As the pandemic rages on, millions of Americans grapple with job loss, food insecurity and impending eviction, and Congress decides to take a break until September. Racial and economic injustices light civil unrest afire; Democrats don kente cloth, paint murals and turn the other cheek. 
In the face of these historic pains, the Democratic National Convention has chosen to double down on the same falsehood it worshiped during the presidential primaries: that only a centrist can unseat a Republican incumbent.
But while national democratic leadership fails to acknowledge the public’s appetite for change, Louisiana Senatorial candidate Antoine Pierce champions bold solutions to the issues plaguing everyday people.
Pierce, a Baton Rouge resident and LSU alum, is one of 14 candidates set to challenge Sen. Bill Cassidy in November. As a non-profit founder working with underserved young men Pierce fights for the people that the government often neglects, and seeks to do the same in the Senate.
The largest issues in Baton Rouge and Louisiana mirror themes dominating American politics: income inequality, endemic poverty, police brutality, environmental injustice, racial inequality and more. Instead of offering vague platitudes and poll-tested policies, Pierce attacks these problems with an unapologetically progressive platform that calls for universal basic income, medicare-for-all, universal childcare, ending qualified immunity for police officers, cannabis legalization and more. 
Pierce’s support of UBI and other people-first policies have earned him the endorsement of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Pierce has embraced UBI since he was a student, and it’s hard to overstate how transformative the policy would be for Louisiana, a state with one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation.
Poverty is an evil that our government has chosen to ignore, and its eradication would free hundreds of thousands of Louisiana citizens from the stress of extreme financial struggle. In addition, UBI would create jobs, improve childhood outcomes, ease inequalities and strengthen our communities. 
Though he has garnered the support of Yang, Pierce, like many progressives, has been no favorite of the Democratic Party. He represents a threat to the apathy and corruption that has become second nature to politicians on both sides of the aisle, particularly when it comes to the monied interests that clog our government.
While Sen. Cassidy perhaps feels he has the agency to ignore the economic distress of his constituency because of the over $2.5 million conservative Political Action Committees have raised for his reelection, Pierce is 100% voter funded and therefore wholly accountable to his supporters.
Pierce’s candidacy is a breath of fresh air to a political climate that has been starved of empathy and energy. The Democratic Party’s refusal to embrace his candidacy — and those of other insurgent voices — is emblematic of an institution motivated by money instead of public service.
Yes, democratic leadership has shortchanged the public by not amplifying these candidates, but they have also made a poor tactical choice. In a time so rich with despair, Louisiana citizens do not yearn for politicians that will toe the line with half measures, but rather a leader brave enough to fight for the future they and their children deserve.
Antoine Pierce is that leader. This November, a storm awaits Sen. Cassidy. 
Claire Sullivan is an 18-year-old coastal environmental science freshman from Southbury, CT.