I don't know if it's a uniquely American thing, but I associate it that way. People get excited by this idea of, 'Let's come together and defeat this huge enemy through innovation, by solving this crisis.' I think that's motivating and inspiring.

The job of an elected official is to communicate, to talk with constituents, to talk with the people of America, and I think Alexandria is excellent at doing that.

It's not at all a secret that I was one of the co-founders of Brand New Congress, and we've never tried to hide our goals.

For background, Brand New Congress was created in the summer of 2016 with the goal of recruiting 400 candidates to run for Congress with a national campaign and a clear set of policies they would advocate for. It was an attempt to create, as per the name, a brand new Congress.