“I started to just really observe the politics of policymaking really closely,” said Harper of her time in the federal government. Among other roles, she served as a senior advisor at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer protection agency created by President Barack Obama. During this time, Harper saw the rise of obstructionist political movements, like the Tea Party, and realized that “policy wasn’t going to be enough.” She decided to run for office once she realized that “We don’t have a policy problem, we have a politician problem.” Harper now believes that “until we start to have leadership that is really aggressively fighting back against some of these currents that are at work in Washington funded by special interests, we aren’t going to be able to get the outcomes and resources we need at the community level in places in Ohio and all over the country.”

For Harper, Joe Biden losing to Donald Trump in Ohio in 2020 was “a real wake-up call” to the Democratic Party and a sin that “it’s going to take a less traditional type of candidate to really mobilize the type of turnout that we need to win.” Morgan — a progressive, Black woman born into foster care and adopted by a public school teacher — definitely qualifies as a less traditional candidate in Ohio. But she sees this as a strength. Harper believes she is the right candidate “to get historic levels of turnout in Ohio from the Black community, young people, women [and] independents.”

While appealing to such largely Democratic constituencies, Harper believes her policies are beneficial and appealing to people across Ohio. Pointing toward her support for universal healthcare, “including mental healthcare, including access to addiction recovery services,” Harper puts effectiveness above labels. “Progressive, left, whatever, it’s necessary,” she argues. She points toward the example of universal access to COVID vaccines as a model for how healthcare should operate in general. “Why would we have a different approach to cancer or other health issues,” Harper asks.

Like her healthcare stance, Harper believes her progressive stances on other issues also have broad appeal across Ohio. Access to debt-free education is important to Harper, who wants to provide options that make sense for everyone. Under her plan, a variety of educational options – four-year colleges, trade programs or community colleges — would be available to Ohioans. Harper also wants to make sure that none of these options lead to lingering education debt. Student debt, she argues, “this not just a young people issue.” Rather, student debt impacts “people who are in their 40s, people who are in their 50s, grandparents who have guaranteed some of this debt for their children,” and more. “This is an American issue and we should be doing something at the federal level: cancel the debt,” Harper declares.

Harper’s path to the Senate means making it to the general election in November. With her particular life story and brand of making progressive policies work for everyone, Harper thinks that she is a better candidate than her Democratic opponent, Rep. Tim Ryan. “I believe that given my professional experience, my lived experience, I’m in the best position to mobilize that turnout,” Harper states. “Tim Ryan can’t put together the coalition necessary to win.”

Looking ahead to November’s general election, Harper recently debated against Republican Josh Mandel, one of several candidates looking to be the Republican nominee for the Ohio senate seat. Clips from the debate went viral, showing Mandel arguing with audience members and the moderator, as well as aiming multiple racist and sexist personal attacks at Harper. “He had the audacity to throw the angry Black woman trope at me twelve times,” Harper recalled. Whether the Republican candidate ends up being Mandel or another one of the GOP contenders — all “mini-Trumps,” according to Harper — she argues that it won’t be enough to demonstrate that they are awful. To win, Democrats need to nominate a candidate who “gives people a vision that makes it worth their while to actually show up to vote.” Even if she wins, Harper has promised that she is not a career politician and has pledged to serve no more than two terms — twelve years — in the Senate. “Twelve years is a lot of time to get something done. I feel a tremendous amount of urgency to have as much impact as possible while I’m in a position to serve.”

Harper will continue to express her vision to Ohio voters between now and the Democratic Primary held on Tuesday, May 3. The winner of that contest will face off against the eventual Republican nominee in the general election on Tuesday, November 8.