Nikil Saval, a Democratic Socialist in Harrisburg
Nikil Saval went from being an editor at the leftist literary magazine n+1, to a volunteer for Bernie Sanders, to a successful democratic-socialist primary candidate in for Pennsylvania State Senate. In an interview with Jacobin, he talks about the race and his plans for governing as a leftist in the state capitol.
Nikil Saval announcing his campaign for the State Senate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia.
Between the highs of Bernie Sanders’s victories in the early primary states, the lows of the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown, and the whirlwind of the George Floyd uprising, 2020 has been a roller coaster for the Left. In the midst of it all, democratic socialist Nikil Saval emerged victorious in his race for the Pennsylvania State Senate.
Saval is a cofounder of the progressive organization Reclaim Philadelphia, which emerged from the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign. He’s also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which endorsed him for state senate. A former editor of n+1 magazine, Saval is the author of Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace.
Jacobin‘s Micah Uetricht and Meagan Day spoke to Saval for the Jacobin Radio Podcast The Vast Majority. You can subscribe to Jacobin‘s podcasts here and listen to the interview with Saval here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
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