RFS feel-good update (2/20): "The state rep who raps"
A mostly good-vibes-only email (except for the last bit, sorry.)
Hi all -
Hope you had a relaxing long weekend!
First: Kick off your Tuesday with a piece from RFS Chief Campaigns Officer Sara Hadad on how we’re redefining what it means to be a politician, published by our partners over at Democracy Docket. You’ll enjoy it.
Next: If you’re in Phoenix, come out on February 24th to learn more about running for office. If you’re not in Phoenix, forward this to all your friends in Phoenix.
Then dive into some RFS community updates:
MN Rep. Maria Isa released her latest rap album. Seriously. This is so cool.
IL Sen. Robert Peters introduced new legislation to require a lawyer for young people under the age of 18 during police interrogations — an expansion of juvenile rights that I can’t believe took this long to get done.
NY City Councilwoman Amanda Farias introduced legislation to create a “municipal human milk bank” that would store and distribute donated breast milk to feed babies — there is only one licensed breast milk donation center in the entire state, up in Westchester.
CO Rep. Javier Mabrey and Sen. Julie Gonzales are leading on legislation to revive renter and eviction protections.
In VA, Del. Briana Sewell introduced legislation to require all public schools to have naloxone on hand — a key drug for opioid overdose prevention and reversal.
Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune is leading in a new way — open, inclusive, and with a focus on what keeps people up at night.
Allie Phillips’ campaign for state legislature in Tennessee is one of the most flippable districts in the state — she’s running on abortion, education, and the rising cost of living.
In South Dakota, Rep. Kadyn Wittman is making it clear that bills to prohibit the use of state resources for “obscene live conduct” are targeted at LGBTQ+ culture.
A real estate mogul is partnering with the police union to spend more than $1 million against LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who’s been an outspoken supporter of tenants’ rights.
UT Sen. Nate Blouin is leading on a bill to create a plan on how to send more water to the Great Salt Lake during wet years — a meaningful proactive step to avoid future crises.
We partnered with Del. Adele McClure in VA to share a little more about the Black history in her community and how she’s proud to be a part of that legacy.
In related listening: I chatted with Quinn Emmett at Important Not Important about reverse coattails, candidates I’m excited about this year, and what you can do to make a difference. Put it on in the background today!
In less good (or, honestly, horrific) vibes: Over the weekend, the Alabama state Supreme Court issued a ruling that un-implanted frozen embryos qualify “as human children” — essentially making IVF nearly impossible to do legally in the state.
This is the next step in the right’s effort to restrict access to reproductive health care.
I talked with Anand Giridharadas’ team at The Ink about how we can counter this bullshit by running local candidates everywhere for as long as it takes — because as you’ve heard me say approximately one million times, what happens in a red state never stays in that red state.
To quote myself (sorry):
Help recruit more candidates for the long haul. The right-wing effort to ban abortion, end access to contraception, make fertility treatments near-impossible to access — it’s all happened over decades, with a careful, concerted effort at winning locally and then strategically passing laws that would wind up in front of the Supreme Court, thus affecting the entire country without ever having to win a national election.
To win back our rights, we have to be in this fight for as long as it takes, running and trying to win races in deep red places that most others ignore. It's not strategic for a Democratic presidential campaign to run ads or try to win a state like Alabama or Oklahoma.
But for those who care about winning back access to reproductive health, we have to fight in those places, even and especially when the odds are against us. It will take a long time. That sucks. But it's a key part of the path forward. To win big eventually, we have to fight to lose by a little bit less now.
That's why Run for Something works with local candidates in all 50 states — including Alabama — and why our work isn't done after the 2024 election. Every dollar helps us do this for as long as it takes.
This community gets it. Thanks for having our back.
- Amanda