August 20, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode of Now You Know, we meet Isaiah Martin, a 26-year-old congressional candidate from Houston who’s blending livestreams and legislation to power a community-first campaign—one that refuses to play by the old rules.
Isaiah’s story pushes the boundaries of what a modern campaign can look like—unfolding across social media, community meetings, and even a night behind bars. Recently jailed for what he describes as political retaliation, Isaiah turned the experience into a moment of community organizing—hosting a town hall in the jailhouse chapel.
In this episode, Knowa asks Isaiah how next-gen leadership holds up—when it’s digital by design, personal by nature, and everything’s on the line. Isaiah breaks down the strategy behind his TikTok presence and block-by-block organizing.
Running for office isn’t what it used to be. After you listen, hit up @knowadebaraso and drop your thoughts using #NowYouKnow. He wants to hear from you.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now you know and Know. Dave Brosso is a production
of iHeartMedia and partnership with recent choice Mediah. Isaiah Maritin
is running for Congress and he's younger than most of
y'all student loan repayment plans. But don't get it twisted.
This isn't a TikTok candidate. He's serious about flipping systems,
disrupting power and showing what gen Z influencer leadership really
(00:22):
looks like. That's why he's here on now you know,
how are you, Isaiah? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I'm good man. You know I'm out of the sandbox, Isaiah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
They try to send you to jail.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
They did.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I had me locked up, man, I had you know,
some orange slippers and a jumpsuit.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I was.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I was in jail, jail man. This was crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Did you get a mug shot?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yes, but you know it takes two weeks for the
mugshot to come out. So we're gonna put it on
shirts and it's gonna be on my profile picture on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
So what was like today like it will too days almost?
What was it the day like in jail? Were people saying,
what is Isaiah Martin doing in jail. Did it stink?
What was it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
So when you first go to jail, you go to
this think called intake right, which is basically with all
the other inmates. And they were really excited to be
honest with you when they found out who I was,
and did like a town hall in jail.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I was answering their questions about everything you can think of. Yeah,
and then eventually I went to my own cell, which
was like solitary confinement. I spent twenty six hours in solitary,
not fun. A cold bread and peanut butter, slice of cheese,
and trail mix was all I had. And I had
no idea what was going on in the outside world.
(01:42):
And then yeah, it just blew up. I guess it
was crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So you're telling me, Greg gabvit could have fell out
of his wheelchair and you would have no idea.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
No idea, no clue. I had no idea what was
going on in the outside world.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So for those who are permanently in the outside world,
like they don't pay attention to headlines, they'll pay attention
to social media. What happened to Isaiah Martin? Why did
you go to jail? Why what'd you do?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, I went to jail because Republicans are stupid, and
ultimately they got mad because I went up to him
and I told him that they were cowardly. You know,
they're trying to change the lines in my congressional district
right here in Texas eighteen. You know, I watched them
sit on their phones and they weren't listening to people
like it was crazy. So I went up there and
I told the Republicans about how little I liked what
(02:23):
they were doing, and they ain't like that too much.
They got all ready and in factul they escorted me
out of the chamber.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
They slammed me to the ground.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Officer Pillsbury dope boy as I call him, got all
of his weight on me. My finger's still messed up,
my ankle's messed up, but you know, hey, it was
an interesting thing.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
They got me out.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Nobody thought I was going to jail, including the officers,
until the guy goes and he gets a phone call
and he goes.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
He's talking to him, and he comes up to me.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
He says he's going to arrest me for trespassing, which
is crazy because I was in a state capitol.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It's owned by the people and hearing.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I was scheduled to speak at and for resisting arrests,
and so that's what happened. They threw me in jail
for thirty hours. And then those stupid Republicans, you know,
they've effectively ended up blowing this up and our campaign
has gotten a lot of momentum since, and so it
backfired tremendously.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Many men, I say, many men, they try to get you.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
They did, they did.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
That's my song now, you know, whenever I go places
my walkout songs, many men.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
You know, they wished a lot of bad things on me.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
I couldn't believe it. All the LIAI went to jail
and then they're tweeting from your account, Isaiah is gone
and you you couldn't even do an Instagram live. I
think that TikTok Live that was the worst part. We'd
be doing our TikTok lives and we so tell me
about how TikTok Live has shaped your campaign, and it's
always great.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Well, you know, TikTok Live honestly is like one of
the coolest things I do because it gives me the
ability to talk to just regular people, you know, I
answer questions and I go on there, I cook Republicans,
I like make them look stupid because they have no facts,
and I just go on there and tell it like
it is. And so, you know, we get fifteen thousand
people a night. It's all about transparency to make sure
that people know that I'm not just some guy that's
(04:12):
talking on Twitter or in the community. If you got
a question and you want to ask me something, you
know where to find me every single night at eleven
o'clock Central on my TikTok. So it's a pretty fun experience,
and you know, it's really changed our whole campaign for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I love it. But Isaiah, you gonna stop asking me
while I'm up at that time I'm in chat. You're like,
what are you doing up at two?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Watching you is what I'm doing. Eighty's right, It's always great.
How do you think that is a key part of
your fundraising? The TikTok live. I know, you can say hey,
thanks so and so for the ten and they like
the shout out. What has that been doing for the campaign.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh, it's been unbelievable for us.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
I mean truly, I mean it's been what has been
allowed me to run for Congress because you know, I
don't know a lot of rich people, right, so I
don't really know folks that can like write the big checks.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
But because of the work that we've.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Been able to do on social media, you know, we're
running against all these big money folks per se, and
we're beating the heck out of them just by being
able to have a big audience of people that can
give an average of seventeen bucks a person, right, So
it's really changing the way that we campaign, and it's
made somebody like me who look most of these politicians,
you know, they got to go and focus on what
the big donors say and what they want. And for me,
(05:23):
I'm only accountable to the people that support us in
small dollar increments. So it's a really freeing experience to
say the least.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So what's the difference between I supports you last run proudly?
What's the difference between this run and your last run?
How are you feeling momentum wise?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Well, it feels a lot different, you know because last time,
you know, I was actively working to get Congressoman Jackson
Lee elected to be mayor, and so effectively I had
like two campaigns, right because I had her campaign and
I had my campaign, and also like she was there
to kind of like advise me on a lot of things.
So now she's no longer here, and you know, it's
a different type of situation because is it's not a
(06:01):
question of whether or not the campaign will happen, because
it depends on if she were to win the Mars
race or not. It's just a full campaign. And so
I feel like that first one really gave me a
lot more experience on you know, how to get things structured,
what matters, what doesn't, how to be more vocal in
the community and stuff like that, and really get at
the groundwork going. So I learned a lot of dudes
(06:22):
and don'ts. And now we are really hitting the ground running.
We're really kicking some tail and it's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're gonna name names this episode. Do you like John Whitmyer?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Look, I think that he has done a lot of things.
I don't like to say Louis And it wasn't my pick.
I didn't vote for him. I voted for Shula Jackson Lee,
so he.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Is he did. So tell me about this this great campaign.
Are most of your would you say most of you
most of the donations come from TikTok lives, because every
time you're on TikTok Live, it's donation after donation after donations.
It's fired up.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, well no, it's not.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Actually, the majority of the donations come from, you know,
people who like watch our videos and our tweets and
stuff like that. So it comes from a variety of
different places, people that see our content, you know, because
the more viral we go, the more fundraising takes off.
You know, I really started the campaign trying to make
a lot of phone calls and stuff like that, but
(07:19):
eventually I realized that it's not really the.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Key to our success.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
And I think for us, we have seen like a
dramatic increase, Like we just raised this last month three
hundred thousand dollars. That's absurd. That's like probably a record
in our city in terms of what we've been able
to bring in an average seventeen bucks a person. Now,
the big money folks got millions and millions of dollars,
but because of the work of so many other people,
(07:44):
we're hawking them down, yea, and they're getting real nervous,
and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
You're pretty grassroots, So tell me about your opponents like what,
I want to name a name so bad, but I'm
Amanda Edwards. Why did she run every time? Who was
a man of Adwards?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Look, you know she's a person that wants to run
and represent the district. But ultimately, look, I'm excited because
I think people are just fed up with the same
old politics of old you know, we got a lot
of usual suspects per se.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
But I just think that in this time, people.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Are tired of strongly worded letters, They're tired of laying politics,
and they just want people that if we're going to
focus on the economy, make America more affordable. I think
that's the biggest focus of the future.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So tell me about your Houston twenty twenty sixth plan.
That's one of your your things that really set out
Because as a lot of people that run for Congress,
you you're already national. A lot of people running for
Congress want to get national. They're trying to get they're
trying to get Hollywood. So what is your Houston twenty
twenty six plan. Because you're one of the people that
doesn't need that to get elevated. You already have that.
So tell me about this twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Plan absolutely well for us. Our whole thing is about
making America more affordable. It may like your mama right,
We are really trying to make sure that this country
can be more affordable. And the way we do that
is talking about universe health care, making sure we can
guarantee healthcare for everybody in this country, guaranteeing childcare because
people are paying two thousand dollars a month per kid
just to put their kid in childcare.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's crazy. We talk about things like wiping out medical debt.
It's a big thing.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Making toolition free, community colleges so when folks want to
go off to college they can eventually go forward and
do that in a way that is affordable. Making sure
that we can build more housing so that when people
are paying these rent prices, they're not having to pay
so much. And then also putting trades back in school
so that if one doesn't want to go to college,
they can go forward and get a good trade to
go forward into the job market and get something, you know,
(09:36):
to be able to help them as well to make
more money. So we've been really excited about talking about
the issue that affected the people of the district, and
you know, like you said, I spent a lot of
time on the national level, you know, spent that all
that time with Congressman Jackson Lee. This is about making
sure we can continue not only that legacy, but then
also have a new twists. And now I get a
(09:57):
chance to really focus on how we're going to use
national policies to fix local issues.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Hollywood, Isaiah, that's right, Primetime, That's right. And do you
believe what is your campaign kind of different from some
of the I don't like them there too far. I
left some of the national campaigns we're seeing young people,
but you're actually running on policy. They're running on being young.
For example, we just lost a young person's campaign. What
is your campaign different from them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I mean, look, I think that a lot of people
run good campaigns, right, and so I think that it
all depends on the district. And I know for me,
our big thing is talking about policy, because I believe
the substance is what wins campaigns. I think when you
try to make things the popularity contest, sometimes it just
doesn't really work. And I always believe that voting is
in fact transactional.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
People want to go to vote for something and get
something back as a return. So I want to make
sure that the message is when you vote for Democrats,
you're going to go get healthcare, you're going to get childcare,
You're going to make sure that you can get forward
in a nation that is more affordable. I think that
is how you really go forward and galvanize people, and
we really stay focused on a message that's less focus
(11:02):
on the horse race per se, and it's more focused
on delivering for people.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So tell me about your district. Whenever I see you,
I've seen you by the way, I've seen you about
twenty times, like everywhere across the country. That's why I
say it's national. Where is like the tell me about
your district, Like, what is your district from the route
to the top, what is your district?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
What is well for now?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Well for now, because they just changed the district completely.
They put out new maps today and it's completely different from.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
What I seek to represent.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
But what I will say is the district that we
will be running for in November is Downtown Houston. So
it's where the Astros are, the Rockets are, the sports teams,
the big downtown hustle and bustle Midtown, which is kind
of like the club scene, the party scene, the universities
Texas Southern University, University of Houston, as well as third
word communities, goes all the way up and gets Acres Home,
(11:55):
gets part of Airport area, greens Point. Same thing with
Clinton Park. You know, just so many at Pleasantville. I
mean it's a big portion of the district fifth ward.
I mean I can go on forever, but I mean
it looks like a question mark. Noah, that's a very
weird district. It looks like a weird question mark. Captain
Hook is basically as I call it. You know, it's
what Republicans do.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So where so they just made that map, right.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, today they made the new one.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, do you still see yourself aspiring to seek out
those districts that you might even be new to, those
parts of the district that you aren't as familiar with.
And where are you campaigning at?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Well, all we campaigning in the district, the old district
for now, but immediately after the election we campaign to
the new parts of the district.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You know, it's a lot of south part of the district.
The new part looks like it stretches down, it goes
to soar Siana Plantation, some of Missouri City, Shadow Creek Ranch,
a lot of suburban parts of southern Houston that frankly,
we're not anywhere close to the ancient congressional district. We'll see,
we'll see what ends up happening. But I look forward
to Blue states Jerry mannering the heck out of Republicans
(13:03):
in response to this, I know Gavin Newsom has talked
about it.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I hope Gavin does it. I hope that New York
does it. Jamie Pritsker does it.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Maryland.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I cannot wait until we have no more Republicans.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
In Congress Maryland, also Maryland.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
That's right, Wes Moore, that's what's more.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that's right. Don't move. We'll be right back. So
we're talking a lot about Texas. It's divisive. So I
dare you to name names. Who's performative in this, who's
doing this for the right reasons, who's being fake? So,
(13:38):
for example, you're running for Congress on your Houston twenty
twenty six platform, anywhere anywhere close to your district, Your opponents,
even people that they're trying to get Jerry Mannered, fake
performative too much?
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Anybody, Well, I would say that there's a lot of
fake Republicans that are performative. You know, I just watched
our redistricting committee chairman Cody Vesuit, just a complete wieze.
This guy gets up there and he's talking about, Oh,
I don't know where the maps are going to look like,
Oh I don't know if we're going to pass anything.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Complete liar.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
This guy is a complete scrub, and I think that
we need to call him for what he is.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
He's a weasel.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
The Republicans that are on that committee are just all
just dorks, and I think we should just call him out.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
You forgot your signature word wus. So what's that guy's.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Name you mentioned suit? That's his name.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The suit is a w a right, So where where
did you get wuss from? That's like a signature part
of your campaign?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
This, Yeah, I just let stuff fly, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
So it kind of just came to me while I
was speaking one day and I just said he was
a whist because I couldn't say what I really wanted
to say.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So I know what you wanted to say, that's.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Right, So you had to soften it up a little
bit and become a woof.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I know, exactly what you want to say. So back
to your district, right, you're running, you're running for the seat.
What is your strategy? I mean we saw well, I
think during the DNC chairs race it was really should
we go grass roots? Should we go by endorsements? Are
is your campaign really centered around social media and endorsements?
Are you really hitting grassroots? Which one is it?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Well, I'm really about just organizing.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So we have the biggest block walks every single week,
it's not even close the biggest phone banking sessions, not
even close. I mean, we're focused on getting the word
out to people and by organizing, so social media is
a big piece, we can communicate our message better than
anybody else in the race. But then also what we're
very effective at it's going in knocking on doors, going
to all the civic clubs, going to all the neighborhood meetings,
(15:38):
meeting people where they are and letting them know that
I'm going to be their guy, and just trying to
earn their support.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, and if it was up to you, would you
take the phone banking route or would you take your
social media route? If they said, hey, Isaiah, we cannot
offer you. We can only offer you one of these.
Are you taking that TikTok live donation run it up route,
or are we taking the phone banking.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I still think that knocking doors on phone banking is
probably like the most effective thing. But what I will
say is that those two things are intercline because social
media is what gets people interested to want to do.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Those things for your campaign. So I think it's about
doing both.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
You can't really do one without the other, because I
don't think my campaign would be very much with campaign
at all with those social media But I can also
say my campaign wouldn't be very much at all without
door knocking and you know, doing the hard campaign labor
work that you need to do.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So you got to have both.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, when you get to Congress, what is your first initiative?
I'm almost one hundred percent sure if someone's asked you
this on TikTok Live, but to have it on paper,
what is your first initiative as congressman?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Well, you know, no, I've got a lot of feedback
about that, honestly. I mean, you know, some people really
want me to go sign onto those impeachment papers for
Donald Trump, and they want me to wear a tan
suit while we do it. I might just have to
do that, but I don't know. I look forward to
introducing the legislation to wipe out medical debt for everybody
in this country. I look forward to signing my name
(17:01):
on the legislation to ban all outside money and campaigns
and to put spending limits and stuff like that to
really change the corruptness of our campaign findance system in America.
It's just so corrupt in get money out of politics.
So I had a lot of work that we can do.
I do want to show the people of the eighteenth
Congressional District that I am not afraid of Donald Trump
(17:23):
one bit, and it is very important to get that
on record as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
As you mentioned, you're on the federal level, you'll be
passing laws that go through across the United States, not
so much Houston. So it really stuck out to me.
Why a Houston twenty twenty sixth plane and how do
you plan to bring that money back?
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Well, because ultimately my job will be to use national
policy to fix local issues, and I believe that personally
we can use the federal government to go and solve
the issues that we have in Houston. And so it
is going to be voters of Houston that are going
to be focused on voting for me, that are going
to be supporting me and our efforts. And I think
it's very important. So there's a lot of things going
(18:01):
on locally that we can have federal resolve for. And look,
I look forward to just getting to work on that second.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I'll get in there.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, and we're gonna get you in there. I don't
care what I have to do. I'm gonna get you
in there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
We the people are going to get you in there.
We're gonna fight, and we're going to go to jail,
that's right, and we're gonna bail out.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
We're gonna have to. We're gonna do everything we can.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
You at some John Lewis stuff like you went to jail,
you ate the cold bread, good trouble, trouble.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
They are doing everything they can to try to silence me,
and it's why they did what they did. So look,
I don't expect them to listen. But the way that
we do it is just be more focused on beating
Republicans because the best bipartisanship know, in my opinion, is
a retirement party for Republicans. You know, I go all
these places and people ask me to say, how you
want to do by partsinership, by getting them out.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's my bipartisanship.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And I think that we should just show people that
I'm not afraid of these Republicans. We got to give
them a piece of our mind.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Do you think they attempted to use jail to try
to scare you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Like? Of course, of course they did.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And the funniest part about it is, I don't know
what part of my upbringing did they think was going
to just lay down as a result of that foolishness,
they messed with the wrong one.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I'll tell you that because these guys are very lightweight.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You don't play. I don't okay, okay, you don't play.
That's fine. So on this thing, they try to send
you to jail, they try to silence you. I think
that's the first time I'm hearing that it was solitary
kind of thing. For thirty six hours. You mentioned thirty
dirty Yeah, who called twelve? I'm just so I want
to know who this is who snitched. Was it a
(19:39):
specific person on the chair that was like, yo, get
this man, get this guy.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
I don't know who it was to be honest with you.
But those Republicans, like I said, they're just so stupid,
you know, they're filled with rage and they thought that, oh,
we're going to show this guy lesson and all they
did was just blow this whole situation up.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So yeah, jokes on them.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I hate to break you to Isaiah. Someone snitch someone
six nine on you. I'm not I.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Don't doubt it. I don't doubt it.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Someone call the police.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
That's probably what happened.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, And on a more serious note, are you planning
to maybe launch any type of lawsuit towards the PD
that that that arrested you because that was unjustified.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
We'll see, we'll see. I'm looking into all that stuff.
I am of the opinion that officer feels very dull. Boy,
it must pay for what he did.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Who is this officer you're referring.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
To, the one that tackled me, you know, is an idiot.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So you don't like him?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
No, I don't. I think he's very very dumb.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Have you identified this individual?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I don't know his name. I just know his officer
feels very dull.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Boys, would you, speaking of local leaders, would you accept
his endorsement if you want to apologize. No, no, if
he saw officer feels very dull. Boy, right now, what
would you say.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I'd say, you're are a slob? You failed.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Do you know what department?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He was with, the Department of Public Safety GPS?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Okay, all right, and I don't know. I couldn't see who.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Were you speaking to, cod Suit the chairman.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So any message to that chairman.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Well, Cody failed, he tried, he failed, and ultimately now
I look forward to the nation responding by getting Republicans
the heck out of their seats.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
So what I'm seeing a lot in your comments is
because you know, I read comments and I need to stop.
But I'm reading these comments. They're saying, well, this affects
your perspective on policing. Would after this horrible situation with
police in jail, are you aspired to fix the bail system?
Do you want to defund the police? What is your
thoughts here?
Speaker 3 (21:35):
What I will say is that it is definitely shined
a light on a situation that never affected me personally,
but now it did because I've had so many inbates
that were in there for like petty wes, like public
defender not telling them about a court date.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Or like just very mundane things.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
And it really opened my eyes to just so many
people get thrown into this system because not every body
is a candidate for Congress with hundreds of thousands of
followers that you know, can create and rally public outcry
for an average everyday person. Had that been them, like
they would have been screwed, right. So it really opened
(22:15):
my eyes about how much these bs charges can really
affect people. And I think we've really got to be
able to look at our criminal justice system and get
a lot more.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Do you ever say, because you're running to fill in
the seat of someone we all respect, Congressman Turner, did
you ever think, because I'm personally very against local, I
don't pay attention to local. Do you pay attention to
your local stuff?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I do not, absolutely. I mean local politics is actually
what is.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
One of the most important things for getting things done,
because as a federal representative, it is my job to
secure federal funds for local government, and it is up
to local government to then take those funds and invest
them into the people. So if you don't have a
good relationship with the city council members and county commissioners
or you know, the mayor right, well, you know, but
(23:07):
people in local government in general, you're not going to
really be able to get stuff done. So look, I
got a good relationships with city council members and county
commissioners and I look forward to working with them on
the distrip to be to get stuff done.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Who are some of your favorite endorsement and favorite endorsements
you've received.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, there's like a lot of like the big
people per se, but honestly, my favorite is like the
regular everyday people. There's like a grandma in the district
I am like super excited about because she, you know,
doesn't really get involved in politics, but she really sent
me a letter about how much she personally loves what
I'm doing and she's really appreciative of it. Like I
(23:44):
think about civic club presidents that are really excited about
our campaign, Like I'm more focused on the folks that
are on the ground. They're in their communities every single day,
that are doing things, and I love their endorsements.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
It really does mean a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
This is interesting. So let me if they said Auntie
in the district, a Jamaican immigrant from the district who's
fighting for immigrant rights and wants to support you for
Congress or Lord, whose endorsement are you.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Taking for who?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Lord?
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah? Or Beyonce? Here find Beyonce.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
No, I'm taking the civic Club president. To be honest
with you, give me more. Yeah, it means more. I mean, look,
Beyonce is cool.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I love Beyonce right like you would open an endorsement
to her.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
She wants to endorsement. Heck, yeah, boom, that's cool. But like,
I'm still believing that, like, local endorsements are the ones
that like really matter. So wow, that's what I really
kind of seeking.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
And it's crazy because I asked this question to every
not even politicians. I asked this to a comedian on
this podcast, local grassroots support or notable endorsements? And I
think a lot of your campaign is really really grassroots.
And that's so surprising that decision that thought from you.
What makes you think there, for example, they can't tweet
(24:55):
out a fundraising link and get the numbers you can
get off you tweeting that, But the person whose endorsement
you're taking over them can't. How do you see their
endorsement is more important?
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Well, I mean because they're the ones that live in
the neighborhoods, right, And when you live in the neighborhood
and you can go and talk to your neighbors and
friends and basically go and get them to vote and
to care about an issue, well then that's really important.
So I actually think that getting those local endorsements that
are there that could be able to communicate to their
friends as neighbors is actually how you want elections. It
(25:27):
was a big piece of Congressman Jackson Lee's thirty years
in Congress, which was staying so connected to the regular,
every day people of the district. And I look forward
to doing the exact same thing.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah. And do you think your opponents are taking a
similar route in terms of grassroots because you're doing really
well in terms of knocking doors and staying on social media.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
No, I mean I think that they're more focused on
their big fundraisers and everything else.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
But that's just them.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Let's take a quick break. This is now, you know,
with no de borassa. So you do them TikTok lives.
Are you going to continue to do TikTok lives as
a member of Congress?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Of course, of course I'll be doing them all the time.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
I mean, really, yes, you know, I know, the establishment
or whatever might not you know, it might think it's
a little bit too risky, but I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
I think it's great to be able to communicate with people,
and I like to people.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That's amazing, and so like, I think the format will change,
of course, like you'll go from you go to defending
your record from defending Joe Biden's record. And on that subject,
what were I saw you during the DNC. I accidentally
saw you during the DNC and we met someplace and
then we went to the convention. What were you doing
to support Kamala Harrison? How's that shaped your campaign?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Well, you know, I went all around the country.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
I mean I was flying, you know, to any place
I can go to knock on doors to help people
support our vision, whether it was on calls, whether it
was making.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Content on social media.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I mean, I was a big supporter of Vice President
Harris because I truly believe that she was probably the
most qualified person to ever run for the presidency. She
had the vision, she had the integrity, and she had
everything necessary to go be that person. So we fell short,
but we pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, and
we get to the next one.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Is she your auntie too?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Yeah, of course, real, of course.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Don't forget I did at first, Isaiah, watch out.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
I was there when it happened. It was crazy, we
run that. It was Me and Clay Caine were like, what.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
It was so fun? That was so very long ago.
And you were there, you were right there first, you
were you were there. It was insane. So during your
time staffing with Cela Jackson Lee, it will be a
major change from working with her and you're now you're
gonna have people working with you. I'm the chief of
staff of Isaiah Martin and will this this it will
be a big switch. So how will your priorities shift?
(27:57):
What was your priorities supporting the congresswoman, whether that's getting
more money back to the district versus what you're going
to be doing now as you're the guy.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Absolutely well, I helped the Congressloman a lot on international affairs.
It helped her a lot when it came to working
to get federal dollars directly from federal government directly to
the district, and helped her with district related issues to
go and make sure that our district office had everything
that was necessary. Then I also worked really hard, you know,
to get her message out on social media. I helped
(28:26):
her really get to the twenty first century in terms
of her communication styles and stuff like that, and I
look forward to continuing that, but then also figuring out
ways that we can continue to be innovative, you know,
whether that is using text messages for casework, which is
a new technology we can do so people don't have
to always drive a lot to go get to our
district office, whether that's through continuing our TikTok town hall
(28:49):
to continue to be active and available for people.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think it's just about taking those new strategies and
bringing it to the twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
And as we wrap up, I cannot help but to ask,
so did they make you wear like the jumpsuit with
the zebra and all that? I just can't help it.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
I had a full zebra suit, orange slippers. Yeah, I
was in jail, like hardcore jail.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
What were the conditions, Because you're I'm so glad, not
that I want you in jail, but I'm glad that
you got to experience what you're going to be fighting for.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
It's amazing, honestly that I spent more time in jail
than Trump and kN Paxson and all these crazy Republicans
that have already been outward corruption. But anyways, food sucked,
no doubt. Food sucked.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Like what the heck is this?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Like blood was kind of like splattered against the wall,
I guess from some guy like beating.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
His head against the thing like it was.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
It didn't stink.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
No, it didn't stink. I will say, that's.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
My only fear. Did you, like, did you take a
shower during your duration? There?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
No?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
God, no, okay, but if you wanted to, you could have.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I think I probably could have.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But no, you I'm trying to know where the did
the officers recognize you when they when when you got
booked and such? Maybe and and and you mentioned this
town hall you you you conducted with the with the
great people of the jail, and and I believe that
that's very important. And and not to do a jail
town hall and such, but in such an unplanned capacity,
(30:21):
that's amazing. You didn't have any yards signs on you,
did you?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
No? I didn't know yard signs, no lit.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
No, if the officers let you would have smuggled in
some lit right.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Of course campaign everywhere.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Let me as we wrap up here last few minutes.
Tell me about your your TikTok lives. Where can people
find it? Et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Well, absolutely, well, my TikTok lives.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
They can find me at at Isaiah or Martin I
S A I A H R M A R t
I N and folks on ship into the campaign. Then
go to Isaiah Martin dot org I S A I
A H M A R t I N dot org.
Everything is there, sound a volunteer at chip in do whatever?
And you support a campaign.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
If you don't want to say, just say, do your
research and let me know what you find. What does
the R stand for? Are there? They are?
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Mar oh oh Ronnie Yeah really yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Had no idea. Wow. I think one of my favorite
parts of the discussion was speaking about these endorsements that
you're making a priority of. You are one of the
few campaigns to have an endorsement button, because when I endorse,
they either reach out to me or I reach out
to them and then I do a news interview. But
these regular everyday Americans can go on your website click
(31:32):
that button. What can they do from there?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (31:35):
They can sign up to get added to our lists
and look We just have a lot of regular people
that are just fed up with the status quo, fed
up with the way things are. They know America is
not working, and they want this country to be more affordable.
So that's like the biggest thing for us, you know,
it's just getting regular people that believe in that vision,
and you know, getting folks the sounds volunteer and everything else.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, that's your endorsement button. And and how many people
are you getting at these phone banks? I'm genuinely curious.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Well, probably like twenty twenty or so per night, which
is crazy good, you know, because most congressional campaigns at
this point the race probably can get like two.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Really.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Yeah, so we're at twenty so we're kicking tail.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
That's insane. And you you're you're knocking these doors too.
Are you knocking doors yourself?
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Yes? Absolutely, you know I'm always knocking because.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
You know, I want people to know like I'm running
to be your congressman, like I need your help, I
need your support, your votes.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So yeah, absolutely, we are knocking doors every single week.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
So this is the real question. As we wrap up here,
I have to ask this is going to be one
of the reallest questions I ask on this podcast. Okay,
you are a y n running for Congress. You could
be doing anything right now at the great age of
twenty six. What is making you run for Congress?
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Because I think Congress needs more Yn energy. If I'm
just being honest, I think we need it. I think
we need a lot more folks that are willing to
tell it like it is. You know, I don't fear
these people. I think that's what it needs to be
a y In man. You don't fear anybody. And so
these Republicans, Trump, you know, just all these people. I
just look at them.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
It's just stupid. And I think that we need.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
People that have the courage to be able to call
that stuff out and fight for our people to make
the country more affordable.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
So is a Yn like yourself going to be able
to encounter Trump, maybe even some Republicans in Congress with
that slick haircut and help paying with the American flag?
Will you have access to call these people out live
and maybe go to jail again for doing so.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Look, if I gotta do it, I gotta do it.
You know, ultimately you gotta get in good trouble. And look,
I stand for the people, and ultimately people want to
fight her, and that's what I do.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
So Yeah, now before we wrap, it's time for my
favorite part of the show, the quiz.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Tell me that.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Here's what this is. We're gonna quiz you on some
of these civic questions. It's not civic questions per se,
but it is. I call it why Yen quiz questions
with Isaiah Martin. Okay, okay, who was the youngest black
person ever elected to Congress? And how old were they?
Maxwell Frost, Jasmine Crockett is among the youngest, but William L.
(34:22):
Dawson was the youngest. I didn't know this, and I
don't know how true that is.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Either him or Cleo Fields, but that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Who's Cleo Fields?
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Well, he's back in Congress now, but he was elected
first to Congress back when he was like twenty six
years old.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Yeah, before you which black politician showed why Yen energy
by calling the president a racist on the House floor?
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Algreen?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
That was Maxine Waters. She's been fearless for decades, but
Corey Bush and others have called out injustice unapologetically. I'm
not supportive of her who pulled up to Congress with
an afro, a leather jacket, and a civil rights agenda
that scared white folks in the seventies. Shelley chisholm Ron
(35:05):
Dellams straight from Oakland, anti war, pro black and not
here to play.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
What future president went from being called too young to lead?
And what age did they enter Congress?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
John F. Kennedy twenty nine, John F.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Kennedy, And you are even younger than John F. Kennedy.
So I cannot wait for the future. Name one congress
what congress woman? One congress One congresswoman voted against the
Iraq War from the jump when no one else vote
when everyone else folded. Barbara Lee, Barbara Lee, big yn
energy right there, that's brave. Which gen Z congressman went
(35:43):
viral for using TikTok and fashion to connect with young voters.
Gen Z, Yeah, j Maxwell Fross, Maxwell Frost from Florida.
He's a great guy. And I was supposed to do
with a shade room panel and I have not heard
anything back, so l ego from the shade room. But Isaiah,
I so greatly appreciate you from coming on. I'll see
(36:05):
you on TikTok Live. Isaiah. I want to come to
Houston campaign for you.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Let's do it, man, do it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
I'll be there, Gonna be great, all right, thank y'all.
What I got from this is that Isaiah Martin really
cares about his hometown of Houston, even saying he shows
grassroots local endorsements over the endorsements of influencers and celebrities
across the country. This guy really cares about Houston, and
he's running for Congress to represent it, even going to
(36:33):
jail for it. Isaiah's not just running for office, He's
running towards the future. And if you weren't paying attention before,
I hope you are now Like share and meet me
back here next Wednesday for another Now you Know episode
where we don't just talk politics, we talk power. Now
(36:55):
you Know and Know Dave Brosso is a production of
iHeartMedia and partnership with Recis and Choice Media.
Now you know and Know. Dave Brosso is a production
of iHeartMedia and partnership with recent choice Mediah. Isaiah Maritin
is running for Congress and he's younger than most of
y'all student loan repayment plans. But don't get it twisted.
This isn't a TikTok candidate. He's serious about flipping systems,
disrupting power and showing what gen Z influencer leadership really
(00:22):
looks like. That's why he's here on now you know,
how are you, Isaiah? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I'm good man. You know I'm out of the sandbox, Isaiah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
They try to send you to jail.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
They did.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I had me locked up, man, I had you know,
some orange slippers and a jumpsuit.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
I was.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I was in jail, jail man. This was crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Did you get a mug shot?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yes, but you know it takes two weeks for the
mugshot to come out. So we're gonna put it on
shirts and it's gonna be on my profile picture on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
So what was like today like it will too days almost?
What was it the day like in jail? Were people saying,
what is Isaiah Martin doing in jail. Did it stink?
What was it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
So when you first go to jail, you go to
this think called intake right, which is basically with all
the other inmates. And they were really excited to be
honest with you when they found out who I was,
and did like a town hall in jail.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I was answering their questions about everything you can think of. Yeah,
and then eventually I went to my own cell, which
was like solitary confinement. I spent twenty six hours in solitary,
not fun. A cold bread and peanut butter, slice of cheese,
and trail mix was all I had. And I had
no idea what was going on in the outside world.
(01:42):
And then yeah, it just blew up. I guess it
was crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So you're telling me, Greg gabvit could have fell out
of his wheelchair and you would have no idea.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
No idea, no clue. I had no idea what was
going on in the outside world.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So for those who are permanently in the outside world,
like they don't pay attention to headlines, they'll pay attention
to social media. What happened to Isaiah Martin? Why did
you go to jail? Why what'd you do?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, I went to jail because Republicans are stupid, and
ultimately they got mad because I went up to him
and I told him that they were cowardly. You know,
they're trying to change the lines in my congressional district
right here in Texas eighteen. You know, I watched them
sit on their phones and they weren't listening to people
like it was crazy. So I went up there and
I told the Republicans about how little I liked what
(02:23):
they were doing, and they ain't like that too much.
They got all ready and in factul they escorted me
out of the chamber.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
They slammed me to the ground.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Officer Pillsbury dope boy as I call him, got all
of his weight on me. My finger's still messed up,
my ankle's messed up, but you know, hey, it was
an interesting thing.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
They got me out.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Nobody thought I was going to jail, including the officers,
until the guy goes and he gets a phone call
and he goes.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
He's talking to him, and he comes up to me.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
He says he's going to arrest me for trespassing, which
is crazy because I was in a state capitol.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It's owned by the people and hearing.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I was scheduled to speak at and for resisting arrests,
and so that's what happened. They threw me in jail
for thirty hours. And then those stupid Republicans, you know,
they've effectively ended up blowing this up and our campaign
has gotten a lot of momentum since, and so it
backfired tremendously.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Many men, I say, many men, they try to get you.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
They did, they did.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
That's my song now, you know, whenever I go places
my walkout songs, many men.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
You know, they wished a lot of bad things on me.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
I couldn't believe it. All the LIAI went to jail
and then they're tweeting from your account, Isaiah is gone
and you you couldn't even do an Instagram live. I
think that TikTok Live that was the worst part. We'd
be doing our TikTok lives and we so tell me
about how TikTok Live has shaped your campaign, and it's
always great.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Well, you know, TikTok Live honestly is like one of
the coolest things I do because it gives me the
ability to talk to just regular people, you know, I
answer questions and I go on there, I cook Republicans,
I like make them look stupid because they have no facts,
and I just go on there and tell it like
it is. And so, you know, we get fifteen thousand
people a night. It's all about transparency to make sure
that people know that I'm not just some guy that's
(04:12):
talking on Twitter or in the community. If you got
a question and you want to ask me something, you
know where to find me every single night at eleven
o'clock Central on my TikTok. So it's a pretty fun experience,
and you know, it's really changed our whole campaign for sure.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I love it. But Isaiah, you gonna stop asking me
while I'm up at that time I'm in chat. You're like,
what are you doing up at two?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Watching you is what I'm doing. Eighty's right, It's always great.
How do you think that is a key part of
your fundraising? The TikTok live. I know, you can say hey,
thanks so and so for the ten and they like
the shout out. What has that been doing for the campaign.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh, it's been unbelievable for us.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
I mean truly, I mean it's been what has been
allowed me to run for Congress because you know, I
don't know a lot of rich people, right, so I
don't really know folks that can like write the big checks.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
But because of the work that we've.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Been able to do on social media, you know, we're
running against all these big money folks per se, and
we're beating the heck out of them just by being
able to have a big audience of people that can
give an average of seventeen bucks a person, right, So
it's really changing the way that we campaign, and it's
made somebody like me who look most of these politicians,
you know, they got to go and focus on what
the big donors say and what they want. And for me,
(05:23):
I'm only accountable to the people that support us in
small dollar increments. So it's a really freeing experience to
say the least.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So what's the difference between I supports you last run proudly?
What's the difference between this run and your last run?
How are you feeling momentum wise?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Well, it feels a lot different, you know because last time,
you know, I was actively working to get Congressoman Jackson
Lee elected to be mayor, and so effectively I had
like two campaigns, right because I had her campaign and
I had my campaign, and also like she was there
to kind of like advise me on a lot of things.
So now she's no longer here, and you know, it's
a different type of situation because is it's not a
(06:01):
question of whether or not the campaign will happen, because
it depends on if she were to win the Mars
race or not. It's just a full campaign. And so
I feel like that first one really gave me a
lot more experience on you know, how to get things structured,
what matters, what doesn't, how to be more vocal in
the community and stuff like that, and really get at
the groundwork going. So I learned a lot of dudes
(06:22):
and don'ts. And now we are really hitting the ground running.
We're really kicking some tail and it's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We're gonna name names this episode. Do you like John Whitmyer?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Look, I think that he has done a lot of things.
I don't like to say Louis And it wasn't my pick.
I didn't vote for him. I voted for Shula Jackson Lee,
so he.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Is he did. So tell me about this this great campaign.
Are most of your would you say most of you
most of the donations come from TikTok lives, because every
time you're on TikTok Live, it's donation after donation after donations.
It's fired up.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, well no, it's not.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Actually, the majority of the donations come from, you know,
people who like watch our videos and our tweets and
stuff like that. So it comes from a variety of
different places, people that see our content, you know, because
the more viral we go, the more fundraising takes off.
You know, I really started the campaign trying to make
a lot of phone calls and stuff like that, but
(07:19):
eventually I realized that it's not really the.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Key to our success.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
And I think for us, we have seen like a
dramatic increase, Like we just raised this last month three
hundred thousand dollars. That's absurd. That's like probably a record
in our city in terms of what we've been able
to bring in an average seventeen bucks a person. Now,
the big money folks got millions and millions of dollars,
but because of the work of so many other people,
(07:44):
we're hawking them down, yea, and they're getting real nervous,
and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
You're pretty grassroots, So tell me about your opponents like what,
I want to name a name so bad, but I'm
Amanda Edwards. Why did she run every time? Who was
a man of Adwards?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Look, you know she's a person that wants to run
and represent the district. But ultimately, look, I'm excited because
I think people are just fed up with the same
old politics of old you know, we got a lot
of usual suspects per se.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
But I just think that in this time, people.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Are tired of strongly worded letters, They're tired of laying politics,
and they just want people that if we're going to
focus on the economy, make America more affordable. I think
that's the biggest focus of the future.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So tell me about your Houston twenty twenty sixth plan.
That's one of your your things that really set out
Because as a lot of people that run for Congress,
you you're already national. A lot of people running for
Congress want to get national. They're trying to get they're
trying to get Hollywood. So what is your Houston twenty
twenty six plan. Because you're one of the people that
doesn't need that to get elevated. You already have that.
So tell me about this twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Plan absolutely well for us. Our whole thing is about
making America more affordable. It may like your mama right,
We are really trying to make sure that this country
can be more affordable. And the way we do that
is talking about universe health care, making sure we can
guarantee healthcare for everybody in this country, guaranteeing childcare because
people are paying two thousand dollars a month per kid
just to put their kid in childcare.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It's crazy. We talk about things like wiping out medical debt.
It's a big thing.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Making toolition free, community colleges so when folks want to
go off to college they can eventually go forward and
do that in a way that is affordable. Making sure
that we can build more housing so that when people
are paying these rent prices, they're not having to pay
so much. And then also putting trades back in school
so that if one doesn't want to go to college,
they can go forward and get a good trade to
go forward into the job market and get something, you know,
(09:36):
to be able to help them as well to make
more money. So we've been really excited about talking about
the issue that affected the people of the district, and
you know, like you said, I spent a lot of
time on the national level, you know, spent that all
that time with Congressman Jackson Lee. This is about making
sure we can continue not only that legacy, but then
also have a new twists. And now I get a
(09:57):
chance to really focus on how we're going to use
national policies to fix local issues.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Hollywood, Isaiah, that's right, Primetime, That's right. And do you
believe what is your campaign kind of different from some
of the I don't like them there too far. I
left some of the national campaigns we're seeing young people,
but you're actually running on policy. They're running on being young.
For example, we just lost a young person's campaign. What
is your campaign different from them? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I mean, look, I think that a lot of people
run good campaigns, right, and so I think that it
all depends on the district. And I know for me,
our big thing is talking about policy, because I believe
the substance is what wins campaigns. I think when you
try to make things the popularity contest, sometimes it just
doesn't really work. And I always believe that voting is
in fact transactional.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
People want to go to vote for something and get
something back as a return. So I want to make
sure that the message is when you vote for Democrats,
you're going to go get healthcare, you're going to get childcare,
You're going to make sure that you can get forward
in a nation that is more affordable. I think that
is how you really go forward and galvanize people, and
we really stay focused on a message that's less focus
(11:02):
on the horse race per se, and it's more focused
on delivering for people.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So tell me about your district. Whenever I see you,
I've seen you by the way, I've seen you about
twenty times, like everywhere across the country. That's why I
say it's national. Where is like the tell me about
your district, Like, what is your district from the route
to the top, what is your district?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
What is well for now?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Well for now, because they just changed the district completely.
They put out new maps today and it's completely different from.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
What I seek to represent.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
But what I will say is the district that we
will be running for in November is Downtown Houston. So
it's where the Astros are, the Rockets are, the sports teams,
the big downtown hustle and bustle Midtown, which is kind
of like the club scene, the party scene, the universities
Texas Southern University, University of Houston, as well as third
word communities, goes all the way up and gets Acres Home,
(11:55):
gets part of Airport area, greens Point. Same thing with
Clinton Park. You know, just so many at Pleasantville. I
mean it's a big portion of the district fifth ward.
I mean I can go on forever, but I mean
it looks like a question mark. Noah, that's a very
weird district. It looks like a weird question mark. Captain
Hook is basically as I call it. You know, it's
what Republicans do.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So where so they just made that map, right.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, today they made the new one.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, do you still see yourself aspiring to seek out
those districts that you might even be new to, those
parts of the district that you aren't as familiar with.
And where are you campaigning at?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Well, all we campaigning in the district, the old district
for now, but immediately after the election we campaign to
the new parts of the district.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You know, it's a lot of south part of the district.
The new part looks like it stretches down, it goes
to soar Siana Plantation, some of Missouri City, Shadow Creek Ranch,
a lot of suburban parts of southern Houston that frankly,
we're not anywhere close to the ancient congressional district. We'll see,
we'll see what ends up happening. But I look forward
to Blue states Jerry mannering the heck out of Republicans
(13:03):
in response to this, I know Gavin Newsom has talked
about it.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I hope Gavin does it. I hope that New York
does it. Jamie Pritsker does it.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Maryland.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I cannot wait until we have no more Republicans.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
In Congress Maryland, also Maryland.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
That's right, Wes Moore, that's what's more.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that's right. Don't move. We'll be right back. So
we're talking a lot about Texas. It's divisive. So I
dare you to name names. Who's performative in this, who's
doing this for the right reasons, who's being fake? So,
(13:38):
for example, you're running for Congress on your Houston twenty
twenty six platform, anywhere anywhere close to your district, Your opponents,
even people that they're trying to get Jerry Mannered, fake
performative too much?
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Anybody, Well, I would say that there's a lot of
fake Republicans that are performative. You know, I just watched
our redistricting committee chairman Cody Vesuit, just a complete wieze.
This guy gets up there and he's talking about, Oh,
I don't know where the maps are going to look like,
Oh I don't know if we're going to pass anything.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Complete liar.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
This guy is a complete scrub, and I think that
we need to call him for what he is.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
He's a weasel.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
The Republicans that are on that committee are just all
just dorks, and I think we should just call him out.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
You forgot your signature word wus. So what's that guy's.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Name you mentioned suit? That's his name.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The suit is a w a right, So where where
did you get wuss from? That's like a signature part
of your campaign?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
This, Yeah, I just let stuff fly, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
So it kind of just came to me while I
was speaking one day and I just said he was
a whist because I couldn't say what I really wanted
to say.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So I know what you wanted to say, that's.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Right, So you had to soften it up a little
bit and become a woof.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I know, exactly what you want to say. So back
to your district, right, you're running, you're running for the seat.
What is your strategy? I mean we saw well, I
think during the DNC chairs race it was really should
we go grass roots? Should we go by endorsements? Are
is your campaign really centered around social media and endorsements?
Are you really hitting grassroots? Which one is it?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Well, I'm really about just organizing.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So we have the biggest block walks every single week,
it's not even close the biggest phone banking sessions, not
even close. I mean, we're focused on getting the word
out to people and by organizing, so social media is
a big piece, we can communicate our message better than
anybody else in the race. But then also what we're
very effective at it's going in knocking on doors, going
to all the civic clubs, going to all the neighborhood meetings,
(15:38):
meeting people where they are and letting them know that
I'm going to be their guy, and just trying to
earn their support.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, and if it was up to you, would you
take the phone banking route or would you take your
social media route? If they said, hey, Isaiah, we cannot
offer you. We can only offer you one of these.
Are you taking that TikTok live donation run it up route,
or are we taking the phone banking.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I still think that knocking doors on phone banking is
probably like the most effective thing. But what I will
say is that those two things are intercline because social
media is what gets people interested to want to do.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Those things for your campaign. So I think it's about
doing both.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
You can't really do one without the other, because I
don't think my campaign would be very much with campaign
at all with those social media But I can also
say my campaign wouldn't be very much at all without
door knocking and you know, doing the hard campaign labor
work that you need to do.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So you got to have both.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, when you get to Congress, what is your first initiative?
I'm almost one hundred percent sure if someone's asked you
this on TikTok Live, but to have it on paper,
what is your first initiative as congressman?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Well, you know, no, I've got a lot of feedback
about that, honestly. I mean, you know, some people really
want me to go sign onto those impeachment papers for
Donald Trump, and they want me to wear a tan
suit while we do it. I might just have to
do that, but I don't know. I look forward to
introducing the legislation to wipe out medical debt for everybody
in this country. I look forward to signing my name
(17:01):
on the legislation to ban all outside money and campaigns
and to put spending limits and stuff like that to
really change the corruptness of our campaign findance system in America.
It's just so corrupt in get money out of politics.
So I had a lot of work that we can do.
I do want to show the people of the eighteenth
Congressional District that I am not afraid of Donald Trump
(17:23):
one bit, and it is very important to get that
on record as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
As you mentioned, you're on the federal level, you'll be
passing laws that go through across the United States, not
so much Houston. So it really stuck out to me.
Why a Houston twenty twenty sixth plane and how do
you plan to bring that money back?
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Well, because ultimately my job will be to use national
policy to fix local issues, and I believe that personally
we can use the federal government to go and solve
the issues that we have in Houston. And so it
is going to be voters of Houston that are going
to be focused on voting for me, that are going
to be supporting me and our efforts. And I think
it's very important. So there's a lot of things going
(18:01):
on locally that we can have federal resolve for. And look,
I look forward to just getting to work on that second.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
I'll get in there.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, and we're gonna get you in there. I don't
care what I have to do. I'm gonna get you
in there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
We the people are going to get you in there.
We're gonna fight, and we're going to go to jail,
that's right, and we're gonna bail out.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
We're gonna have to. We're gonna do everything we can.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
You at some John Lewis stuff like you went to jail,
you ate the cold bread, good trouble, trouble.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
They are doing everything they can to try to silence me,
and it's why they did what they did. So look,
I don't expect them to listen. But the way that
we do it is just be more focused on beating
Republicans because the best bipartisanship know, in my opinion, is
a retirement party for Republicans. You know, I go all
these places and people ask me to say, how you
want to do by partsinership, by getting them out.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's my bipartisanship.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And I think that we should just show people that
I'm not afraid of these Republicans. We got to give
them a piece of our mind.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Do you think they attempted to use jail to try
to scare you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Like? Of course, of course they did.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
And the funniest part about it is, I don't know
what part of my upbringing did they think was going
to just lay down as a result of that foolishness,
they messed with the wrong one.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I'll tell you that because these guys are very lightweight.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You don't play. I don't okay, okay, you don't play.
That's fine. So on this thing, they try to send
you to jail, they try to silence you. I think
that's the first time I'm hearing that it was solitary
kind of thing. For thirty six hours. You mentioned thirty
dirty Yeah, who called twelve? I'm just so I want
to know who this is who snitched. Was it a
(19:39):
specific person on the chair that was like, yo, get
this man, get this guy.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
I don't know who it was to be honest with you.
But those Republicans, like I said, they're just so stupid,
you know, they're filled with rage and they thought that, oh,
we're going to show this guy lesson and all they
did was just blow this whole situation up.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So yeah, jokes on them.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I hate to break you to Isaiah. Someone snitch someone
six nine on you. I'm not I.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Don't doubt it. I don't doubt it.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Someone call the police.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
That's probably what happened.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, And on a more serious note, are you planning
to maybe launch any type of lawsuit towards the PD
that that that arrested you because that was unjustified.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
We'll see, we'll see. I'm looking into all that stuff.
I am of the opinion that officer feels very dull. Boy,
it must pay for what he did.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Who is this officer you're referring.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
To, the one that tackled me, you know, is an idiot.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So you don't like him?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
No, I don't. I think he's very very dumb.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Have you identified this individual?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I don't know his name. I just know his officer
feels very dull.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Boys, would you, speaking of local leaders, would you accept
his endorsement if you want to apologize. No, no, if
he saw officer feels very dull. Boy, right now, what
would you say.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I'd say, you're are a slob? You failed.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Do you know what department?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He was with, the Department of Public Safety GPS?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Okay, all right, and I don't know. I couldn't see who.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Were you speaking to, cod Suit the chairman.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So any message to that chairman.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Well, Cody failed, he tried, he failed, and ultimately now
I look forward to the nation responding by getting Republicans
the heck out of their seats.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
So what I'm seeing a lot in your comments is
because you know, I read comments and I need to stop.
But I'm reading these comments. They're saying, well, this affects
your perspective on policing. Would after this horrible situation with
police in jail, are you aspired to fix the bail system?
Do you want to defund the police? What is your
thoughts here?
Speaker 3 (21:35):
What I will say is that it is definitely shined
a light on a situation that never affected me personally,
but now it did because I've had so many inbates
that were in there for like petty wes, like public
defender not telling them about a court date.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Or like just very mundane things.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
And it really opened my eyes to just so many
people get thrown into this system because not every body
is a candidate for Congress with hundreds of thousands of
followers that you know, can create and rally public outcry
for an average everyday person. Had that been them, like
they would have been screwed, right. So it really opened
(22:15):
my eyes about how much these bs charges can really
affect people. And I think we've really got to be
able to look at our criminal justice system and get
a lot more.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Do you ever say, because you're running to fill in
the seat of someone we all respect, Congressman Turner, did
you ever think, because I'm personally very against local, I
don't pay attention to local. Do you pay attention to
your local stuff?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I do not, absolutely. I mean local politics is actually
what is.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
One of the most important things for getting things done,
because as a federal representative, it is my job to
secure federal funds for local government, and it is up
to local government to then take those funds and invest
them into the people. So if you don't have a
good relationship with the city council members and county commissioners
or you know, the mayor right, well, you know, but
(23:07):
people in local government in general, you're not going to
really be able to get stuff done. So look, I
got a good relationships with city council members and county
commissioners and I look forward to working with them on
the distrip to be to get stuff done.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Who are some of your favorite endorsement and favorite endorsements
you've received.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, there's like a lot of like the big
people per se, but honestly, my favorite is like the
regular everyday people. There's like a grandma in the district
I am like super excited about because she, you know,
doesn't really get involved in politics, but she really sent
me a letter about how much she personally loves what
I'm doing and she's really appreciative of it. Like I
(23:44):
think about civic club presidents that are really excited about
our campaign, Like I'm more focused on the folks that
are on the ground. They're in their communities every single day,
that are doing things, and I love their endorsements.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
It really does mean a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
This is interesting. So let me if they said Auntie
in the district, a Jamaican immigrant from the district who's
fighting for immigrant rights and wants to support you for
Congress or Lord, whose endorsement are you.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Taking for who?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Lord?
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah? Or Beyonce? Here find Beyonce.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
No, I'm taking the civic Club president. To be honest
with you, give me more. Yeah, it means more. I mean, look,
Beyonce is cool.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I love Beyonce right like you would open an endorsement
to her.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
She wants to endorsement. Heck, yeah, boom, that's cool. But like,
I'm still believing that, like, local endorsements are the ones
that like really matter. So wow, that's what I really
kind of seeking.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
And it's crazy because I asked this question to every
not even politicians. I asked this to a comedian on
this podcast, local grassroots support or notable endorsements? And I
think a lot of your campaign is really really grassroots.
And that's so surprising that decision that thought from you.
What makes you think there, for example, they can't tweet
(24:55):
out a fundraising link and get the numbers you can
get off you tweeting that, But the person whose endorsement
you're taking over them can't. How do you see their
endorsement is more important?
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Well, I mean because they're the ones that live in
the neighborhoods, right, And when you live in the neighborhood
and you can go and talk to your neighbors and
friends and basically go and get them to vote and
to care about an issue, well then that's really important.
So I actually think that getting those local endorsements that
are there that could be able to communicate to their
friends as neighbors is actually how you want elections. It
(25:27):
was a big piece of Congressman Jackson Lee's thirty years
in Congress, which was staying so connected to the regular,
every day people of the district. And I look forward
to doing the exact same thing.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah. And do you think your opponents are taking a
similar route in terms of grassroots because you're doing really
well in terms of knocking doors and staying on social media.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
No, I mean I think that they're more focused on
their big fundraisers and everything else.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
But that's just them.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Let's take a quick break. This is now, you know,
with no de borassa. So you do them TikTok lives.
Are you going to continue to do TikTok lives as
a member of Congress?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Of course, of course I'll be doing them all the time.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
I mean, really, yes, you know, I know, the establishment
or whatever might not you know, it might think it's
a little bit too risky, but I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
I think it's great to be able to communicate with people,
and I like to people.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That's amazing, and so like, I think the format will change,
of course, like you'll go from you go to defending
your record from defending Joe Biden's record. And on that subject,
what were I saw you during the DNC. I accidentally
saw you during the DNC and we met someplace and
then we went to the convention. What were you doing
to support Kamala Harrison? How's that shaped your campaign?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Well, you know, I went all around the country.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
I mean I was flying, you know, to any place
I can go to knock on doors to help people
support our vision, whether it was on calls, whether it
was making.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Content on social media.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I mean, I was a big supporter of Vice President
Harris because I truly believe that she was probably the
most qualified person to ever run for the presidency. She
had the vision, she had the integrity, and she had
everything necessary to go be that person. So we fell short,
but we pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, and
we get to the next one.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Is she your auntie too?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Yeah, of course, real, of course.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Don't forget I did at first, Isaiah, watch out.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
I was there when it happened. It was crazy, we
run that. It was Me and Clay Caine were like, what.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
It was so fun? That was so very long ago.
And you were there, you were right there first, you
were you were there. It was insane. So during your
time staffing with Cela Jackson Lee, it will be a
major change from working with her and you're now you're
gonna have people working with you. I'm the chief of
staff of Isaiah Martin and will this this it will
be a big switch. So how will your priorities shift?
(27:57):
What was your priorities supporting the congresswoman, whether that's getting
more money back to the district versus what you're going
to be doing now as you're the guy.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Absolutely well, I helped the Congressloman a lot on international affairs.
It helped her a lot when it came to working
to get federal dollars directly from federal government directly to
the district, and helped her with district related issues to
go and make sure that our district office had everything
that was necessary. Then I also worked really hard, you know,
to get her message out on social media. I helped
(28:26):
her really get to the twenty first century in terms
of her communication styles and stuff like that, and I
look forward to continuing that, but then also figuring out
ways that we can continue to be innovative, you know,
whether that is using text messages for casework, which is
a new technology we can do so people don't have
to always drive a lot to go get to our
district office, whether that's through continuing our TikTok town hall
(28:49):
to continue to be active and available for people.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think it's just about taking those new strategies and
bringing it to the twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
And as we wrap up, I cannot help but to ask,
so did they make you wear like the jumpsuit with
the zebra and all that? I just can't help it.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
I had a full zebra suit, orange slippers. Yeah, I
was in jail, like hardcore jail.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
What were the conditions, Because you're I'm so glad, not
that I want you in jail, but I'm glad that
you got to experience what you're going to be fighting for.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
It's amazing, honestly that I spent more time in jail
than Trump and kN Paxson and all these crazy Republicans
that have already been outward corruption. But anyways, food sucked,
no doubt. Food sucked.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Like what the heck is this?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Like blood was kind of like splattered against the wall,
I guess from some guy like beating.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
His head against the thing like it was.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
It didn't stink.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
No, it didn't stink. I will say, that's.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
My only fear. Did you, like, did you take a
shower during your duration? There?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
No?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
God, no, okay, but if you wanted to, you could have.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I think I probably could have.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But no, you I'm trying to know where the did
the officers recognize you when they when when you got
booked and such? Maybe and and and you mentioned this
town hall you you you conducted with the with the
great people of the jail, and and I believe that
that's very important. And and not to do a jail
town hall and such, but in such an unplanned capacity,
(30:21):
that's amazing. You didn't have any yards signs on you,
did you?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
No? I didn't know yard signs, no lit.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
No, if the officers let you would have smuggled in
some lit right.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Of course campaign everywhere.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Let me as we wrap up here last few minutes.
Tell me about your your TikTok lives. Where can people
find it? Et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Well, absolutely, well, my TikTok lives.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
They can find me at at Isaiah or Martin I
S A I A H R M A R t
I N and folks on ship into the campaign. Then
go to Isaiah Martin dot org I S A I
A H M A R t I N dot org.
Everything is there, sound a volunteer at chip in do whatever?
And you support a campaign.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
If you don't want to say, just say, do your
research and let me know what you find. What does
the R stand for? Are there? They are?
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Mar oh oh Ronnie Yeah really yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Had no idea. Wow. I think one of my favorite
parts of the discussion was speaking about these endorsements that
you're making a priority of. You are one of the
few campaigns to have an endorsement button, because when I endorse,
they either reach out to me or I reach out
to them and then I do a news interview. But
these regular everyday Americans can go on your website click
(31:32):
that button. What can they do from there?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (31:35):
They can sign up to get added to our lists
and look We just have a lot of regular people
that are just fed up with the status quo, fed
up with the way things are. They know America is
not working, and they want this country to be more affordable.
So that's like the biggest thing for us, you know,
it's just getting regular people that believe in that vision,
and you know, getting folks the sounds volunteer and everything else.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, that's your endorsement button. And and how many people
are you getting at these phone banks? I'm genuinely curious.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Well, probably like twenty twenty or so per night, which
is crazy good, you know, because most congressional campaigns at
this point the race probably can get like two.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Really.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Yeah, so we're at twenty so we're kicking tail.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
That's insane. And you you're you're knocking these doors too.
Are you knocking doors yourself?
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Yes? Absolutely, you know I'm always knocking because.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
You know, I want people to know like I'm running
to be your congressman, like I need your help, I
need your support, your votes.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So yeah, absolutely, we are knocking doors every single week.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
So this is the real question. As we wrap up here,
I have to ask this is going to be one
of the reallest questions I ask on this podcast. Okay,
you are a y n running for Congress. You could
be doing anything right now at the great age of
twenty six. What is making you run for Congress?
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Because I think Congress needs more Yn energy. If I'm
just being honest, I think we need it. I think
we need a lot more folks that are willing to
tell it like it is. You know, I don't fear
these people. I think that's what it needs to be
a y In man. You don't fear anybody. And so
these Republicans, Trump, you know, just all these people. I
just look at them.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
It's just stupid. And I think that we need.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
People that have the courage to be able to call
that stuff out and fight for our people to make
the country more affordable.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
So is a Yn like yourself going to be able
to encounter Trump, maybe even some Republicans in Congress with
that slick haircut and help paying with the American flag?
Will you have access to call these people out live
and maybe go to jail again for doing so.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Look, if I gotta do it, I gotta do it.
You know, ultimately you gotta get in good trouble. And look,
I stand for the people, and ultimately people want to
fight her, and that's what I do.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
So Yeah, now before we wrap, it's time for my
favorite part of the show, the quiz.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Tell me that.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Here's what this is. We're gonna quiz you on some
of these civic questions. It's not civic questions per se,
but it is. I call it why Yen quiz questions
with Isaiah Martin. Okay, okay, who was the youngest black
person ever elected to Congress? And how old were they?
Maxwell Frost, Jasmine Crockett is among the youngest, but William L.
(34:22):
Dawson was the youngest. I didn't know this, and I
don't know how true that is.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Either him or Cleo Fields, but that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Who's Cleo Fields?
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Well, he's back in Congress now, but he was elected
first to Congress back when he was like twenty six
years old.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Yeah, before you which black politician showed why Yen energy
by calling the president a racist on the House floor?
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Algreen?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
That was Maxine Waters. She's been fearless for decades, but
Corey Bush and others have called out injustice unapologetically. I'm
not supportive of her who pulled up to Congress with
an afro, a leather jacket, and a civil rights agenda
that scared white folks in the seventies. Shelley chisholm Ron
(35:05):
Dellams straight from Oakland, anti war, pro black and not
here to play.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
What future president went from being called too young to lead?
And what age did they enter Congress?
Speaker 2 (35:20):
John F. Kennedy twenty nine, John F.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Kennedy, And you are even younger than John F. Kennedy.
So I cannot wait for the future. Name one congress
what congress woman? One congress One congresswoman voted against the
Iraq War from the jump when no one else vote
when everyone else folded. Barbara Lee, Barbara Lee, big yn
energy right there, that's brave. Which gen Z congressman went
(35:43):
viral for using TikTok and fashion to connect with young voters.
Gen Z, Yeah, j Maxwell Fross, Maxwell Frost from Florida.
He's a great guy. And I was supposed to do
with a shade room panel and I have not heard
anything back, so l ego from the shade room. But Isaiah,
I so greatly appreciate you from coming on. I'll see
(36:05):
you on TikTok Live. Isaiah. I want to come to
Houston campaign for you.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Let's do it, man, do it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
I'll be there, Gonna be great, all right, thank y'all.
What I got from this is that Isaiah Martin really
cares about his hometown of Houston, even saying he shows
grassroots local endorsements over the endorsements of influencers and celebrities
across the country. This guy really cares about Houston, and
he's running for Congress to represent it, even going to
(36:33):
jail for it. Isaiah's not just running for office, He's
running towards the future. And if you weren't paying attention before,
I hope you are now Like share and meet me
back here next Wednesday for another Now you Know episode
where we don't just talk politics, we talk power. Now
(36:55):
you Know and Know Dave Brosso is a production of
iHeartMedia and partnership with Recis and Choice Media.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!