RFS feel-good update (11/4): What we know so far

106 bright spots (and counting)

Hi all -

Let me tell you about a few of the 106 people you helped elect yesterday (with so many more results to come — as of 8am ET this morning, we have results for only 207 of our 525 races)…

• Armando Montero, a 19 year old student, won against an incumbent and will take a seat on the Tempe Union High School District Board - his first priority will be the mental health of the students

• Jevin Hodges and Whitney Walker won seats on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, flipping it blue — each are the first Black person to hold the position. You need this hug.

  Niala Charles @NialaCharles

  RIGHT NOW: @JevinforAZ embraces @WhitneyWalkerAZ , who also won a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Walker is also the 1st Black woman to have a county leadership position. Together the 2 democratic candidates turned the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors blue.

  

• David Ortiz, a veteran of Afghanistan who survived a catastrophic crash that left him paralyzed, flipped a seat in the Colorado state house.

• Iman Jodeh became the first Muslim member of the Colorado state legislature.

• Kyle Evans Gay, a mom and attorney, flipped a seat in the Delaware state senate — she’ll become the first member of the body with young kids.

• Madinah Wilson-Anton became the first Muslim member of the Delaware state legislature.

• Sarah McBride became the first trans state senator both in Delaware and across the country; she’s the highest ranking trans elected official in America.

• Marco Giron won a seat on the Miami-Dade County Community Council becoming one of only 28 openly LGBTQ elected officials in all of Florida.

• Ashantae Greene, a sustainability and environmental justice advocate, won a competitive race for the Duval County Soil & Water Conservation District in Jacksonville, FL.

• After flipping her seat in central Florida in 2018, Anna Eskamani handily won re-election to the state legislature.

• Michele Rayner officially became the first queer Black woman elected in Florida as she won her seat in the state house.

  

• Kim Jackson officially became the first openly queer member of the GA state senate.

• Rebecca Mitchell, a veterinarian and public health researcher, flipped a seat in the GA state house — she was the first Democrat to contest it in at least a decade.

• Jo Ella Hoye, a Moms Demand Action grassroots leader, flipped a seat in the Kansas state house.

• Emily Weber became the first Asian American legislator in Missouri.

• Jeremy Cooney flipped a seat in the NY state senate, becoming the first Indian American to serve in the chamber.

• Samra Brouk also flipped a seat in the NY state senate, becoming the first Black woman to represent her district!

• Ricky Hurtado flipped a seat in the NC state legislature and will be the first Latino in the chamber.

• Sarah Crawford, a non-profit exec, flipped a tough seat in the NC state legislature.

• Small business owner Brian Farkas flipped a seat in the NC state house.

• Sustainability advocate DeAndrea Salvador flipped a seat in the NC state senate.

• Mauree Turner, a queer Black woman, a criminal justice reform activist, officially became the first Muslim member of the Oklahoma state legislature.

• Brianna Henries became the first Native American member of the Rhode Island state legislature

• Torrey Harris will be the first openly LGBTQ member of the TN state assembly.

  

• Jose Garza will officially be the Travis County district attorney, changing lives for millions of Texans.

• Taylor Small will be the first trans lawmaker in Vermont after winning her seat in the state legislature.

  

• In a Trump district in West Virginia, Kayla Young won a seat in the state legislature.

So far, our winners are nearly two-thirds woman and two-thirds BIPOC, and at least 20% LGBTQ.

As of this morning, Run for Something has now elected more than 400 people in our first four years, and we expect that number to keep growing (by a lot!) as hundreds of results come in over the next few days and weeks.

I know your emotions may be all over the place right now. (The poller-coaster took us all for a wild ride…)

Have hope. Our candidates — especially the county, school board, and municipal folks — bucked trends all over the place. They made history. They show us all what new leadership can looks like.

Also: Joe Biden is going to be the next president of the United States. That is good!

There will be lots to talk about when the votes are all counted and a lot of work to be done. Our mission now and into the future remains the same: Recruiting and supporting young diverse progressives for local office. We have to keep building from the ground up.

Thank you for helping change America for the better. I’ll email again later with more updates.

- Amanda