Feel-good update: Some bright spots!

While D.C. continues to be a (literal & figurative) hot mess, find the joy in state legislatures & city halls.

While D.C. continues to be a (literal & figurative) hot mess, our alumni & candidates in state capitols and city halls across the country are giving me hope things can one day be better.

First up: last week during a special session, VA Republicans refused to take a vote on a single measure to reduce gun violence in the Commonwealth. In response, Delegate Chris Hurst took to the floor in an incredible speech. Gun violence is personal for Chris — his girlfriend, Alison Parker, was shot and killed on live TV while working as an on-air reporter. You have to watch his remarks (and you have to do what you can to help Democrats win the VA legislature this fall.)

He’s not the only one in the fight for safety: Anna Eskamani was devastated by the Pulse nightclub shooting in her district in Orlando — she took that anger and used it to run for office. Meet the 29-year-old politician taking on the NRA in Florida.

Elsewhere in the south: Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. fulfilled one of his campaign promises last week when he began the process of creating a citizen review board for the city’s policy department.

Rep. Alice Mann in Minnesota — a physician herself — sponsored a new bill to increase transparency on drug prices by regulating pharmacy middlemen.

In Texas, state Rep. John Bucy III (who, FYI, flipped a seat red-to-blue in 2018!) held a town hall to discuss what they did and didn’t get done during the legislative session. In particular, he was proud of increasing public funding for the school system — and furious about the failure to pass Medicaid expansion.

Meet some of the millennial Democrats shaking up state legislative races in Mississippi — including our very own Colton Thornton.

Finally, it’s not a complete Monday email if I don’t include a reminder that the Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering “increases the focus on often-ignored state legislative elections, where the GOP has recently dominated.”

Thanks for making all this possible. We couldn’t do any of this without your support.