Astead Herndon

What does being a progressive mean to you in 2026?

And how would you distinguish it from just being a Democrat?

Yeah, traditional democrat.

I want to ask you maybe that same question, though, and flip it.

If we asked most Americans what they think being a progressive meant, what issues do you think they would come back with?

Like, if we asked them to define a progressive member of Congress, do you think that they would say the same thing?

You know, to the point about Republican branding, obviously Donald Trump did a lot of that in the last election.

And to your point, did it somewhat successfully.

You know, his most effective ad of the 2024 cycle, at least if you believe the numbers, was the spot that declared Kamala Harris was for they, them, not you.

For prisoners.

And I've been across the country as people have used that ad or even just the progressive focus on cultural issues.

To your point, to kind of say that the party had been pulled away from its core concerns.

Is those things no longer a priority for progressives?

Mm-hmm.

I want to ask about what more.

Let's talk about defund the police, because I read in 2020 that you were one of the elected officials that kind of stood with Austin's movement.

And they were one of the few cities that successfully reallocated funds from the police budget to other issues like housing.

These days, even folks like Zohra Mamdani here in New York have reversed their support for that idea largely.

I wondered what you thought about that.

What do progressives think about crime and public safety now as opposed to then?