RFS Feel Good Update (11/2): The Pre-Election Edition

Hi there!

Johanna, here. We are 3 days away from one of the most important, and potentially history-making, elections in our country. We have a real opportunity to elect the first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to the Presidency of the United States and, along with her, hundreds of incredible candidates down ballot that will usher in a new era of American politics.

As you may know, I stepped into the role of Executive Director at RFS a couple of months back. With our President, Amanda, on parental leave (check out the newest RFS team member here!), I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to share some of the exciting work we’re doing as we sprint across the finish line of the 2024 cycle.

To say I’ve been blown away by the team here at RFS would be an understatement. With over 1,222 candidate support interactions this year, our States team has crisscrossed the country to meet with our candidates for coffee, give tactical advice and knock doors alongside them, or even take phone calls to coach them through running while pregnant or how to navigate online trolls. No other organization is helping state and local candidates at this scale with this level of detail. The results speak for themselves. 

This year RFS is thrilled to have a whopping 444 candidates appear on ballots this November that look like and have similar experiences to most Americans.

Of our 444 candidates:

• 243 are women (55%)

• 134 are queer (30%)

• 13 are nonbinary (3%)

• 222 are Candidates of Color (50%)

More than that, 

•  234 come from a low-income background

• 122 have an immigrant background

• 106 are parents or caregivers to children under 18

• 81 identify as having a disability

• 65 are Gen Z

• 19 are veterans

And while these stats are impressive, they translate into real stories of phenomenal candidates who are going to change their communities. Here is a list of just a few of RFS groundbreakers:

• Luis Mata, TN-HD49: Luis became a U.S. citizen last November. When elected, he would be the first Latino State Rep elected in Tennessee, and the first formerly undocumented person, a Dreamer, elected to the Tennessee State House.

• Alicia Buchanan, WI-AD02, is a U.S. Army Vet, former Republican, and a survivor of domestic violence. This working-class mom has made hard choices like leaving college to provide for her family, by taking on night shifts at WalMart, and delivering for FedEx. With a goal of shifting her service from the military to the Wisconsin Assembly, Alicia is dedicated to ensuring freedoms for women, the LGBTQIA+ community, farmers, and veterans.

• Ayana Buchanan, Mayor of Amite, LA: At just 25 years old, Ayana is poised to make history as the first Black woman to serve as mayor of Amite, LA. This mother of a 4-year-old daughter, small business owner, Chamber of Commerce president, and advocate for local business growth, decided to run because she was tired of the lack of opportunity in the community and apathy from longtime incumbents.

• Sarah Grossbauer, ND-HD42:  At 23 years old Sarah is running in a district that encompasses part of North Dakota State University and she is recruiting volunteers from campus. Republicans barely held this seat last cycle so watch this seat to see reverse coattails in effect!

• Mason Pressler, School Board Trustee, Bay City, MI: Mason’s curiosity about school boards was piqued in 2020 when he started watching virtual school board meetings to pass the time. As a high school student, he got involved with local public education advocates and is now running for School Board in the community he graduated from in May 2024.

But as you know it’s not enough to break barriers and challenge the status quo! This year RFS candidates have the potential to change the balance of power in several chambers by flipping seats from red to blue, and breaking supermajorities. We have 117 candidates running for flippable legislature seats, 41 candidates running for flippable municipal seats, 8 candidates running for flippable school board seats (and even taking on Moms for Liberty candidates!), and 2 candidates running for flippable seats to reform the criminal justice system. Here are just a few changemakers: 

• Anna Thomas, PA-HD137: This is the PA race to watch in 2024– it's one of the only state house districts that has swung from Obama, to Trump, to Biden, by a field margin. Anna's House District was won by Biden in 2020 with only 261 votes.

• Abby Klomparens, MI-HD86: 30 year old Abby is running for a reach seat against a 70 year old in ultra-conservative Ottawa County. This county government has seen an extremist right-wing takeover and Abby is attempting to capitalize on that by winning over long-time Republicans looking for steady leadership in a seat that Democrats weren't expecting to play in until later in the decade. 

• Sarah Henry, FL-HD38: This former Planned Parenthood escort is poised to take the most flippable seat in the Florida House. Sarah has centered abortion access in her campaign which has been timely and strategic with Florida’s abortion ban amendment on the ballot this year.

• Allie Phillips, TN-HD75: This is a highly flippable State House seat. You may remember Allie when she made national headlines when she had to flee the state to get abortion access and spoke at the DNC.

• Kristian Carranza, TX-HD118: This is the most flippable State House seat in Texas. When elected, Kristian would be the first Latina elected to the district, which has an extremely high Latino population

• Dante Pittman, NC-HD24: A major pick-up seat. If Dante wins it would break GOP supermajority in the legislature and restore veto power to Democratic Governor’s office.

• Kamilah Bywater, Las Vegas (NV) School Board- A Special Education teacher and community activist, Kamilah has long been a fixture at school board meetings advocating for all students. She is taking on a Mom’s for Liberty extremist and her candidacy is a stark contrast to her opponents who have self-funded to the tune of nearly $75k and put up transphobic billboards. 

On a final note, I want to say thank you. When Amanda and Ross started RFS they thought they would help 100 or so young people run for local office and maybe some of those folks would help “build the bench” of young leaders. What actually happened was a generation of young people, from every corner of the country, color, background, and creed were so starved for leadership that over 140,000 of them raised their hands to run. Of the nearly 3,000 RFS candidates that have shown up on ballots, and over 1,200 we’ve elected, we’re starting to see the bench and pipeline emerge.

Not only has RFS catapulted the careers of rising stars like Mallory McMorrow, Danica Roem, Malcolm Kenyetta, Lina Hidalgo and Ruwa Romman– but the big dream, one of an actual RFS Caucus in Congress– is beginning to form. In 2022, RFS saw its first alumni elected to Congress with bonafide rockstars Jasmine Crockett and Yadira Caraveo heading to Congress. This November, we are thrilled and hopeful to watch more RFS Alumni join their ranks including: 

• Yassamin Ansari, AZ-CD03 (2020 RFS Alumni)

• Lucia Báez-Geller, FL-CD27 (2020 RFS Alumni)

• Sarah McBride, DE-CD At Large (2020 RFS Alumni)

• Emily Randall, WA-CD0 (2018 RFS Alumni)

• Suhas Subramanyam, VA-CD10 (2019 RFS Alumni)

Watching these young leaders burst on the scene with such heart and integrity leaves me certain that an RFS alum will sit in the Oval Office one day, and bring along with them the progressive values and diverse identities we all share.

No matter what happens at the top of the ticket on Election Night, Run for Something candidates are going to shatter ceilings, flip chambers, defend democracy, and help our system live up to its highest ideal- a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. 

Thank you for joining us on this journey over the past 7 years- we can’t wait to celebrate with you in the weeks ahead.

Johanna

P.S. Want to see more great wins in 2025? Chip in to support our work → DONATE TODAY