Hi all -
I have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow. (That being said: I am cautiously optimistic about the presidential election, hopeful about the Senate, and excited beyond comprehension to track all 525 of our candidates as they flip seats, win longshot races, make history, and change what is possible in American politics.)
And that optimism wouldn’t be possible without you. So before I dig in to a smattering of updates from around the country, I want to say it again and again and again: Thank you.
Because of you, we came within one seat of flipping Virginia in 2017, finished the job in 2019, and now 400k+ Virginians have access to affordable health care, millions can vote early and easily, and there is no question that the once-swingy-purple state is going blue tomorrow.
Because of you, Democrats took back the New York state senate in 2018, brought early voting to the state, and enabled a more accessible democratic (albeit still far from perfect…) process, codified Roe v. Wade in the state constitution, passed the most ambitious state-level climate legislation yet, and more.
Because of you, a longshot candidate named Lina Hidalgo won a come-outta-nowhere race against a GOP incumbent for Harris County Judge in Texas. In the last two years, she’s expanded funding for homelessness initiatives, prepared the county for emergency response, and most relevant to this moment: Expanded access to the polls in the face of egregious GOP voter suppression, allowing for more than 1 million voters to vote early in Harris County alone.
Because of you, school board members in Denver and Minneapolis have gotten police officers out of schools. State and local elected officials in Austin, Berkeley, Oklahoma City, Allegheny County (PA) and more have been working to reimagine public safety and take whatever steps we can to end police violence against Black people. You have helped raise more than $100k for 55 Black candidates running for local office, to ensure our leadership reflects the people we’re trying to serve.
Because of you, we’ve already elected more than 300 young people across 43 states, a majority women and nearly half Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and 23% of whom are LGBTQ. Some of them are already exploring their next step in public service, chewing on runs for governor, state legislature, and Congress.
Because of you, we’ve identified more than 62,000 young people who want to run for office since launching four years ago. Even better: Nearly a third of those folks signed up with us in the last 8 months. This movement is just getting started.
When the pandemic hit, your support allowed us to create resourcesforcampaigns.com, reach more than 2 million people with our summer-long Armchair Chat series, and do thousands of individuals calls, texts, and emails with candidates to help them navigate this crazy campaign environment.
You are why there are 525 endorsed candidates on the ballot across 48 states. You are why we’re going to elect the first Muslim women in Oklahoma and Delaware and Colorado, and the first queer Black woman in Florida, and the first Indigenous women in Iowa and Wisconsin, and the first openly gay men in Tennessee, and the first trans person in Vermont, and make so much more history across the country.
You made all this happen. Your support is what enabled a scrappy, incredible, nimble, joyful team of 16 to work long hours recruiting, supporting, and empowering the future of American politics to begin their careers as public servants NOW, when we need them most.
I cannot say it enough: Thank you for making the best job in politics possible. Thank you for changing our country for the better. No matter what happens this week, I am still hopeful because I know you’re in this fight with us.
Now, on to some other business…
Two programming notes:
The best place to keep an eye on how Run for Something candidates are doing is our Twitter account. We’ll be announcing winners all night long and through the following days, weeks, and months until every vote is counted. I’ll also be emailing this list again this week with some updates, and then go back to regular Monday emails next week.
If you need something to listen to tomorrow, a new episode of Run for Something (the podcast) drops bright & early. Ross and I talked about how we’re feeling, how we’re coping, what the the Democratic Party needs to do next (no matter what happens), and where Run for Something goes from here. Get it wherever you get your podcasts.
There are so many good stories about our candidates this week — it was hard to pick out the best of the best. That being said, just a few that might make you feel better to read than just refreshing FiveThirtyEight all day…
This headline got me: Godfrey Santos Plata Wants to Stand Up To Your Landlord. Godfrey could be the only renter in the CA state assembly! Wild!
Being endorsed by @runforsomething has opened up some amazing doors for first-time candidates like me: for volunteers, for donors, & even for confidence! It‘s been quite the journey to go from an organizer & educator to running for office, & their coaches have been SO helpful. 🙏🏽CA: @GodfreyPlata is an educator & organizer running for state assembly in Los Angeles. If he wins, he'll be the first openly LGBTQ immigrant in the legislature. He'll also be the only renter in the assembly. HUGE. https://t.co/W8cXFLBgdpAmanda Litman @amandalitmanNithya Raman is in Vogue, explaining how she’s going to solve LA’s homelessness crisis.
Ricky Hurtado could be the first Latino in the NC state house — he’s breaking down barriers AND could help flip the chamber blue.
Kelly Krout is a graduate student, a mom of 7 boys (!), a children’s book author, and a candidate for Arkansas state house. She’s also a TikTok star. She explains why she ran: “I looked around and saw everyone announcing their run for office in my area, and there were no Democrats. That’s when I thought, ‘Well, shoot. That’s a wide-open door. I’ll just keep going until someone tells me to stop.”
When Mallory McMorrow decided to run for MI state senate in 2018, she was told, “that’s cute, you’re going to get destroyed.” She won, kept organizing, and kept fighting — her district is one of many that are key to why Michigan seems likely to go blue tomorrow.
Gabriella Cázares-Kelly is likely to be Pima County’s first Indigenous woman elected to office when she wins her race for county recorder — she ran because her tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation, was being ignored by the office, which runs voter registration and election administration. Critical!
Obligatory pre-Election Day note: If you haven’t already voted, confirm your polling place for tomorrow at IWillVote.com. Make sure to vote the whole ballot. Wear a mask. Treat yourself afterwards. It’s going to be a long night, a long week, and a long winter. But we WILL have things to celebrate, so get excited!
Thank you again. There are a lot of things about 2020 that 2016-me would have found unimaginable — being 90% excited (and only 10% nauseated) about Election Day is absolutely one of them, and that’s because of this team and our candidates.
One more sleep left. Let’s go!
- Amanda
P.S. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention: We still have a $110k gap in our 2020 budget. Whatever you can do makes a difference for our work going into 2021 and beyond.