Yana Ludwig
Yana Ludwig (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Wyoming. She lost in the Democratic primary on August 18, 2020.
Ludwig completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ludwig attended Carleton College and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Eastern Michigan University in 1994. Her professional experience includes working as a founding co-director of the Land Trust for Collective Liberation and as a podcast host on the Solidarity House podcast. Ludwig has served as a congregation member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laramie, as a member of the board of directors for the Foundation for Intentional Community, and as a founding member of the Solidarity Collective.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2020
United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2020 (August 18 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Wyoming
Cynthia Lummis defeated Merav Ben-David in the general election for U.S. Senate Wyoming on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Cynthia Lummis (R) | 72.8 | 198,100 |
 | Merav Ben-David (D)  | 26.8 | 72,766 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 1,071 | ||
| Total votes: 271,937 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Merav Ben-David | 40.3 | 9,584 |
 | Yana Ludwig | 20.7 | 4,931 | |
 | Nathan Wendt | 17.7 | 4,212 | |
 | Ken Casner | 9.0 | 2,139 | |
 | Rex Wilde | 7.9 | 1,888 | |
 | James Kirk DeBrine | 3.6 | 865 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 173 | ||
| Total votes: 23,792 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chuck Jagoda (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wyoming on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cynthia Lummis | 59.7 | 63,511 |
| Robert Short | 12.7 | 13,473 | ||
 | Bryan Miller | 10.3 | 10,946 | |
 | Donna Rice | 5.5 | 5,881 | |
 | R. Mark Armstrong | 3.7 | 3,904 | |
 | Joshua Wheeler | 3.5 | 3,763 | |
 | John Holtz | 1.7 | 1,820 | |
 | Devon Cade | 1.0 | 1,027 | |
| Michael Kemler | 0.9 | 985 | ||
| Star Roselli | 0.6 | 627 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 501 | ||
| Total votes: 106,438 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Rolland Holthus (R)
- Patrick Dotson (R)
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Yana Ludwig completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ludwig's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
The primary issues that compelled me to run are economic insecurity, climate disruption and human rights. These three are linked together for me, particularly living in a "fossil fuel state" that currently relies heavily on fossil fuels for our economic stability. We need people in DC who will both see the realities of climate disruption unflinchingly AND craft policy that ensures people's economic needs are met. I believe, like a handful of others currently in office, that economic rights are human rights. I also believe that our current immigrant human rights violations have their roots in climate migration among other issues that are bringing people here. We must adopt the stance that we are all in this together and work for a collective solution to our economic woes, human rights crisis and climate crisis as one package. I also believe firmly that blunting big corporations' power and empowering local communities to develop their own locally-appropriate economic answers is a critical cornerstone to the way forward for Wyoming and the US.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I have a number of interests in policy development. My passions include: Healthcare: I propose a universal healthcare guarantee (which needs to include abortion on demand, birth control, mental health services, and full funding of the Veteran's Administration healthcare system). I further favor the deprivatization of health insurance and pharmaceuticals. Finally, marijuana needs to be legalized, people incarcerated for marijuana convictions need to be released and their records for those "offenses" wiped. Ecological Stability: We need to pass and flesh out the Green New Deal, with special attention on fossil fuel states making the transition in a positive way for our communities, and the bipartisan Carbon Fee and Dividend bill. We also need to restore our basic ecological protections that are being eroded under the Trump administration, and strengthen our system of public lands at all levels of public ownership. Economic Insecurity: with almost half of Americans unable to afford a $400 emergency, we are at a crisis point economically, and I do not believe that our continued rush toward privatization and trying to make capitalism nicer is going to cut it. I am a socialist who focuses on local empowerment (in the form of strong unions and worker-owned cooperatives), state control (in the form of public utilities such as public banks and pharmaceutical entities) and limiting the role of the federal government to things that truly make sense to collectivize at that level, including healthcare, environmental protections and human rights guarantees. Human rights: We need increased and restored protections for immigrants, the LGBTQIA community, the incarcerated, and people of all religions and none. I favor reparations and the restoration of serious consideration of treaty rights with our Indigenous populations. We also need to look seriously at police reform and the high rates of people of color shot every year by law enforcement, rarely with any consequences for the police. Any conversations we have about gun control I believe need to happen within the context of police reform, and with respect for basic Second Amendment rights.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
My candidacy would not be possible were it not for the work in DC of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others who have pushed strongly for serious economic reform.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
My own 2017 book (published under the name Ma'ikwe Ludwig) "Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption" includes a chapter of legal and economic reform that goes into more depth that we can do here. I also highly recommend two books by Naomi Klein, "The Shock Doctrine" and "This Changes Everything".
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Having experiences similar to those of their constituents. I don't believe millionaires are very well suited to crafting economic policies that work for most of us, for instance.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I'm a community builder, and I listen for a living as a professional facilitator. Even if I disagree with some of the people I will be representing (and I will; it is impossible to agree with everyone all the time about everything) I believe public officials are obligated to make a good faith effort to understand the people they are there to represent. I have deep practice in this. I have also lived in contexts that were geared toward ecological and economic justice and believe I have a unique perspective on what is possible.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
#1: Listening. #2: setting aside personal agendas to be able to legislate for the good of the people.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I would like to help turn the ship in the direction of a post-carbon, economically and racially just country. I would also, if elected, be the first woman and first out queer person to represent Wyoming, and while I don't think that alone is a reason to run (or for anyone to vote for me) I do think representation matters, and I'd be delighted to be the first in both of those areas.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
One of my early jobs was as the Director of a community gardens organization. It is still one of my favorite jobs that I have had because it was so concrete in the service it provided to people. I also cut my teeth as an educator and nonprofit professional, and it was all very exciting and new.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Thanksgiving! It's all about food and community. And lately it has been a good opportunity to also start having serious conversations about US history in relation to the Indigenous people who were here before my people.
What is your favorite book? Why?
How does one pick a favorite book? There are so many...
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
I spent 3 years of my life very, very sick with chronic Lyme disease. I still have it, but it is largely in remission. One of the key things that I learned in those years is how to separate my sense of worthiness from my ability to produce economic value. Getting sick like that and literally not being able to do anything for long stretches was a huge blow to my self-esteem, and it wasn't until I started to climb out of the worst of it that I was able to start analyzing it, and wondering why our culture teaches us that we are worthless if we can't make money.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?
Not necessarily. I think any new job is going to have a big learning curve, and being able to hit the ground running is always good. But there are so many paths that we can be on professionally that bring useful experience with them, and I think having a diversity of backgrounds overall is probably the most important thing to having a really good, functional Senate. I've spent 30 years in the nonprofit and social change sectors, and they have instilled in me some very strong problem solving skills, as well as deep compassion for real people's real lives, that I wouldn't trade for a long political career. I've also stocked grocery shelves and scrubbed toilets to get by. Those experiences mean that I get some very fundamental things about those of us who are called "ordinary" people in often derisive terms. I'm going to bring that with me as well.
What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees?
This is an incredibly important role the Senate plays. Questions I would ask: 1) Is the person qualified in terms of having experience (direct or indirect) that I think will add up to being competent in the work? 2) Do they have fundamental respect for the job they will be fulfilling? 3) Do they seem to have a firm and reality-based handle on the challenges of our moment that their job will touch? 4) Do they seem to fundamentally care about the people their work is intended to serve?
If you are not a current senator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Honestly I feel like my interests cut across a lot of lines, and I think I could be happy serving in any number of places in the committee structure. A few of potential specific interest to me are: Environment and Public Works Energy and Natural Resources Commerce, Science and Transportation Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Indian Affairs Finance
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
I am a social progressive and economic socialist. In both cases, I emphasize the power of small and local, and am interested in having intelligent conversations about the best role of the federal, state and local governments versus the need for the government to get out of the way and let community groups and individuals find their own solutions without government interference. Local self-determinism is a powerful tool for social change, and I believe we can create strong partnerships between government and community-level organizing. Is there anything you would like to add? I'm an author and experienced educator and public speaker. My 2017 book is 'Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption' and I've been regularly published in Communities magazine. I have had an extensive public speaking career, and you can find many of my talks online (many of which will be under my former name, Ma'ikwe Ludwig).[2] |
” |
| —Yana Ludwig[1] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
