RFS feel-good update (5/11): 51 new leaders!

Plus election winners!

Hi all -

Last week we endorsed our newest class of candidates — 51 amazing new leaders across 23 states.

Some other stats about our May class:

• 43% renters

• 21.6% Gen Z candidates

• 30 first-time candidates

A few of the many all-stars

• Allie Phillips, who we’re re-endorsing to flip HD-75 in Tennessee. She didn’t plan to run for office. She was forced into advocacy after being denied life-saving care under Tennessee’s abortion ban. She became the lead plaintiff in a case challenging that law, and last week, that case hit another roadblock. She’s running to make sure no one else has to leave their home state just to survive.

• Ismael Luna in Wisconsin. At 14 years old, he was unhoused. Today, he works at a shelter helping others find stability. He’s spent years addressing housing insecurity and public health in his community. Now, he’s running for State Assembly because he knows exactly what happens when leaders ignore people like him.

• Bentley Hudgins in Georgia. A human rights leader and voting rights expert, Bentley has already helped stop anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, expand voter access, and deliver real investments for their community. Now they’re running to bring that same leadership to the state legislature, where decisions about rights and representation are made every day.

• Heather Sievers running again to flip HD 40 in Iowa. A nurse, a parent, and an advocate, Heather ran for this seat before and came within just 320 votes of flipping it. She first got involved after lawmakers undermined an education agency her family depended on.

Meet all our 2026 candidates and find one running near you to help!

Also last week: There were elections!

Congrats to Ashley Bryant Bailey (OH), Brandon Blumenherst (IN), Lee Castillo (IN), Victoria Martz (IN), Melissa Fisher (IN), Lindsay Gramlich (IN), Katie Robins (IN), Hannah Guillaume (IN), Candace Collins (TN), Jennifer Konyn (TN), Brandon Huckaby (TN), Jonathan Bradner (OH), Katie Koehler Wagner (OH), and Shelby Kimball (OH) for moving on to the general election.

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In RFS community updates:

• This is some real bullshit: Joanna Whaley, who’s running for MI state house, is being challenged by her Democratic opponent, who is alleging she made a “false statement” by not listing her birth name on her candidate filing paperwork. Joanna is a trans woman who legally changed her name last year.

• TN Rep. Torrey Harris is speaking up and fighting back against the GOP’s egregious return to Jim Crow redistricting.

  

• CO Rep. Meghan Lukens - a high school social studies teacher - led on legislation protecting “kidfluencers” — children who appear in monetized content.

• San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera joined an anti-ICE demonstration outside the city’s immigration court.

• Minneapolis City Councilmember Aurin Chowdhury — along with the entire city council — is pushing for a gun control ordinance in the city.

• CO Sen. Iman Jodeh sponsored legislation to support immigrant communities, improve transparency for state and local law enforcement, and increase oversight of ICE detention facilities.

• As part of our continued partnership with the podcast, Lemme Fix it, the team interviewed Marissa Roy, candidate for LA City Attorney. This was a great convo.

• Long Beach (CA) Mayor Rex Richardson has kicked off the city’s Zero-Emissions Collections Pilot Program, which involves deploying electric garbage trucks. Any way we can reduce emissions is good!

• Henry Mantel’s convo with Patch about his vision for LA is worth reading — he’s clear-eyed about the challenges and opportunities ahead for the city as he campaigns for city council.

• Westchester (NY) County Legislator Jenn Puja helped pass new legislation guaranteeing construction workers would get the same standard union wages regardless of whether the county leased or owned the job site.

• We love to see RFS candidates joining together across state lines.

Keep an eye on that bench:

• IN Sen. J.D. Ford won his primary for IN-5, an R+8 congressional district in Indiana that could be flippable this year.

In related reading/watching:

• I joined Fair Fight for a conversation on redistricting and what we’re doing to fight back.

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I know things feel bleak right now. The gerrymandering in TN and the VA court decision overturning the election around the new maps were appalling (to say the least.) The GOP has set our country back.

And I can’t say it’s going to get easier or better in the short-term. But keep in mind: The reason they were able to get to this point is because they invested and won state and local elections for decades. They built the infrastructure and won the power for exactly this purpose. It’s not an accident — it’s a strategy.

What we’re doing together is a core part of the effort to fight back. It’s not simple or guaranteed. It is worth it.

Thanks for being on this team.

- Amanda