RFS feel-good update (11/7): 490 candidates on the ballot!
All the details you need ahead of the big day
Hi all -
Tomorrow is Election Day!! (If you haven’t voted yet, make sure to cast your ballot.)
Here’s the state of play for the Run for Something community:
This year, Run for Something endorsed 690 candidates in 2022 races — 490 of them are currently on the ballot.
Some stats about the types of offices our 2022 candidates are running for:
54% are running for state legislature
25% are running for municipal office
12% are running for education-related offices like school or library board
8% are running for legal-related roles
Let’s talk demographics of our 2022 candidates:
54% identify as women or non-binary leaders
50% identify as people of color
27% identify as LGBTQIA+
A few of the many many races we’re excited about - don’t ask me to pick a favorite, I couldn’t and won’t:
Sarah Henry for FL House, who running for an open seat - Sarah has a personal history working as a clinic escort for patients seeking abortions
Kate Turner for KY House, challenging an incumbent who’s taken egregious anti-abortion votes
Ruwa Romman for GA House, running in a majority-minority district; if she wins, she’ll be the first Muslim woman in the chamber
Nabeela Syed for IL House, who will be the first Muslim and first South Asian woman elected to the chamber, and one of the youngest if she flips her seat
Tina Ward-Pugh, a Democracy Defender running for Jefferson County Clerk, who working to beat a local election administrator that was hand-picked by Mitch McConnell
Sen. Lindsey Williams for PA Senate, who won her last election by ~700 votes in a very swingy district and is fighting hard to protect it
Becca Moyer DeFelice for TX House, who could be the first Democratic AAPI woman to serve in the body and will be a fierce pro-choice leader if she wins
Jaime Churches for MI House, a key opportunity to flip a seat and help win back the chamber
Eunic Ortiz for FL Senate, a powerhouse candidate for an open seat
Nabilah Islam for GA Senate, in one of the most competitive state senate districts in the south.
Janelle Perez for FL Senate in a battleground district that could be the best pick-up opportunity we’ve got!
Jonathan HIldner for TX House, who will be the first person of color to represent his majority-minority district and the youngest member of the state legislature
Nicholas Gothard for Loudoun County School Board in VA, which has been a key battlefield for right-wing activists (and is one of the top school board races to watch!)
Nathan Hernandez for St. Matthew’s City Council in Kentucky, who will be the youngest council member by at least 15 years.
Julie Gunnigle for Maricopa County Attorney in AZ, who has committed to not prosecute abortion cases even in the face of state law. Read her latest op-ed on what a county attorney can do.
Courtney Tripp for KS House, in an open race that could flip red-to-blue given the prominence of abortion as an issue in the state
Linh Nguyen for DeKalb County Clerk, who would be the first Asian American woman to hold the office
Hugo Soto-Martinez for LA City Council, who will bring much needed change to the body
Laura Terech for AZ House, which is a key flippable opportunity in the chamber
Sarah Beeson for Roswell City Council in GA; she ran for state senate in 2020 but just barely lost - now she’s running to flip a municipal seat
Caity Maple for Sacramento City Council, who’s put in the work!
John Frederickson for NE senate, who could be a key vote for abortion access in the chamber.
Louis Abramson for CA assembly, who’s an astrophysicist. (That’s cool!)
Anthony Vega for Lake County Clerk, who would be the first Latino and first LGBTQ+ person to hold county-wide office
Allison Miller for Pasco-Pinellas County State Attorney, who’s promised not to prosecute abortion-related cases
Madeline Ryan Smith for GA House, who could make history as a Blind person in the state legislature and wasn’t even born yet when her opponent started his 5th (of now 18!) terms in office
Jennifer O’Donnell for Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, who will be the only career public defender on a bench of 34 judges
Maria Salamanca for Orange County School Board in FL, a race that far-right activists have been furiously working to win.
Natalie MacLachlan for ID House, running a great campaign in a tough race
Heather Bauer for SC House, who’s running for the most flippable seat in the state
Vincent Peterson for OH House, who would be the first Black leader to represent his district
Lannie Chapman for Salt Lake County Clerk in Utah, a key race for election administration in the state
Dr. Megan Srinivas for IA House, who is working to flip a seat and would be the first person or woman of color to represent the district and the only physician in the legislature
Allison Grigsby Sweatman for AR Senate, who’s running against an incumbent who sponsored a law requiring victims of sexual assault to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of age, with almost no exceptions
Leah Spicer for WI Assembly, in a top flippable opportunity in an extremely gerrymandered district - Leah was recruited to run by RFS alum Rep. Francesca Hong!
Amanda Gonzalez for Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder in CO, a key office for election administration
Shoshanna Kelly for NH Executive Council, who would be the first woman of color elected to the body and is running against a terrible incumbent who keeps voting to defund Planned Parenthood
Jessica Grill for NH House is running to flip a seat; her opponent has a history of homophobic statements
Danielle Helzer for Nebraska State Board of Education, in a highly competitive race the GOP is fighting hard to win in part because of a debate over comprehensive sex ed standards.
Joe Solomon for Charleston City Council in WV, running against an establishment pick but making waves for his bipartisan coalition pushing for harm reduction and opioid work
Carla Day for NC State House, who could be the first Latina in the chamber
Corinne Morse for NH House in a rural district that flipped blue-to-red in 2020 and can now flip back.
Cameron Reny for ME Senate, running to take the baton from previous RFS alum Chloe Maxmin, who previously flipped the seat red to blue.
Nina Miliken for ME House, whose campaign on mental health funding and destigmatizing addiction is personal for her
And of course, we’re keeping a close eye on our alumni running for higher office:
CO Rep. Yadira Caraveo for Congress (CO-8)
Jevin Hodge for Congress (AZ-1)
Taylor Sappington for Ohio State Auditor
MI Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden for Michigan state supreme court
TX Rep. Jasmine Crockett for Congress (TX-30)
Kelly Krout for Lt. Governor of Arkansas
Tomorrow (and the subsequents days, weeks, and probably months) could be rough for Democrats.
A few things I hope you’ll think about as we keep an eye on results:
This is year 49 of the GOP’s 50-year plan to build long-term sustainable power. We’re collectively (and generously) on year 6. To win it all back and then some, we can’t let losses discourage us or push us to disengage. No election cycle happens in a vacuum — the work we did in 2021 and 2022 (and 2017-2020) all builds for the future.
Some of the places the GOP could win will surprise us. (Keep an eye on New York and California.) The same is true on our end: It’s possible Democrats win big or keep it close in places like Kansas and Oklahoma. “Battleground” is a dynamic definition — it’s to our party’s benefit to keep building power broadly and deeply in as many places as possible because we never know where could be competitive for what race.
Candidate quality matters. Message and messenger are not two distinct categories — who’s doing the talking matters just as much (maybe more) as the words that come out of their mouth and how they make voters feel. Candidate recruitment is worth the time and money.
No matter the outcome, Run for Something’s work continues. We’re already deep into recruitment for local offices in 2023 (FYI, the filing deadline for many local election administration roles in Wisconsin is in the first week of January!) and we’ve already endorsed 16 candidates for 2023, with more to come. We’re building deep in-state infrastructure and expanding our capacity to work with even more candidates moving forward.
Building long-term sustainable power requires long-term sustained investment. If you’re ready and able, a recurring donation means the world to our team.
Thanks for being part of this. Win or lose, you’re part of something special and we’re so grateful for your generosity of time, attention, and resources.
- Amanda
P.S. I’ll be back in your inbox with the rare mid-week update after tomorrow to give you some quick results as we’ve got ‘em!