Mathewos Samson, a 27-year-old software integration engineer, is competing against Republican Torrey Balam to replace retiring state House Rep. Park Cannon in the Georgia General Assembly. His June primary win in the dark-blue district makes him the odds-on favorite to become the first Black member of the Democratic Socialists of America to serve in the Gold Dome.

Samson’s platform includes getting corporate landlords out of the single-family home business by forcing them to sell the houses they’ve bought, not just capping the number they can own. He also supports Medicare for All and getting money out of politics.

“We don’t take money from corporations because we represent people’s interests,” Samson said. “We need to take our government back and have something that actually represents all of us.”