person who hasn't pledged to vote for me. And I'm a progressive Democrat. Like people aren't as partisan as they're like made out to be in polls. ⁓ Lexy Doherty: I That's amazing. Totally. So one of the things that was really surprising to me after my last election, there was a gentleman that I had gone back and forth with on social media a bunch and he definitely like leans pretty MAGA. Like I would put him solidly in MAGA camp. And he messaged me after the election and just said, Hey, I just want you to know you're the only Democrat that I voted for. He was like, even though we disagree on Leila S.: Just be real, call it what it is. Lexy Doherty: probably more than we actually agree on. I trust that you're doing this for the right reasons. And I trust that you will make the best decision for your people, even if I don't always agree on what that looks like. And I was like, holy shit, that is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. Because so often, I don't know, especially on social media, right? Like it's so dramatized all the time. There are a lot of people that truly think anyone that is like conservative is just lost. And I reject that. I think that's just so far from the truth. Leila S.: Right. Yeah, definitely. think... I don't know. Everything is just so, like, pushed farther and farther and farther away from each other. So it's... People forget how to talk to each other. And then there's COVID and just, like, the increased loneliness epidemic. Okay. Yeah. The US is navigating... Lexy Doherty: Absolutely. ⁓ yeah. A rabbit hole you can really get me going down is like public green spaces. If you really want me to like get wonky, get me started on urbanism. Leila S.: Right? The US is navigating a pretty complex global movement. ⁓ How do you believe the US should move forward to establish a consistent and credible approach to foreign policy? Lexy Doherty: am so thrilled that you asked about foreign policy because ⁓ like my district, like people's concerns are here. ⁓ I'm someone that I think this is all part of a bigger like system. ⁓ like, I think that like we are citizens of the world ⁓ I think we should act like it. And, you know, I truly believe that we are more aligned just like with, you know, partisan politics. ⁓ truly believe that cross borders, cross oceans, like we are more alike with people from other countries than a lot of people realize. Even like with cultural differences, we make the same jokes. We have the same concerns. We want the same things. And I am so concerned by the like shift kind of right that we've been seeing around the world. ⁓ It really scares me because I think the more people see that, the more jaded they get, the less they think they can do something about it. And I'm kind of the opposite. I see that and I'm like, no, we need to be doing more. So, you know, I would like to see the United States as not like the police force for the world. think we've done a lot of harm trying to police other countries, but I think we should be a moral leader in democracy. and in human rights. I would like to see that, but I also understand that we do not have a great track record in those things. And we've got a clean house here before we can start telling people other places how they should behave. at the same time, I think we can do both of those things at the same time. I think we should be a part of a worldwide commitment to democracy and supporting anyone that's trying to move that direction. And I also think we need to make sure that we are not being totally hypocritical because we have been in the past. Leila S.: Yeah, 100%. I like your answer. ⁓ Congress is often criticized for its lack of accountability. How can Congress be held accountable, and what role would you play in that? Lexy Doherty: You ⁓ Like I said, we have to pass those laws that I mentioned like banned stock trading Campaign finance reform. I mean the reason nobody trusts Congress is because they are just doing corruption openly, right? I mean if you Want people to trust you more like you've got to have some guardrails you have to like At least pretend to be trustworthy, you know, like I know ⁓ like positions of power are always going to attract the worst kinds of people. But I think there are a lot of really good people trying to do the right thing. And because we have this system that is so easily corruptible through like money and financing, ⁓ yeah, of course nobody trusts congresspeople. mean, I barely do. I'm, you know, I try really hard not to be cynical and I still... find myself being pretty cynical. So yeah, I think it has to start with policing ourselves. And I know that that's such a hard thing to do to get people in power to vote, to give themselves less power. But I think the future of the country depends on it. I know that sounds dramatic, but I think that's, mean, I look around at politics right now and because everyone is so sick of the status quo, that's how we get Donald Trump. And unless we are willing to change course, I'm ⁓ not very optimistic for the future of this country. Leila S.: Yeah, no, absolutely. think one of the worst parts, I think that's one of the biggest reasons why people don't get into politics. They're not interested in it. So they don't engage ⁓ is the fact that like Nancy Pelosi sat there and got rich and then wouldn't retire. ⁓ And that leaves like no space for anyone else because incumbents have such a stronghold on their district. Lexy Doherty: Mmm. Yeah. Leila S.: in comparison to like challenges, but. Also the trust thing. Like there's no chance for anyone else and people don't trust the- Lexy Doherty: I haven't mentioned it, but I'm also like totally supportive of ⁓ term limits because yeah, I think the fact that we have representatives who are just so old and rich and out of touch. mean, like I said, in the beginning, I come from the belief that policy should be. like a community project, like we are in this to build a better community for ourselves. But if you're so detached from like the reality of what it's like to be just a person trying to get by, like, I don't think you can make good policy. like, I just don't think you can do the job well if you're so like in your little DC bubble, which I think that's a lot of people get elected and, you know, just forget what it's like to be human. Leila S.: Right? Yeah, 100%. We already have positions that have term limits. can't Congress have them? Lexy Doherty: Beautiful. I totally agree. Leila S.: It's just, it's just common sense. I hate saying that and I don't think it's like a good use of argument, but it is common sense. just same rule across the board. Lexy Doherty: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. But again, we have the same problem of it would have to be Congress that elects to enact term limits for Congress. So, you know, I think that's going to be a fight, but I think it's a fight we should have. Leila S.: Wait. Right. Yeah, I think so too. ⁓ So for people who are in Georgia or people who are not in Georgia, what is the key takeaway you want the viewers to leave this interview with? Lexy Doherty: So I think probably the most important thing to know about this race outside of, know, like, I think I'm great and you should vote for me ⁓ because I would do a good job. But I think for most people, probably the thing they care about the most is that this is a flippable seat. This is a seat held by a Republican who will vote alongside Trump no matter what. And I think we have the opportunity to flip one seat. And I, I like, I try not to be cynical. I'm like generally an optimistic person, but I'm scared shitless by what this country looks like if we don't take back the house or the Senate next year or this year. I've been doing this for a while. ⁓ Yeah, that scares me. And I don't scare easily, but my thought is, Like these people are going to try to keep power. It's not even a question. They've done it before. Why wouldn't they do it again? We have to have representatives that are going to be a bulwark against their worst impulses. And we are the most effective if we have a majority in at least one of the houses of Congress. So, you know, if you would like to help me flip this seat and, you know, stop Trump from burning down the country. We'll do that first and then we'll get to do all the cool policy stuff, you know, probably a little later down the line. But I really see like my first two years in office most likely being trying to like keep the house from going down. So if you would like to support me for whatever your personal reason, my website is LexiDorty.com. I'm on all the social medias, all that good stuff. And one of the things that I hate the most is fundraising. We've talked about this. I'm not taking corporate PAC money. I really want to listen to the voters and the donors that are the people and not just these big special interests. But that also means I am not taking money from a lot of people that would like to support a candidate. So if you can chip in a couple bucks, it really does make a difference. You're running for office. It adds up, I think. Like it's so hard to fundraise, especially for people that are ethical. So ⁓ that's a really big help. But if you can't donate, mean, name ID is so important. So following on social spreading the message, you know, it's people feel like they can't make a difference as an individual. But this all happens because we are the majority. Like we have the numbers. We are the power. but that only works like if every single person does their bit. So yeah, do what you can. That's all I ask. Leila S.: Do something. Do something at least. If everyone did something, the world would get so much better. Okay. Lexy Doherty: Yeah, exactly. My mom used to say, sweep your doorstep. Like all you have to do is sweep your own doorstep and the whole world will be clean. Leila S.: Yes, that is such a good, that's a good quote. Thank you so much for doing this and answering all of the choppy questions because I'm still new to this and it's a little awkward. ⁓ But I ⁓ that campaign schedules are so chaotic. So thank you for setting some time aside for this. Lexy Doherty: No, you're great. I was so glad to be here. I was glad we got to chat after I've been following you on TikTok for a while. Leila S.: It's so fun. I saw that you had popped up on the calendar and I was like, ⁓ click.