3/5

Congresswomen Sewell's rise to Congress is paved with some impressive names. She was mentored by Michelle Obama as an undergraduate student before rubbing shoulders with Barack Obama in law school. She was also later recruited by her personal friend, Kirsten Gillibrand, to run for Congress in 2010. Sewell has a notable career, notching a lot of first's, making it all the more disappointing that her legislative record is so mediocre.

As a member of the corporate-friendly New Democratic Coalition, Congresswoman Sewell does not support Medicare for All or the Green New Deal. She voted with Republicans in favor of rolling back essential banking regulations, while consistently voting against progressive amendments to curtail bloated military budgets. She is by no means one of the worst Democrats, but it is difficult to find a single instance where she broke with party leadership to side with progressives. Additionally, it is generally not a good look to get caught spending campaign contributions on social club memberships.

AL-07 is the sole majority black district in Alabama, and is heavily Democratic. However, the district traditionally has not been that receptive to left-wing candidates (Sanders' and Warren's combined primary vote share did not crack 25%). Progressives will need to do substantial coalition building on a local level before they are ready to take a shot at this seat.