RFS feel-good update (3/8): Why it matters to invest early
Plus: Some *amazing* news about our candidate recruitment so far...
Hi all -
First, some cool news: So far in 2021, we’ve recruited more potential candidates for local office than we did in all of 2017 (and we’re coming close to passing 2018’s total, too.)
We’re just getting started!
Second, some interesting research from last month that came across my inbox I thought you might like…
The team at Every District found that while state legislative candidates generally raised record sums of money in 2020, the money came in way too late to meaningfully be put to use.
The bit that stood out to me: “The average candidate had only $26,000 in the bank as of January 1, 2020 and raised only $139,000 by the midpoint of the year, 18% of the average overall raise. … The North Carolina candidates raised over 15% of their raise in the final two weeks, the Arizona candidates raised over 25% in the final month, and the Texas candidates raised over 55% of their total raise in the final four weeks.”
We touched a bit on this in our 2021-2022 strategic plan (click here and CTRL+F to “2020: What we learned from the election”) but this is one of the (many) reasons why state legislative candidates didn’t do as well as expected. We have to invest early because doing the kind of organizing and communications that flips seats takes a long time to build up to.
While there aren’t candidates yet in a lot of these races — that’s what the recruitment is for — we know that by setting up candidate support networks early on, we can make a meaningful difference. No! Off! Years!
Meanwhile, some good updates from RFS candidates & alumni around the country:
Yahoo News featured IL Sen. Robert Peters in episode two of “Black & Powerful,” in which he talks about growing up in Hyde Park as an adopted child with a hearing impairment.
NV Assemblyman Howard Watts has introduced critical legislation to help renters who got screwed over by process issues as part of the eviction moratorium.
CO Rep. Lindsey Dougherty explains in the Colorado Sun why she’s introduced a bill to help kids in foster care and keep them from slipping through the cracks in the transition to independence.
FL Rep. Anna Eskamani makes the case for a future in which Florida runs on 100% clean, renewable energy
New Haven Alder Eli Sabin introduced a resolution to declare the city’s support for the federal Equality Act, making New Haven the 14th city in Connecticut to do so.
NYC Council candidate Marti Allen-Cummings is a working drag artist and activist who, if successful, would be the city’s first non-binary lawmaker.
Rolling Stone goes long: “Why Sarah McBride Might Be the Most Inspiring Elected Official in America”
Read more in the NYT on how young new progressive leaders like Terry Taplin and Rigel Robinson in Berkeley, Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela in Sacramento, and Nithya Raman in Los Angeles are pushing back on NIMBYism in California and bringing much-needed change to housing policy.
TX Rep. Erin Zwiener has failed a bill to hold corporate polluters accountable for the kind of damage that’s making Texans sick. It’s a start!
In 2018, Caitlin Clarkson Pereira pushed for the CT state elections commission to allow her to use campaign funds for childcare — they denied her request, and so in 2019, she filed a successful lawsuit against them. Now CT is proposing a change in state law to make that permission permanent.
NC Rep. Wesley Harris sponsored the amendment that raised the state’s unemployment benefit from $350 to $500 — directly helping North Carolinians in need.
I think it’s pretty cool that four of the seven members of the National Transgender State Legislator Caucus are Run for Something alum (CO Rep. Brianna Titone, VA Del. Danica Roem, DE Sen. Sarah McBride and VT Rep. Taylor Small).
In Kansas, Rep. Rui Xu advocated for a successful bill that would help cities gets the funds they need to cover emergency utility expenses during the extreme winter weather. Good government in action - you love to see it.
MI Rep. Laurie Pohutsky has sponsored a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes under the state’s civil rights law.
Learn more about how NYC Council candidate Sara Lind found her home and community on the Upper West Side and how she’ll make the neighborhood just as homey for everyone else.
Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang is leading on the city’s efforts to combat Asian hate crimes.
Columbus City councilmember Grace Kestler — who uses a wheelchair herself — is working hard to make her city more accessible for people with disabilities.
NE Sen. Megan Hunt introduced a bill to require all emergency rooms & hospitals in Nebraska to inform survivors of sexual assault about emergency contraception.
Allegheny County Councilmembers Bethany Hallam, LIv Bennett and Tom Duerr are working hard to bring mandatory paid sick leave across the county.
Out in Colorado, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder George Stern and his office was recognized for their incredible work innovating on election administration — in particular, they introduced an online chat feature that gave voters a way to easily get info from the office.
MD Del. Vaughn Stewart sponsored a bill that would require employers at BWI airport to rehire workers laid off during the pandemic.
The Missouri Times highlighted Ashley Aune as one of the freshmen legislators to watch. We agree!
In related reading:
Republicans in 25 states have introduced more than 60 bills targeting trans kids specifically — reinforcing how critical it is for us to elect more trans folks and allies to state and local offices.
This is a super interesting read on WV Can’t Wait, a network of massive electoral organizing infrastructure. A snapshot:
In West Virginia, like in many places around the country, there is little political infrastructure to speak of. Parties consolidate their power in their highest ranks of leadership and invest sparsely in local committees. Parties also focus their interest on top of ticket races. For those statewide candidates to be viable, they have to get party establishment backing. Down ballot, parties do little by way of deep coaching, training or offering other help to new candidates. All of this makes for narrow, top-down political machines that lack real grassroots organizing strategies, let alone expertise. Said another way, our parties in West Virginia are better designed to defend the power they have, than to build new power of their own.Lots of compelling (and democracy-saving) reasons to pass HR1, but I think this one is under-discussed: The bill creates a small-donor matching system that will make it easier for non-moneyed candidates to raise the funds needed — especially candidates of color broadly and women of color specifically.
Another compelling reason: without HR1, the voter suppression laws Republican state legislatures are pushing forward will especially screw over young voters and young voters of color.
A few Run for Something events to put on your calendar & share widely:
Thursday, March 18th at 8pm ET: A (virtual) house party with NY Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo and North Carolina State Senator DeAndrea Salvador. Tickets start at $25.
Monday, March 22nd: Black Women Run - a call for Black women thinking about running for office one day. Free, of course!
Thursday, March 25th at 8pm ET: Unapologetically Progressive Women — hear from some of the amazing RFS candidates who are making history this Women’s History Month. Tickets are free; registration opens at 10am TODAY.
This week on the Run for Something podcast: A newsy conversation with NY state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who talks about her path to elected office, what Democrats got done over the last few years, and why she's so (righteously and appropriately) furious with NY Governor Andrew Cuomo. The episode drops tomorrow; get it wherever you get your shows.
This time next week, the sun will be setting after 7pm — can you tell from these weekly updates I’m clinging to the end of winter for dear life??! — and we’re absolutely going to make it to the other side. Thank you for making all this possible and helping us get through the tough parts.
- Amanda