Accountability. Affordability.
And who shows up.

Editor’s note: This transcript was generated from the recorded captions and lightly formatted for readability. Minor transcription errors may remain.

Tamika L. Porter — 00:00
Hello, Charlotte. I am Tamika L. Porter the owner of Porter Financial Services a local business here in Charlotte providing fractional CFO and controller work for small business owners I do care about my community so today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing LaKesha Womack a Democratic candidate for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District seat LaKesha thank you so much for the opportunity to interview you and for being here today I am so excited for the viewers to get to know you understand why you are running and to really tap into those issues that the fourteenth district voters care about so let’s get started yes and?

LaKesha Womack — 00:41
Thank you so much for wanting to do this because I think it’s important for voters to hear from business owners about some of the issues that are important to them very true.

Tamika L. Porter — 00:50
Alright let’s get started okay so for number one question the first question I have for you for voters who are just getting to know you who is LaKesha Womack and why have you decided to run for Congress?

LaKesha Womack — 01:04
Wow so that’s a very long story but I’ll give you the short answer so I am LaKesha Womack the Democratic nominee for the 14th Congressional District and I moved to Charlotte in 2016 to work for Hillary’s campaign and my goal at the time was to go back to Alabama which is where I’m originally from and run for a congressional seat in 2018 but when Trump got elected like I just knew that there was gonna be chaos in D.C. and didn’t really wanna be a part of it at that time so I brought my son to Charlotte and for the past ten years we’ve been building a life here and getting involved in the community well around 2024 when I saw the tide shifting I realized that it was time to get back into the game and so I started watching you know local elections and national elections to see you know is the country ready for a change and just seeing how you know democrats were flipping so many seats in special elections and municipal elections in ’25 then I felt like you know this would be a good time to run so I’m very passionate about my community I’m an ordained minister I’ve been involved in the community for you know almost thirty years so even before I moved to Charlotte every city that I’ve lived in I’ve been connected to that community and I’m a business owner so I understand issues on a much different level than a lot of career politicians and that’s one of the reasons that I want to go to D.C. to provide some common sense solutions to a lot of the problems that we’re facing excellent.

Tamika L. Porter — 02:27
Response okay next question what do you believe qualifies you to represent North Carolina’s 14th district?

LaKesha Womack — 02:36
Well I’ll say the biggest thing that qualifies me is I’m not corrupt right so I think that you know right now you know people are having you know to choose between you know leaders who are more interested in their self and interested in making sure that them and like their networks are taken care of versus leaders who are really interested in making sure that the community is taken care of and everywhere that I go I’m hearing stories from people about how they’re having to choose between health care and you know being able to pay for groceries how you know the cost of gas is impacting you know their ability to get to work and it’s just so many issues that I think a lot of career politicians are not concerned about that really resonate with me and that I wanna go to D.C. and have some impact on solving.

Tamika L. Porter — 03:18
I love that absolutely okay so as you have traveled and talked to people in the 14th district what are you hearing are the biggest concerns today?

LaKesha Womack — 03:28
Yes so I put those concerns in two buckets accountability and affordability I think that there are so many people that are fed up with the constant chaos that they see in Washington and it would be different if these were like volunteer servants that are creating all this chaos but our tax dollars are paying for congressional representatives for senators for even the president to just go in and almost bankrupt this country we have a 40,000,000,000,000 deficit and even if you’re a fiscal conservative there’s no way that you can be comfortable knowing that our deficit is rising almost every day and you think about the amount of interest that we’re gonna have to pay on that deficit so you know that’s one thing that you know people are all over the spectrum are concerned about but then on the other hand is affordability so a lot of people are concerned about the rising cost of healthcare they’re concerned about the rising cost of groceries as well as our food supply being tainted so it’s almost like you have to check the FDA website before you go grocery shopping to see you know what can you buy anymore I have a lot of rural counties in my area and they’re concerned about you know their natural resources you know water data centers coming in people are concerned about the flock cameras that are popping up in their neighborhood you know almost every day there’s a new issue and I’m just like oh my goodness like what next but I guarantee you this administration finds a way to create a new problem every single day and so people want to send someone to D.C. who’s more focused on solving problems than creating new problems absolutely.

Tamika L. Porter — 04:56
Okay so that’s a great segue to our next question the cost of living continues to be a concern for families everywhere right what specifically would you advocate for in Congress to address housing groceries healthcare and other everyday expenses?

LaKesha Womack — 05:13
I want to start with healthcare so I think one a Medicare for All program is definitely something that this country needs I think yale did a study that showed that we would save a trillion dollars by moving to a Medicare for All system that’s more of a long term strategy even if we pass the legislation in January it would take time to make that transition so making sure that we renew the ACA subsidy so that people can have some coverage while we’re making that transition as far as like housing making sure that we have more down payment assistance programs I just bought a house and I won’t even tell you all how much money I had to put down for my house because I didn’t qualify for any of those down payment assistance programs so making sure that working families can qualify to own a home because for decades that has been the pathway to generational wealth because that’s something that I’ll be able to pass down to my son and hopefully other families will be able to buy and pass down you know in their generations as far as groceries and gas I do think that we need to look at how can we possibly provide some tax credits for people on their income taxes next year for some of the money that they’ve had to pay out because of this senseless war that no one asked for that has caused our prices to rise as well as to supplement some of the tariff refunds that corporations have received but consumers did not get the benefit of so I think there are a lot of things that we can do and so that’s why I need everybody to not only vote in the 14th Congressional District but tell your family tell your friends no matter where they live in the country that they need to elect progressive candidates who want to go to D.C. and solve problems so that we will have enough votes that we can pass this legislation and give some relief to American voters so.

Tamika L. Porter — 06:50
This is a great segue to our next question tell us what is North Carolina’s 14th district for people who don’t even know yeah what counties make up that particular district yeah so the 14th?

LaKesha Womack — 07:02
Congressional district is what a lot of people consider a gerrymandered district when I was thinking about running I really didn’t like the term gerrymandered because in a lot of people’s minds that means that we can’t win and so I like to say that it’s a very diverse district so it covers Burke Cleveland Gaston parts of Polk county Rutherford and then I have parts of Mecklenburg so I have Davidson Cornelius Huntersville still creek Pineville and Ballantyne and the reason that I like to call it diverse is because I have farmland I have urban areas I have suburban areas it encompasses a little bit of everybody and I love that because it demonstrates that if we can come together on you know what are our common values what are some common solutions that we all support then that can be a road map for the country to see that just because we live in different areas and in different zip codes it doesn’t mean that our interests are that divided.

Tamika L. Porter — 07:53
I love it okay let’s move on to the next question economic development right mhmm so economic development can look very different depending on the community mhmm how would you make sure federal investment and economic opportunities reach communities throughout the district and not just the areas already experiencing growth?

LaKesha Womack — 08:16
Yeah and you know I think our rural counties will really appreciate that question because for a lot of them you know they see dollars going to Charlotte or they see dollars going through you know their areas when there’s a natural disaster but they have needs that extend beyond you know just those opportunities so making sure that they’re staying in contact with me in my office so that you know if there are opportunities that they’re being made aware of those opportunities one of the policies that I would really advocate for are more after school programs like I think that it is insane that parents are expected to work until five or 06:00 but kids are getting out of school between like one and 03:00 and then you know there’s nowhere for kids to go if their parents don’t have access to after school programs so making sure that we’re providing you know community grants where organizations that are already providing those after school programs are getting supplemental funding so that kids can learn artistic skills they can learn cooking they can learn financial literacy because everybody doesn’t want to play sports or be in the band so what are we doing to enrich the lives of young people during that you know one to 04:00 one to 05:00 period when their parents are still at work another area that I think is critically needing of funding is you know making sure that our seniors have like transportation to their doctor’s appointments that’s a program that you know this administration has cut but we really need to make sure that that funding gets back especially in those rural areas where you know there’s a larger distance that they have to travel to get to their doctor’s appointments so you know just making sure that not only is the funding there but that I’m also present in the community to let them know how they can access those funding programs and you know what would be helpful for some of the challenges that they’re facing.

Tamika L. Porter — 09:53
Yes I love that absolutely so I think you might have touched on this but I would like to have the viewers have an opportunity to hear your response on this next question what is your position on public education and what role or role sorry about that what role do you believe the federal government should play in supporting our students teachers and schools yeah so you know I’m the product of?

LaKesha Womack — 10:18
Public schools when I lived in Alabama so I’m originally from Evergreen Alabama which is a very small rural town in southern Alabama and you know I started my k through 10 education there but then I went to the public boarding school the Alabama school of math and science and we actually have a North Carolina school of math and science here and those are public schools and they for me demonstrate what happens when we fully fund education and so I feel very privileged that I was able to have that opportunity but just thinking about like how many school systems do not have that level of funding so that they can adequately educate our students and so I am definitely a supporter of fully funding our schools not only you know making sure that teachers have you know the resources that they need but also that students have the resources that they need so a lot of this falls under like state guidelines because it’s the state legislature that passes the budget for education but whatever assistance like I can provide from a federal level even if it’s just you know talking about it and making sure that people are aware that it’s an issue I would definitely be a champion for that but then also making sure that our county commissioners are doing their part again in a lot of our rural areas where we have we’ll just say we have leadership that does not believe in allocating the proper funding for education we really have to put some pressure on them to let them know how important education is because for a lot of communities it is the pathway for upward mobility when kids are able to get an education then they are more likely to seek out a trade or go to community college or you know go to a four year college but they need that foundational education in order to take the next step in life and so we have to make sure that all kids no matter what ZIP code they live in are able to get a sound education.

Tamika L. Porter — 12:02
Absolutely okay okay this is a really really good question I love this one if elected what would be your top three legislative priorities during your first term?

LaKesha Womack — 12:15
Yeah so I think definitely supporting like the healthcare initiative moving toward Medicare for All renewing like those ACA subsidies I think that that’s important I think that one of the other things that the one hundred and twentieth Congress is probably going to spend a lot of time on are like oversight hearings and so I think that it is important that we hold this current administration accountable for a lot of the unconstitutional acts that they are committing right now we have a rogue mass militia that is roaming this country and terrorizing our citizens and so one I want to give ICE an opportunity to correct their mission and to unmask themselves if they’re going to be out working in the name of American citizens then we need to know who they are they need to show you know badges like they need to go through background checks like I think there was a study that showed that you know there’s a great percentage of them that you know have violent past or you know sexual misconduct in their past and it’s like you know how can you be an agent of our country if you’re not even abiding by those laws so making sure that you know we’re bringing ICE under control so that our immigrant communities are not living in fear and then I think you know this whole surveillance issue is a huge problem as well looking at flock cameras and making sure that when people use AI that they own their data there’s just so many issues again that I feel like will dominate our attention in beginning in January but the next Congress is gonna have to be able to walk and chew gum like they’re gonna be competing interests but making sure that this country is safer for the American citizens is always gonna be my top priority.

Tamika L. Porter — 13:54
Safety first okay Washington has become extremely divided right how would you work with people who may not share your political views and I’m sure you you know may experience some of that while still remaining accountable to your voters yeah so you know one of the?

LaKesha Womack — 14:11
Things that I’ve told my district is you know as even though I’m running as a Democratic nominee when I get to Washington I’m not looking at legislation from a red or blue lens I’m looking at legislation from the lens of does it help working families and so it doesn’t matter if it’s legislation that a Republican proposes or a democrat proposes if it helps working families then I’m gonna support it but if it doesn’t help working families then I’m not gonna support it and again it doesn’t matter which party proposes the legislation and I think that’s one of the ways that we’ve kinda gotten trapped in this you know partisan debate over you know well is it democrat or is it Republican but we should be asking is does it help working families does it make our lives better does it make our communities safer and when we look at it through that lens then I think it’s easier to generate more bipartisan support for good legislation.

Tamika L. Porter — 15:01
Okay what separates you from your opponent in this race and why should someone who is still undecided vote for you?

LaKesha Womack — 15:12
Yeah so I’ll say I don’t think that there should be very many people who are undecided if they really look at me and Tim Moore and you know I think that for a lot of people in this district Tim Moore is delivering for them Tim Moore is exactly who they need to represent them but I feel like there are many more people who don’t feel like he’s delivering for them and so I think that people need to look at both of our platforms like he doesn’t support Medicare for All and I do he thinks that you know the war in Iran is necessary because for whatever reason they believe that Iran was about to have a nuclear weapon even though we you know somehow like demolished like their ability to have a nuclear weapon the year before so I don’t know like how they magically like got those abilities I don’t think that we should continue financing the war in Iran I feel like we need to find an off ramp that involves diplomacy and reopening the Strait of Hormuz even though we know that it’s gonna be at least a year before gas and oil prices come down and so I think you know when people you know compare our positions side by side which is what I encourage everybody to do like don’t just take my word for it but you know go to our websites like reach out to us a lot of people say like they’ve reached out to his office and he doesn’t respond if you reach out to me I respond directly to you and so for most people it’s you know what kind of representative do you want do you want someone who’s gonna go to D.C. and fight for you or do you want someone who’s gonna go to D.C. and rubber stamp everything that Trump wants to do absolutely so this is a great segue to.

Tamika L. Porter — 16:43
My next question the everyday person feels that when politicians are voted in they disappear and they’re not as accessible as you just mentioned in regards to Tim Moore what would be your plan after electing?

LaKesha Womack — 16:57
Yeah so you know one idea that I would love to implement would be to make sure that whoever staffs my congressional office within the district is not just sitting behind a desk forty hours a week but that they’re actually attending like community meetings like you shouldn’t have to come to D.C. to lobby me for you know interest you shouldn’t have to go to the office to tell them you know what’s an issue like that person I plan to have them in the community attending events and listening to what are the people saying like what are the people concerned about and so that way when I come back that I am more versed on what’s happening in the district and then a lot of people like to think that Congress people only work so many days per year because those are the only days that they’re in Washington and for me like the days that I’m not in Washington are days that I should be back in the district and attending those events myself and continue to be a part of the community so a lot of people you know they kind of like look at my social media and they’re like oh she doesn’t have like a thousand people liking her comments or you know she can’t fill up a room like I’ve actually heard people say that but what they don’t realize is like I attend a lot of community events where I’m not the main character I’m not the one who’s speaking I’m not the one who’s on stage but I’m sitting in the audience and I’m listening and I’m building community that way and I think that that’s what a representative should be it shouldn’t be someone who only shows up when they’re gonna be on stage but someone who truly wants to be a part of the community and that’s why you know I feel like we’re gonna do so well in November because a lot of people know that I show up.

Tamika L. Porter — 18:28
You do that you do okay it is election day right yeah in November yes and someone is standing in that voting booth trying to decide yeah should I vote for LaKesha or tim you have sixty seconds what do you want the voter to know?

LaKesha Womack — 18:45
Yes would say if you’re standing in the booth and you’re trying to make a decision again ask yourself what’s important to me and who do I believe will fight for me someone asked me how secure do I think Social Security is and I told them Social Security is only as secure as the person you vote to represent you when you think about health care think about food security all of those things are only as secure as the person that you vote to elect you and so you just have to ask yourself who do I trust is gonna go to Washington and is gonna fight for me and my interest and who do I think is gonna go to Washington and keep things the way that they are and possibly continuing to get worse for us.

Tamika L. Porter — 19:23
Absolutely okay I have a few personal questions because I you are a am a human and wish I was a robot some days but you know I’m a human and we know even as an entrepreneur we’re expected to be teflon we’re expected to be tough and mechanical right however we’re humans okay what has this campaign taught you about yourself?

LaKesha Womack — 19:43
Wow that is a great question and I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past how many months ten months that we’ve been doing this eleven months I think ten or eleven months I’ve learned a lot about myself but I would think the most important thing is that I care way more than I probably thought that I did about the issues like I can’t you know share with you like the number of times that I’ve driven home like almost in tears just from some of the stories that I’ve heard people share about what this economy is doing to them or how it’s impacting their family and so for me like this isn’t just about running a race or just about campaigning but it truly is like how do you find solutions for people who sometimes they just don’t even believe that the system is capable of changing and making things different for them and that really bothers me like a lot more than I think people would like to believe because at the end of the day I truly want my life legacy to be that I made a difference that you know I helped somebody that I changed you know the circumstance of a community and so I think like I’m a little softer than I thought that I was before this and that’s probably gonna surprise some people who know me they’ll be like what like she’s soft now like.

Tamika L. Porter — 21:05
So this is a really big one right especially in today’s economy what role does faith play in your leadership and decision making?

LaKesha Womack — 21:13
Yeah so I’m an ordained minister in the AME Zion denomination and one lady I was at an event and she was older probably in her seventies eighties and she said one of the things that she really enjoys about my campaign is how openly I talk about my faith because the white Christian nationalist movement has almost made it hard for people to talk about their faith without sounding like you know one of these people who have totally distorted the teachings of Jesus but I’ll say that you know I truly believe and work for the things that I preach about like I believe in you know feeding the hungry I believe in making sure that the oppressed are set free I believe in making sure that you know people are unhoused that we should provide them shelter not just go under the bridge and take them a goody bag like I truly believe the things that I preach about but I also believe that everyone should have the freedom to practice whatever faith they choose so if you’re a Muslim if you’re a Hindu whatever your belief is like you should have the freedom to practice that religion but for me I am grounded and guided by my faith.

Tamika L. Porter — 22:20
Well said I have one more question and I think this one is really important running for Congress has to be very daunting on both your personal and professional life tell us about that?

LaKesha Womack — 22:32
Yeah so you know one of the things that you know you go back to the question you asked what have I learned about myself and almost every day when I wake up I say you can do hard things because every day brings new challenges and to your point a lot of people don’t realize like the personal sacrifice that you make like you know some days like I wish I was a better friend I wish I was a better mother I wish that I was a better daughter because like I don’t check-in with my parents as much as I did at one time and they’re just like oh we don’t want to bother you and you know and I don’t ever want people to feel like you know just them being a part of my life like it’s bothering me and so I think that that’s the hardest part is like wanting to show up for everybody so you not only have the 700,000 people in your congressional district that you’re trying to show up for but you know also trying to make sure that I’m present for my son that I’m present for my parents and you know my friends it’s like they’re going through life’s issues don’t want to miss those moments just because I’m campaigning and I think that sometimes when people send you messages about all the things that you should be doing and where you’re not showing up they don’t realize the cost of you actually showing up and a lot of candidates choose not to show up because it is hard to be present and to do those things and you know I’ve made a different choice but every day like I just have to look at my calendar and you know find like that balance between like my personal life my professional life and the campaign.

Tamika L. Porter — 23:59
Very well said last question when all of the titles campaigning and politics are stripped away mhmm what do you want the everyday person to remember about LaKesha Womack?

LaKesha Womack — 24:11
Yeah just to know that I’m a real person who cares like know I’m not one of those people who you know gets caught up in titles and so a lot of times when people read my bio or they google me they’re like oh my god like you’ve done like all these things and it’s like yeah but when I walk in a room like I don’t lead with like my title and like this is who I am but you know just that I want to show up and be able to sit next to someone and for them to feel comfortable sharing their struggles sharing their hopes sharing their challenges sharing you know the crazy idea that they have to fix this government like I want people to have that level of comfort with me that you know we can just have a conversation and it’s not about you know oh she’s you know this person or she’s done this thing but that she’s someone who truly cares about our community and wants to help.

Tamika L. Porter — 24:57
Well said well Carolina and District 14 you have heard it all from the woman herself LaKesha Womack please go out and vote vote vote election day is November 3 we are expecting to see you guys out there this is a very important election please do your part thank you so much for your time.