RFS feel-good update (1/24): Our 2022 strategic plan
What we've done and what we're going to do
Hi all -
Last week was rough for democracy. The Senate’s failure to pass voting rights legislation — and then subsequent failure to pass filibuster reform — cemented what this community already knew: Congress is not going to take meaningful action to prevent future election subversion.
If we want to protect democracy, we need to ensure that our institutions are jam-packed with pro-democracy leaders.
Think nationally, act locally
… In their book Dictators and Democrats, political scientists Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman analyze what causes countries to transition from democracy to autocracy — and vice versa. One of their core findings is that, when a democracy is tottering, laws provide less of a bulwark on their own than most people think. Rules need people to help enforce them; when it comes to democracy, one of the law’s best guarantors are the citizens themselves.
The key to nearly every effective subversion strategy is control over institutions: when Trumpists are in positions of power, they get to set the rules of the game. If Democrats, non-partisan actors, or principled Republicans hold key jobs, as they did in 2020, the Trumpists can’t break the system.
So in 2022, many of the biggest fights for democracy are hyper-local: races for county executive, judgeships, election administration positions, and statehouses. If pro-democracy candidates can win these races in large numbers, they will collectively pose a significant barrier to an election subversion campaign in 2024.
There is a nascent infrastructure for competing in such races. Run For Something, a liberal group that encourages young candidates to run for state and local office, has launched a multi-million dollar effort to contest positions that “relate to local election work” — a direct effort to fight back against election subversion.
If you prefer to hear this argument rather than read it, I joined Pod Save America on Thursday to talk about this all. (Fast forward to 42-ish minutes in for the convo.)
As reporter Ari Berman succinctly put it on MSNBC: "I'm very worried that if Big Lie Republicans succeed in taking over the election system in 2022, it's going to be very, very difficult to have a free and fair election in 2024.”
With the problem clearly identified, it’s fortuitous timing that last week we celebrated Run for Something’s 5th birthday by releasing our 2022 strategic plan!
A very abbreviated version of our 2022 goals:
Grow the pipeline by at least 25k, the same amount we grew it in 2021 (although candidly, we’re already at nearly 8000 new folks this month — so I think we’re going to wildly exceed this goal!)
Endorse at least 700 candidates for local office - and of those, at least 50% will be women, 50% will be people of color, and 25% will be LGBTQIA+.
We’ll double down on two specific buckets of races: school board/education roles and local election administration jobs.
Writing this plan had me all in my feelings — getting to look back at how far we’ve come, what we’ve built together, and what we’ve accomplished has me bursting with pride (and explains why we’re so tired!) You made all this happen. Thank you!
In other updates from across the Run for Something community:
NE Sen. Megan Hunt is introducing bills to expand and protect access to reproductive health care. It matters to elect leaders like Megan, even & especially in red states where the worst legislation will come from.
Similarly CO Sen. Julie Gonzales is sponsoring legislation to enshrine abortion rights in the state law, in advance of the likely end of Roe v. Wade later this year.
OK Rep. Mauree Turner introduced legislation that would create a state question on whether the death penalty should exist in Oklahoma. Oklahoma recently restarted executions in 2021 after not performing them for 6+ years.
A number of RFS alum in PA, including Sen. Katie Muth & Rep. Emily Kinkead, are introducing legislation to make it easier for LGBTQIA+ folks to change their names, moving it from a judicial process to an administrative one.
I just love this from IL House candidate Nabeela Syed:
Elizabeth Beck came up short in her initial race for TX state house, then won a seat on the Fort Worth city council, representing the city’s most diverse district. I really liked this story about the way she and the rest of the new city councilmembers are learning their way through the job and the kind of comradery they’re building together.
As we keep an eye on RFS alum running for higher office:
Malcolm Kenyatta’s U.S. Senate campaign has been endorsed by SEIU in Pennsylvania. You love to see it.
Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair Jr. has announced his campaign to be Georgia’s school superintendent.
I’m running to be Georgia’s next School Superintendent so that every student in our state has the same opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live or what school they attend. Join us at evertonblair.com and contribute what you can toward our collective progress.
One of my favorite parts of our program is the way alumni support the pipeline: Folks we’ve endorsed in previous cycles play an active role in helping find new talent. MI state Rep. Mari Manoogian is one excellent example:
Two RFS events coming up:
This Wednesday, 8pm ET, we’re hosting a free call for folks thinking about running for office in rural areas. Join us & spread the word!
We’re celebrating our 5th anniversary with a party in D.C. on February 28th - join in person or online.
Thank you for getting us to this point. We are so lucky to do this work and so glad to do it in partnership with y’all.
- Amanda