Pathways to Politics Knowledge Hub

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Program alum   Campaigning  

Running for the Senate

Photos of Susan Benedyka and Karen Kim smiling in front of a historic building

A conversation with Susan Benedyka and Karen Kim

In this exclusive Pathways to Politics video we hear from Australian Senate candidates Susan Benedyka and Karen Kim.

Find out about their experiences of running in the 2022 federal election, what they wish they’d known before they ran, and their tips for future Senate candidates.

Susan Benedyka ran as an independent Senate candidate for Victoria. Karen Kim ran for Senate with the Australian Federation Party. Both are alum of the 2021 Pathways to Politics Program for Women.

We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians whose lands we recorded this video on – the Bpangerang people, and the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Related Alums

Photo of Karen Kim, a woman of Asian appearance with long black hair, wearing a white blazer, standing in front of a Victorian stone building
2021 Alum (Victoria)

Karen Kim

Karen Kim is the founder and director of Hello Music Studios and Hello Music World, and is president of KOWINVIC, an international network of women leaders of Korean descent. Karen ran as a Senate candidate for Victoria with the Australian Federation Party in the 2022 Federal election.

Photo of Susan Benedyka, a white woman with short blonde hair, wearing glasses and a pale yellow blazer, standing in front of a Victorian stone building
2021 Alum (Victoria)

Susan Benedyka

Susan Benedyka is a founding member of Voices of Indi, the grassroots movement that helped launch the political career of Independent MP Cathy McGowan in 2013. Susan ran as an Independent Senate candidate for Victoria in the 2022 Federal election.

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