Photo by Shino Nakamura on Unsplash.

In his latest podcast, former presidential candidate and Forward Party Co-Founder Andrew Yang sat down with Shelane Etchison, a Special Forces veteran running for Congress in North Carolina.

Etchison, who is also a Harvard graduate, is running in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. She served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and draws from her experience on the battlefield.

Yang and Etchinson discuss her journey from military service to the political arena, as well as the power of independent-minded voters and the need for stronger, more principled leadership. 

Her candidacy is historic as she is the first independent candidate to make the general election ballot in a congressional race in North Carolina. 

"It is difficult challenging an incumbent," said Etchinson, "but I have gotten very positive praise from people throughout the district whether they are Republican, Democrat, unaffiliated, or whatnot about having a new, refreshing choice."

Etchinson says it is near impossible for a Democrat to win in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District due to how the district has been drawn -- and the current Democratic candidate is barely running a campaign at this point.

"It's just unfortunate that this is how things are manipulated," she said. "I would love to see a competitive district where there are bona fide candidates from each party and people can have their choice."

One of the biggest issues Etchinson is focused on is election reform, including her support for ranked choice voting and independent redistricting. She says that if incumbents are not doing their job, they need to be fired, but they are protected by a system that has been manipulated to keep them in power. 

Her candidacy offers something new from what the two-party system gives voters. Check out the full conversation between Yang and Etchinson above.