If you’ve been longing to see a motley crew of local political candidates compete in a balls-to-the-wall, chaotic talent show, you just missed your chance.

Every year, the Washington Bus, a state-level youth-led advocacy org, hosts “Candidate Survivor”: a high-octane and very campy political forum designed to inform young voters in the area, but also entertain them. Last year’s competition saw Katie Wilson play the harmonica and strum a guitar at the same time, while Alexis Mercedes Rinck covered Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” on the flute.

This year’s convening took place last Thursday at Neumos; it didn’t get as woodwind-y as it did in 2025, but it was certainly spicy. Sometimes literally so, such as when state senate candidate Tatiana Brown ate ghost peppers and other tongue-numbing foodstuffs on stage. Other times figuratively so, such as when candidates were asked to guess what constituents thought of now-Mayor Katie Wilson during a Family Feud-style section of the program. (Respondents’ descriptors were not universally flattering.)

CHUM News was the night’s media partner. As hosts of “Hot Seat,” we asked participants hard questions about their political platforms. Candidates expanded on how they’d tackle timely issues like progressive taxation, housing, public safety, and AI regulation. 

Among others:

• City council candidate Nilu Jenks pitched herself as the “public safety” candidate, highlighting her work experience as a community advocate who’s coordinated large-scale gun buyback programs. Among other methodologies, she favors investigative law-enforcement work over surveillance systems and post-hoc policing; 

• One of her opponents, Silas James, made a case for guaranteed basic income (GBI) — public payouts to residents below a specified household income — and shared some creative ways to get it funded. That included converting the utility discount program the county already offers into a guaranteed payment for those most in need, while further raising funds by increasing the price of utilities for the highest-consuming rate payers;

• And state senate candidate Hannah Sabio-Howell encouraged voters to cast a ballot in her favor — effectively dethroning State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, a seasoned incumbent — by framing her platform and potential presence in Olympia as more closely aligned with the political beliefs of her progressive legislative district.

For our latest edition of “Sketchy Stuff,” Seattle-based artist Karima Baza documented Candidate Survivor in all its chaotic splendor. (As one Washington Bus staffer put it, it’s “Seattle’s most embarrassing political forum.”) Scroll at your leisure to see Nilu Jenks cover “Zombie” by The Cranberries; state house candidate Jaelynn Scott rock some pom poms; drag-queen host Harper Bizarre grace the stage alongside the CHUM team; and other courtside sketches.