RFS feel-good update (11/6): Happy Election Day Eve!!

(It's tomorrow!)

Hi all -

Welcome to the big week!!

Tomorrow there are 296 Run for Something candidates on the ballot — your support made their candidacies possible.

Overall, a quick overview of what we’ve done in 2023, before election results come in:

• We’ve endorsed 417 candidates for 2023 (many of whom have already gone through Election Day!) and already have 57 candidates for 2024.

• 76% of our 2023 folks are running for municipal office. 15% are in education-related races. 8% are running for state legislature and 2% are running for legal-related positions.

• 50% of our 2023 candidates identify as women or non-binary folks.

• 53% identify as people of color.

• 27% identify as LGBTQIA+.

• All are 40 years old or younger!

A few of the many many amazing folks we’ve been working with this year:

• Kimberly Pope Adams, candidate for VA House of Delegates, who’s been knocking doors all year long talking about how she’ll stand up for abortion access in the last state of the south to still protect it.

• More broadly, we have 33 amazing folks on the ballot in Virginia — where (along with abortion) democracy is on the ballot.

• Brandon Simmons is barely 21 years old but got his start as a student activist his junior year high school, pushing for better facilities — now he’s running for Columbus City school board to keep up the fight.

  

• ChrisTiana ObeySumner’s council campaign is proving that disabled candidates are viable candidates - they’re a disability justice advocate, former sex worker, social equity consultant, tax wiz, and density advocate who would bring much-needed energy and expertise to the Seattle City Council.

• Nick Robert, 22, candidate for Indianapolis City Council, is part of a wave of gen Z candidates rebuilding the bench in Indiana.

• Claire Carmelia, candidate for City Council (at large) in Westminster, CO. She grew up unhoused and went into the foster care system; Claire couldn’t afford a car until she was 27 years old. Now she’s running to advocate for mixed-use zoning and the unhoused community.

• We’ve got school board folks who are running against Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates including Kendra Mapp for Cincinnati School Board, Amber Epling for Worthington School Board (OH), Asheleigh Forsburg for Cumberland Valley School Board (PA), Wes Anderson for Dallastown School Board & Amelia McMillan and Benjamin Walker for Central York school board (who are all featured in this wrap-up of the book bans & bullshit happening in PA right now…)

• In Uvalde, TX, Kimberly Mata-Rubio is running for mayor in honor of her daughter, Lexi, who was killed in the school shooting.

• We’ve also got dozens of Democracy Defenders on the ballot as part of our Clerk Work program, including in key races that will oversee the 2024 election in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

• I love Gwen Nicholson’s city council campaign to "keep Missoula weird” (and affordable) — she’s got a concrete vision for how to get it done.

• We have an incredible group of mostly women running across Minnesota, including Aurin Chowdhury, Cheniqua Johnson, HwaJeong King, Katie Cashman, Nelsie Yang, Saura Jost, Sophia Ginis, Jenna Yeakle, and Miranda Pacheco. Get ready for some incredible municipal change in the land of lakes!

• “Portland needs Andrew Zarro’s youthful vigor” - tomorrow we’ll find out if he’s taking on the mayorship of the Maine city.

Meanwhile we’ve identified more than 14,000 people this year alone who’ve said they want to run for office — slowly and steadily growing the candidate pipeline to over 140,000 amazing leaders. As far as we know, this list of future potential candidates is the largest of its kind in Democratic politics.

I know a lot has been going on this year — especially the last few weeks and months — but that we’ve been able to keep doing this work is entirely because of you. You’ve made this all possible. You’ve proven you’re the kind of person who believes in building long-term sustainable power & bringing the next generation of leaders to the forefront.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ll follow up later this week with some results!

- Amanda