After becoming a full-time working mother at the age of fourteen, India Walton earned her GED. Later on, inspired by the nurses who saved her twin boys’ lives in the intensive care unit when they were born prematurely, she became a rank-and-file nurse. Now Walton is running for mayor of Buffalo with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other progressive organizations like the Working Families Party.

Jacobin contributor Peter Lucas sat down with her to discuss Buffalo politics, running for office as a socialist, and what bringing a movement into office looks like.