RFS feel-good update (4/22): 👀 these #s from the youth poll...
Plus: Reverse coattails!
Hi all -
ICYMI: Last week Harvard IOP released their 2024 youth poll — and as of now, 54% of young Americans say they’re likely to vote this fall.
That’s a good baseline to compare our research to — we found that if a young progressive is running for state or local office, 61% of young Democrats say they’re more likely to vote.
Running good candidates locally can drive turn-out for the entire ticket, especially among voters we desperately need to show up at the polls.
We’ve been saying it for what feels like a lifetime but that doesn’t make it any less true: Reverse coattails will be the story of 2024. (Just read the Atlantic on it from the weekend.) It’s what’s driving the urgency to put abortion ballot initiatives up this year, as folks expect the motivation to vote for those will similarly drive up turnout for Biden and against Trump. It’s also what’s driving the urgency behind our work.
We’re still doing aggressive recruitment ahead of filing deadlines over the next few months. It’s not too late to fund that work, and to ensure our hundreds of candidates on the ballot have all the resources they need to talk to hundreds of thousands of voters across the country.
In RFS community updates:
We’ve got 15 candidates up in Pennsylvania tomorrow — keep an eye on our social media for updates! These state legislative races are absolutely critical both for long-term power building and because the candidates themselves are knocking tens of thousands of doors in their communities, ginning up turn out for the entire Democratic ticket in a year when we really really need it.
RFS alum Mai Xiong won her special election for a seat in the MI state house, ensuring Democratic control of the chamber and trifecta government!! Mai is the first Hmong American elected to the state legislature. Way to go, Mai.
I’m admittedly self-interested in this as a fellow NYC new parent, but I’m thrilled to see RFS alum in NYC, including Councilmembers Jen Gutiérrez, Crystal Hudson, Pierina Sanchez, & Shekar Krishnan as part of the New Parents Caucus, leading the fight for expanding childcare and 3K/pre-K.
Alabama Rep. Phillip Ensler filed a bill to ban the possession of certain modified firearms — this week, it got the support of law enforcement.
Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy successfully introduced and passed a new 311 program for non-emergency calls, which will support county-wide services.
Detroit Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero is leading on a proposed ordinance to expand protections against “fugitive dust” from businesses and industrial plants. As she says: “I would never go into your home with dirty shoes. So, I ask you, if you have a truck facility, not to drive your trucks in my neighborhood if (they’re) full of mud and dust.”
MI Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Laurie Pohutsky is leading on solutions to the maternal mortality crisis. We love this.
LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman successful passed recommendations aimed at preventing the abuse of a state law that allows landlords to evict tenants when removing their property from the rental market. Protecting renters - good!!
AZ Reps. Alma Hernandez and Oscar De Los Santos are part of the larger team of Democrats working to repeal the state’s 1864 abortion ban — Republicans have now blocked that repeal two times.
NY Sen. Kristen Gonzalez is getting momentum behind her bill that would declare hospital closures a health care emergency, and force any closures to pause until the Dept of Health has a chance to assess how the decision impacts the community.
In related reading & viewing:
Before Run for Something existed, candidate recruitment was done behind closed-doors and through old-boys-club networks. Now, in no small part thanks to the work we’ve done changing the narrative about who deserves to be asked to run for office, state parties are promoting open seats and asking people to run far & wide. In just the latest example, Florida Democrats literally have billboards up asking people to run!
In similar efforts: The Idaho Democratic Party is running a full slate of state legislative candidates for the first time in 30 years. This is a big deal. The first step to eventually flipping red states blue is fighting for every single vote — that means recruiting folks to run and actually talk to voters at their doors. Especially when the GOP has gotten as extreme as it is in Idaho, there could be some surprise wins…
Our chief campaigns officer, Sara Hadad, talked with The Fulcrum about the need for more young people to run for office, highlighting 27-year old Kelly Leibold’s successful in Wisconsin to bring much needed representation to the county board.
PEN America released a new report on book bans — in fall semester 2023, they recorded more book bans than the entirety of 2022. This is not a good record to set.
Related to Clerk Work: Local election administrators are gearing up to run the election amidst record-setting turnover and scary levels of harassment and attacks.
I was in L.A. last week and sat down with Eliz Michaelson on Fox 11 to talk about Run for Something’s work — it was a quick but thorough under 4 minute convo if you’re interested!
Thanks for making all this possible. So much more work to come — it’s only happening because of you!
- Amanda