RFS feel-good update (11/5): !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Early results from our 222 candidates on the ballot

Hi all -

We’re still collecting results for our 222 folks on the ballot yesterday — but so far, things look phenomenal.

With 166 of our 222 races called, we’ve notched 110 outright wins and 8 more candidates moving to run-offs.

That list includes at least 25 red-to-blue flips.

This is going to be a long batch of good news. Soak it in:

• Lily Franklin, VA-41, flipped her seat in a rematch race (and leans Republican district) after losing by less than 190 votes in 2023. One of our Regional Directors spent the last three days before the election on the trail with Franklin. This was the top target for the Virginia HDCC – and a great example of why RFS stays with high quality candidates, win or lose.

• John McAuliff, VA-30, is the first Democrat to represent northern Fauquier County since 1994. The 33 year-old won in an upset victory over the longtime politico (and 70+ year old) Republican incumbent.

• Stacey Carroll, VA-64, is a veteran, mom and foster mom, and CPA whose service is rooted in faith, and won in a seat that was solidly Republican just last cycle.

• Aurora, Colorado’s city council: RFS endorsed multiple candidates for the council, including Alli Jackson, a social worker and foster mother whose platform is centered around economic growth, family-friendly policies like affordable childcare, and fighting for her community— including by increasing funding for affordable housing. Aurora has a GOP majority on the city council, and it’s a notable battleground that has been highly politicized by Trump. Jackson was running against conservative Danielle Jurinsky, who had amplified anti-immigrant rhetoric parroted by Trump.

• Democrats flipped the Onondaga (NY) County Legislature for first time in nearly 50 years: RFS candidate Elaine Denton, a mom of three and an advocate for social equity, was the deciding race that flipped the Onondaga County Legislature blue.

• Hannah Shvets, a third-year student at Cornell’s School of ILR who won a seat on the Ithaca Common Council. She attended Ithaca High School before attending Cornell, and brings the voice of students to a ward mostly composed of students while still providing local representation. She plans to fight for working families through measures like rent stabilization and a higher local minimum wage.

• Twenty-four-year-old Ayah Al-Zubi won a seat on the Cambridge City Council. Al-Zubi became interested in the issues that most impact Cambridge residents during her time at Harvard and has since been deeply involved in community advocacy. She is a renter who has personally navigated being rent-burdened, and her platform includes tenants’ rights.

• Run for Something-endorsed candidate Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger won the special election for Senate District 47 in the Minnesota State Senate. Her victory secures a Democratic majority in the chamber. Hemmingsen-Jaeger, who currently serves in the Minnesota House of Representatives, was first endorsed by Run for Something during her 2022 campaign.

• In Pennsylvania, Andrew Harbaugh, a former Republican who left the party after January 6th was a longshot candidate in a county Trump won with 70%.) Campaigning on community values and affordability, he won his Clarion Borough Council race!! Harbaugh, the parent of a child with disabilities, is a national sports writer covering everything from the NFL to MMA.

• In Texas, a special election for Senate District 9, drawn to heavily favor Republicans, is headed to a run-off, thanks to Democrat Taylor Rehmet– an Air Force Veteran and Union president– earning more than 47% of the vote, while raising less than $200,000 (compared to more than $5 million in spending to support the other candidates).

• Talia Rodriguez, Buffalo Board of Education, NY, beat an incumbent after running on a platform that included a strong food justice plank – recognizing the important role schools can play in helping provide equitable access to healthy foods for growing minds.

• In North Carolina, Shanetta Burris defied odds to claim a seat on the Durham City Council. A born and raised North Carolinian, she got her start in organizing as a student leader and never stopped – which is why her community-rooted campaign unseated the incumbent backed by two Durham Mayors.

• In a nonpartisan Detroit City Council race, Denzel Anton McCampbell, a community organizer defeated an establishment state rep by 19-pts, and alumni/incumbent candidate Gabriela Santiago-Romero (who rejected billionaire PAC funds) beat her establishment state rep challenger by 30-pts.

• In Kansas, 27-year old teacher and father of three, Gary Bradly-Lopez, won a seat on the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities. He ran with the lived experience of having the lights go dark as a child for unpaid utility bills.

• Tanmay Shah, Cleveland City Council race, OH, is immigrant, union organizer, and truck driver, is headed to an automatic recount with a seven vote lead over the establishment incumbent in the Cleveland City Council race. He ran on affordable housing, affordable groceries, and reliable city services.

• Kelsea Bond, Atlanta City Council, GA, was born and raised in ATL. As a renter and community and labor organizer, their campaign focused on the basics of affording a life: public transportation, housing that doesn’t break the bank, childcare, food – fighting for a city budget that supports working families.

• Aislinn Kalob, Concord City Council, NH, is the first renter to be elected in Ward 6. Kalob is a self-described member of the working-class, and a key part of her platform was expanding affordable housing (and she laid out smart policy plans to achieve this)!

• In New Hampshire, Bryce Kaw-uh flipped a seat from red to blue defeating incumbent Republican Chris Morgan in the race for Manchester Board of Aldermen, Ward 1.

• In Ohio, Saria Lattimore flipped a Springfield Township Trustee seat, running as a voice for younger residents who understands real issues like affordable housing and safer neighborhoods

I could and will go on and on. (I’ll be back in your inbox next week with more!)

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Here’s the TLDR: What we’re doing is working and it’s what we need to keep doing to win in 2026.

Some pundits and operatives will tell you “look at New York, let’s run more socialists!!” and others will say “look at VA and NJ, let’s run more moderates!!!”

We’re saying yes, and. We need to run the right candidate for the right district (because remember, people vote for people!) and empower them to run strong modern campaigns.

Our criteria is tight on values and flexible on policy, knowing that candidates have to meet their voters where they are.

Just as importantly, they need to be authentic communicators, hyper-focused on local issues.

That model is how we’ve been able to win races in 49 states + DC, and why we’re confident we can keep running and winning as we work to expand the battleground map over the next five years and beyond.

Take your joy and put it to work with a recurring donation right now to help sustain this momentum.

No days off here. As of an hour ago, more than 1,000 people signed up to run for office just since last night (!!!) and our already largest-pipeline-in-politics is growing by the minute. Filing deadlines for 2026 elections start hitting in December. We have no time to waste.

Even still: Take a breath today. When we dare to imagine that better things are possible and then do the work to make it so, it pays off.

Thanks for being on our team.

- Amanda