Independent lawmakers run grassroots campaigns for re-election (VIDEO)

Lawmakers Sergii Leshchenko and Svitlana Zalishchuk are members of the Euro-Optimists, a group of young and reform-oriented lawmakers in the Ukrainian parliament.

Many expected the Euro-Optimists to go official and start a new progressive party. But that never happened. Now that their term is coming to an end, Zalishchuk and Leshchenko are fighting for re-election on July 21.

They’re doing it the hard way: running as independent candidates in single-member districts. But in an election dominated by big party brands, the odds are against them.

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