Podcast Summary: “How to Run for Office When You’re Not Rich”

Podcast: How Is This Better?
Host: Akilah Hughes (COURIER)
Guests: Kat Abughazaleh (IL-9 Congressional candidate), Zoran Mamdani (NYC mayoral candidate)
Date: October 31, 2025

Overview

This episode explores the daunting landscape of money in American politics, specifically the barriers faced by regular people—especially those not wealthy or well-connected—when running for office. Host Akilah Hughes delves into the realities of campaign finance with congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and New York mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani, foregrounding their experiences with small-dollar fundraising, transparency, and alternative, community-driven campaign strategies. The central question: In a political arena dominated by big donors and billionaires, how can everyday people even begin to compete?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Reality of Campaign Finance

• [00:00–01:17]
  • Akilah frames the conversation: "This episode is about money in politics, something that you are now having to be very aware of."
  • Kat describes the current campaign finance landscape:
    • “It's a goddamn nightmare.” (Kat Abughazaleh, [00:19])
    • 2024 was the most expensive election ever: over $20 billion spent; individual mega-donors like Elon Musk gave hundreds of millions.
    • The stark disconnect between big-donor politics and grassroots, small-dollar fundraising.
• Personal Context:
  • Kat is a journalist known for dissecting right-wing media and is now leveraging her digital presence in her campaign.
  • Her campaign demonstrates unconventional, community-focused fundraising:
    • Raised over $1M, average donation $32.
    • Campaign office doubles as a mutual aid hub, hosting events like backpack and period supply drives that also register voters.
    • “Instead of spending a bunch of money on consultants and ads, what if we combine voter outreach and mutual aid?” (Kat, [01:17])

Barriers and Structural Challenges

• [03:58–06:36]
  • “The system is built to make it difficult for people that are not very rich and or very well connected to run for office. It is extremely inaccessible to run for office if you are poor.” (Kat, [03:58])
  • Kat breaks down core issues:
    • Success often determined by your access to wealthy contacts and ability to “dial for dollars.”
    • Start-up costs require either personal wealth or the ability to front expenses and wait for reimbursement.
    • Systemic issues: Even candidate salary rules are skewed—if your historic income is low, your campaign salary is lower, making it financially unfeasible for working-class candidates.
  • “If you are a dad to a family of four and you've been making 32K ... that is cut to $16,000.” (Kat, [06:36])
  • Personal impact: Kat has depleted her savings, relies on a partner, and faces debt for the sake of running.

The Hidden Game of Consultants and Reporting

• [07:56–08:42]
  • Major campaign spending goes to consultants, many ineffective but drawing large fees.
  • “A lot of campaign finance is inherently parasitic ... that’s what it comes down to.” (Kat, [07:56])
  • Rigid adherence to outdated strategies persists because it's lucrative for industry insiders.
  • Kat’s approach: No “grifty consultants,” transparent spending, and a living wage for campaign staff ($25/hour).

The Politics of FEC Reports & The Donation Arms Race

• [09:04–13:12]
  • FEC (Federal Election Commission) reporting shapes campaign behavior and fundraising:
    • Only donations over $200 are itemized—Kat’s reports show few large donations, underscoring her grassroots claim.
    • “It's actually what my campaign finance reports don't show.” (Kat, [09:04])
    • The “frantic texts”—pressure tactics are prevalent because FEC filing deadlines influence perceptions of campaign viability.
    • Campaigns often delay payments to preserve “cash on hand” optics at reporting deadlines.
    • Viability is judged (sometimes unfairly) by number of big checks, not just total funds or donor count.
    • “This is like weird inside baseball shit that most people don't know or care about ... it shouldn't be about how many rich people you can call.” (Kat, [11:01])

Public Matching & Structural Alternatives (Zoran Mamdani's Perspective)

• [13:18–15:27]
  • New York City’s 8-to-1 public matching system on small donations transforms the game:
    • “That changes so much of how you spend your time, what you have to spend your time with and who you then are accountable to.” (Zoran Mamdani, [14:50])
    • Builds campaigns fueled by regular people, not just donors.
    • Even without such systems, grassroots “mass movements” can challenge the billionaire-funded status quo.
    • “The contributions from as little as $1 ... shows that everyone sees themselves in this politics.” (Zoran, [15:04])
  • Kat echoes systemic urgency:
    • “We are living in a world where power is being consolidated by the most wealthy and the most powerful… If we continue on this path, we're going to get to a point where anyone wanting to run for office will have to cater to an oligarch.” (Kat, [15:27])

Looking Forward: Paths to Reform

• [15:47–17:00]
  • Akilah highlights ongoing legal and citizen-led efforts to challenge the post-Citizens United landscape (e.g., Montana ballot initiatives).
  • Local and state-based reforms, and campaigns that treat donors as neighbors rather than mere ATMs, offer glimpses of “how this could be better.”
  • “The future might be.” – Emphasizing potential, not reality.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's a goddamn nightmare.”
  — Kat Abughazaleh, describing campaign fundraising ([00:19], [03:58])
• “Instead of spending a bunch of money on consultants and ads, what if we combine voter outreach and mutual aid?”
  — Kat ([01:17])
• “The system is built to make it difficult for people that are not very rich and or very well connected to run for office.”
  — Kat ([03:58])
• “If you throw enough money at something, especially if you're listening to the same people who maybe haven't won an election in a decade or two ... then like, it's got to work sometime, right?”
  — Kat ([07:56])
• “Akilah, if you don't give me $5 right now, I, I will just, I'll die.” (mocking fundraising texts)
  — Kat ([10:36])
• “How much you make in X quarter is how a lot of the most powerful people in politics decide whether your campaign is viable.”
  — Kat ([11:01])
• “That changes so much of how you spend your time, what you have to spend your time with and who you then are accountable to in the campaign that you build.”
  — Zoran Mamdani on NYC’s public matching ([14:50])
• “We are living in a world where power is being consolidated by the most wealthy and the most powerful... we're going to get to a point where anyone wanting to run for office will have to cater to an oligarch in one way or another.”
  — Kat ([15:27])

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [00:00–01:17] Setting the stage: The role of money in politics, Kat’s fundraising approach.
• [03:58–06:36] The difficulties for non-wealthy candidates and personal costs of running.
• [07:56–08:42] How campaign finance incentivizes questionable spending.
• [09:04–11:01] FEC reports, the reality behind donations and campaign optics.
• [13:18–15:27] Zoran Mamdani on NYC’s matching system, potential for reform, and broader lessons.
• [15:47–17:00] Akilah reflects on state and grassroots fixes to systemic problems.

Tone & Language

The episode’s tone is candid, frustrated yet hopeful, with moments of humor and exasperation. Kat is frank and often irreverent; Akilah is curious and incisive; Zoran brings optimistic practicality. The entire conversation deconstructs the myth that the US election system is accessible to all, while illuminating the possibility for change, especially from the ground up.

Conclusion:
This episode offers an unvarnished, inside look at what it takes to run for office as a non-rich person in America. It’s a “how to” guide laced with warnings about a broken system—yet it also sketches out what could be better, if grassroots collective action and structural reforms take root.