Banking on President Trump’s unpopularity, demographic shifts, and a young energized electorate, progressives all across the country are aiming for November to see a “blue wave” of Democratic victories. Democratic candidates such as Texas house representative and U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’ Rourke have garnered nationwide attention by pushing solid left agendas in traditionally conservative areas. Democrats in North Carolina are positioning to flip the Republican controlled House and Senate blue. Challenging Republican incumbent Jon Hardister for the seat in House District 59 is University of California at Berkeley-educated engineer Steven Buccini.

Buccini was raised in Guilford County and attended Grimsley High School and participated in Boy Scout Troop 101. After graduating in the top five percent of his class, Buccini enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Disturbed by the direction of North Carolina’s politics, Steven returned home to Guilford County to run for House with a campaign focused on investing in education and healthcare, defending local autonomy and bringing jobs to Guilford County.

Buccini says that his background as an engineer gives him knowledge which is usually overlooked in politics.

“When you look at the folks that are actually elected officials, most of them are either farmers, lawyers, from business areas, and we’re not necessarily getting the broad-based representation that we need to bring different areas of expertise into the policymaking,” Buccini said. “I helped fight for Google Fiber to come to Greensboro. My technical background gives me the authority to speak on these issues.”

Buccini believes that technology can be a tool to make governments more transparent and accessible.

“The more technical knowledge that we have in our government with the better our government will be,” Buccini said. “When you have to get a driver’s license or registered to vote, I want that to be as easy as signing up for an account on Instagram or Snapchat.”

As the makeup of the economy changes, many North Carolinians have been left behind. If elected, Buccini promises to enact change which benefits the working class.

“I’m of the belief that if you’re working in an honest job, 40 hours a week, you should be able to put your kids through school, put food on the table, and take your kids to Disney world once a year.” Buccini said.

Buccini believes the North Carolina legislature needs to have a forward-looking approach to solve modern economic problems. One solution he proposes is public broadband.

“Handling a family business and interacting with your government is going to be taking place online,” Buccini said. “And I really think our state needs to commit to a Tennessee Valley Authority-scale project of building out a robust broadband fiber optic Internet network throughout the state. I see rural broadband as a foundation for a 21st century economy. We should be building out fiber optic internet networks to make sure that all North Carolina citizens have equal access to affordable, cheap and reliable internet.”

Buccini says that his childhood experiences in Boy scouts motivates him to defend North Carolina’s natural environment.

“Big businesses are making billions of dollars a year, not being held accountable to clean up their messes while some of our most pristine, natural beauty is under attack from either these environmental disasters or offshore drilling,” Buccini said. “That attack felt personal because camping in those environments and experiencing the great natural beauty of North Carolina means so much to me in such a core part of my identity.”