Claire Valdez

“I think we just correctly identified the political moment we find ourselves in. I think there's just kind of mass dissatisfaction in the working class of New York City and around the country, too. People are really mad at incumbents. They're mad that their quality of life has not changed at a moment when we have just had our first trillionaire.”

“I think what we have is a real mandate to go and fight for the things that we talked about in the campaign, Medicare for all, housing for all, unions for all. The margin really showed that the campaign was very successful in getting people to mobilize around those issues.”

“I'm going to Congress thinking about where I have common ground with people who maybe we don't usually organize with. I think there's a lot of common ground there around basic infrastructure stuff, around raising the minimum wage.”

“What's really important is that I'm not going to compromise on any of my politics. I think that's what this mandate has delivered. I have the freedom in the room to be pretty unapologetic and also really work hard to find common ground.”

“We will usher in a golden age for organized labor to battle back the new gilded age that is upon us.”

“I didn't come to politics through party machines or electoral ambition. I learned how this system really works in low-wage customer service jobs and found my power in a union.”