RFS feel-good update (11/5): 177 bright spots & counting
More winners to celebrate!
Hi all -
As of 8am this morning, Run for Something has elected 177 people in 2020 — and there are still more than 100 races outstanding. Let me tell you about some of the new ones since yesterday morning’s update. (If you missed that, check it out here.)
Adrian Tam handily beat a Republican opponent who had long associations with the Proud Boys to become the only openly LGBTQ member of the Hawaii House of Representatives.
At 25 years old, Alex Lee made history as the youngest Asian American member of the CA state assembly, the first openly bisexual member, and the first Gen Z legislator in California history.
Chloe Maxmin, climate activist and 28 year old state rep who was responsible for Maine’s Green New Deal, flipped a seat in the Maine state senate in Maine’s oldest and most rural district (she beat the Senate Minority Leader, no less!) — RFS supported Chloe when she first ran and won for a flipped seat in the ME state house and supported her again now.
Amani Johnson will be the first and only openly LGBTQ member of the Southfield School Board in Michigan.
Christian Menefee was elected as the first Black Harris County Attorney and the youngest ever to serve in the role.
Kari Bloom is part of a wave of Democrats who swept out GOP judges in Ohio — she won her seat as Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge.
Alexis Schuett unseated a 30+ year incumbent to win a seat on the Pawtucket City Council in Rhode Island.
April Fournier won a seat on the Portland City Council in Maine - she’ll be the first Native American councilmember in the city.
Angel Harris, a public defender, is the first person to oust an incumbent judge in New Orleans in over 40 years. She’s going to transform lives for so many people. (You can watch her victory speech!)
Nikil Saval will be the first Asian American to join the PA state senate.
Caprice Edmond won her seat on the Pinellas County School Board in Florida, ensuring that the board was not made up of all white members.
Alexis King will be the first woman to serve as DA in Colorado’s first judicial district.
After running in 2018 and coming up short, Amanda Septimo beat an incumbent who’d been representing her Bronx district in the NY state assembly since 2003.
Carolina Mejia handily beat her opponent for job of Thurston County Commissioner, district 1, in Washington state. At one point in her race, a local Republican activist demanded proof of her citizenship, claiming she was in eligible to run.
Dr. Jess Garcia won a seat on the Rochester School Board in MN against an incumbent.
Elliot Bostar won an open seat the Nebraska state legislature — he was previously the executive director of Nebraska Conservation Voters.
Activist Terrell McKinney also won a seat in the Nebraska state legislature against a longtime politician and former city councilman.
Jen Day ALSO won a seat in the Nebraska state legislature, beating a Republican incumbent.
Rep. Erin Zwiener, one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the Texas State House, held on to her seat in spite of millions being spent against her.
Similarly, Rep. John Bucy III also held on to his seat that he won in 2018.
Francesca Hong officially made history as the first Asian American member of the WI state legislature.
Meredith Place won her race for Kalamazoo County Clerk in Michigan — this was the first time the seat was open since 1997.
Mai Xiong will be the first Hmong woman and first Asian American member of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.
Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah won his seat for Tuscon Unified School District Board — he’ll be the first LGBTQ+ member.
Public defender Te’iva Bell won her race for 339th Judicial District Court over the Republican incumbent.
There are still more than a hundred races we’re tracking, but so far we’re on track for more than half our 2020 winners to be women and more than two-thirds to identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color. This year alone we’ve elected folks in 39 states.
More results to come tomorrow and Monday — then this email list will go back to being weekly, promise.
More broadly, co-founder Ross Morales Rocketto did a lil ~thread~ on Twitter about our initial takeaways on the election as a whole. It’s worth reading.
Joe Biden is going to be declared president-elect today. That’s going to be awesome. But it’s clear we have so much work to do to rebuild the Democratic party from the ground up. That’s what Run for Something is about, and it’s what you’re a part of.
Thanks for making all this possible.
- Amanda