Feel-good update: 17 lil’ beacons of hope
We had 23 candidates in contested elections last week — 17 of them either won outright, are moving on to the runoff, or on to the general.
First: Election updates!! We had 23 candidates in contested elections last week — 17 of them either won outright, are moving on to the runoff, or are moving on to general elections out of contested primaries.
My favorite part: These were races in Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, and Ohio. Red/purple states are being nudged towards progressivism from the ground up.
Look at all those winners!!
For example…
— In Indiana, two RFS candidates — Barry Tyler Jr. and Katrina Alexander — took out two of the Hammond Common Council’s longest serving incumbents.
— Remember Tai Adkins and Ali Brown, from this amazing MSNBC segment on women running? Both made it out of their competitive primaries.
— James Bower flipped a seat red to blue on the Lincoln City Council in Nebraska.
This is what progress looks like.
In other updates…
- After an 11 year old boy took his own life last month, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta introduced a bill in Pennsylvania to increase the number of mental health professionals in schools.
- Colin Bird Martinez may have lost his race for Chicago alderperson but he’s not done fighting. Last week, he launched a new organization to raise the voices of vulnerable people.
- Sheriff Dave Hutchinson in Hennepin County,MN, is tackling the opioid crisis. Don’t give him the credit — he doesn’t want it: “We don’t want accolades, we want to save people’s lives.”
- Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt is promising to filibuster an anti-abortion bill making its way thru the state legislature that is based on some truly questionable science.
- Maryland Del. Lesley Lopez joined Rep. Lucy McBath and others for a town hall on gun violence — Del. Lopez chaired the working group on gun legislation this past session.
In related reading: “The Democrats are rapidly becoming the party of the young — and the consequences could be profound.”
Finally: The last week was, per usual, a shitty one for women. It can at times seem a bit hopeless. But my ever-the-optimist hope is that the horrific anti-choice (and anti-science/anti-reality) laws inspire women to step up and run in states like Georgia and Alabama — and inspire more folks to invest in recruiting candidates for these down-ballot races. After all, in 2018, 60% of GA state house races went uncontested. Yes, they’re gerrymandered into oblivion, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try — we have to hold these monsters accountable.
Let’s get to work. Thanks for being part of this.