Hi all -
The debate last week was fantastic. Also fantastic: Closing out primary season with some incredible wins! With the end of primaries comes a chance to reflect on what we’ve accomplished over the last 9 months…
Just last week, Kelsey Coletta won her primary for RI state house, district 42 — she beat an anti-choice anti-LGBTQIA+ Democratic incumbent.
Huldah Hiltsley won her primary for MN state house, district 38A, by less than 75 votes. Huldah is a first-generation immigrant from Kenya and has called Minnesota home for 30 years; her career is in data privacy and data protection. The late US Senator Paul Wellstone was Huldah's inspiration to run for office — when Huldah was a child, her family faced deportation. With less than 48 hours before deportation, Senator Wellstone successfully advocated for their family to have a second chance at the American Dream.
John Inglis won his primary for PA state house, district 38 — winning by just 38 votes, no less, in a three-way very competitive primary! He is running in an open seat after RFS alumni Nick Piscottano stepped down to run for State Senate in PA.
Alfred Montgomery won his race for Sheriff in St. Louis, MO — he beat a 71-year old incumbent by just over 200 votes; the incumbent had threatened Alfred’s life and safety, telling deputies "Hey, if you know somebody that's not on the team, shoot 'em!" and then "we've got lawyers." The incumbent had coerced deputies to support his campaign and has a history of covering up unacceptable conditions in the jail. Alfred now heads to the general, where he is expected to win.
In Wisconsin, Christian Phelps won his primary for state assembly, district 93 — Christian won by just 312 votes in a newly-drawn district. He’ll be the first Democrat to ever hold the seat.
Ysabel Jurado won her jungle primary for Los Angeles City Council against seven other opponents; she’s now up in the general against a controversial opponent with a very public history of anti-Black racism.
Lauren Ashley Simmons beat an anti-LGBTQ+ pro-book ban Democratic incumbent for a seat in the TX state house. The incumbent she beat later switched parties and joined the TX GOP. Hmmm.
In Florida, Liz Barker beat out a Moms for Liberty & Ron DeSantis-aligned incumbent school board member in Sarasota County — a community that is the hub for the ““MAGAMerican Dream.”
Alyshia Dyer won a very competitive primary (by less than 1% of the vote!) for Washtenaw County Sheriff in MI — she beat the current deputy sheriff who was handpicked to be the successor and had a ton of institutional support. Alyshia will be the first woman sheriff in the county; her personal story of growing up as a homeless teenager will directly inform her leadership.
And as we keep an eye on the bench we’re building:
Sarah McBride officially won her primary for Congress in Delaware and will make history next year as the first trans member of Congress.
We’re also keeping an eye on the re-election races for alums U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in TX & Rep. Yadira Caraveo in CO, along with newcomers Yassamin Ansari (AZ), Emily Randall (WA), & Suhas Subramanyam (VA) who won their primaries and are all in likely safe Democratic seats. We’ve also got alum Rhonda Hart in Texas and Rodney Governs in Arkansas fighting long-shot races for Congress, and Lucia Baez-Geller working to flip a hard-but-winnable race in Miami.
In other statewide races: Kyra Harris Bolden is up for re-election to the MI Supreme Court, Malcolm Kenyatta is fighting for the role of PA Auditor, and Kyle Evans Gay is running for LT. Governor of Delaware.
We’re still making a few final endorsements this month — but we expect to have more than 400 candidates on the ballot on November 5th. They’re out there right now, knocking doors, making calls, and building genuine relationships with voters.
If you’re fired up, ready to go, volunteer with a Run for Something candidate. There are both in-person and remote opportunities — it all helps.
And of course, you can help fund our team as we stay on the ground with our community all the way through and beyond Election Day. Every dollar helps.
In other RFS community updates:
RFS alum across the country — including GA Sen. Kim Jackson, WV Del. Kayla Young, TX. Rep. Erin Zwiener, CT candidate Caitlin Clarkson Pereira, GA Sen. Nabilah Islam, and MI Sen. Mallory McMorrow — are leading the charge on fighting for and making the case for why the ability to use campaign funds for child care expenses expands opportunities for leadership. If we want more types of people to be able to run and win, we need structures that support them.
The WSJ has a deep-dive into how Elon Musk spent big to try and take down Travis County DA Jose Garza in Texas — and came up short, per usual.
As we’ve been saying for years: The way to win the big elections is to win the small ones. Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, who helped flipped the board in 2023, just announced that in a shift from previous anti-democracy policies, it will give voters a chance to fix potentially disenfranchising errors.
Relatedly: The Allegheny County Board of Elections is a majority Run for Something alum (shout out Sara Innamorato and Bethany Hallam!) — they’ve just approved a number of measures to make it easy for Pennsylvanians to return their ballots.
It was Democracy Day over the weekend - a moment to remember that election deniers are on the ballot at every level of government, and RFS candidates like Austin Marsman are taking them on.
TX Rep. James Talarico is showing a new model for people of faith in public service.
Another RFS alum has announced their campaign for mayor of NYC! State senator Jessica Ramos has jumped into the race. A great thing about ranked choice voting is (as a New Yorker) I can root for and vote for both her and fellow RFS alum Sen. Zellnor Myrie. Watch her campaign launch video and learn more.
Minneapolis City Councilmembers Aurin Chowdhury, Jason Chavez, and Aisha Chughtai are leading on an Encampment Removal Reporting ordinance to treat homeless with humanity and dignity — they are all RFS alum, and even better, they consulted with other RFS alum Sandy Nurse and Shahana Hanif in NYC.
GA Rep. Saira Draper and other GA Democrats are fighting for a special session in order to consider gun safety legislation — unfortunately more urgent than ever after the school shooting in Georgia earlier this month.
This is a beautiful op-ed from MI Rep. Mai Xiong, describing the power, challenges, and beauty of running for office as a mom, small business owner, refugee, and public servant: “Campaigning across the county for that seat, door-knocking, and attending community events with my kids at my side, proved to be a revelation. The experience connected me more deeply with my neighbors and community. It instilled in me a deep appreciation for the importance of civic engagement and drove home the reality that every vote counts in ensuring our democracy. “
Another compelling personal story: Mountain View City Councilwoman Ellen Kamei shares her experience of visiting the internment camp where her grandparents and father spent time during WWII.
Finally, just wanted to highlight this from
, who is reporting around the clock on young voters. This — a new generation of leadership — is what Run for Something is all about.Thanks for sticking with us. You’re the best.
Amanda
Love, love, love Jessica Ramos's video!! Very powerful! And Mai Xiong's editorial brought tears to my eyes. That's tears of joy, not sadness. Wow! And I agree with hw, incredibly impressive candidates. Yay RFS!!
Incredibly impressive candidates!