Today, in one of the most expensive elections in Pennsylvania State House history — in large part due to donations to the incumbent from billionaire and charter school advocate Jeffrey Yass — Cass Green is running to unseat Rep. Amen Brown in Philadelphia’s Tenth District, in a rematch from the 2022 election. Last election, Green came up 183 votes short against Brown, who represented the 190th District prior to redistricting. Since then, Brown ran an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Philadelphia and has been embroiled in scandal.

Backed by organizations like the Working Families Party and the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Green hopes to join a growing bench of progressive electeds in the state legislature, including DSA-backed state senator Nikil Saval and state representatives Elizabeth Fiedler and Rick Krajewski. Jacobin contributor Peter Lucas spoke with Green about her background in community organizing and working in Larry Krasner’s District Attorney’s Office, how she plans to support public education in Philadelphia, and some of the problems she hopes to address if elected.