RFS feel-good update (5/16): A "plan to save democracy" has to include all 50 states
Because democracy is under threat everywhere - not just the battlegrounds
Hi all -
First, I just want to note: The multiple mass shootings over the weekend, especially the massacre perpetuated by the racist shooter in Buffalo, are heartbreaking. I wish there was more to say except that we’re thinking of the victims and their families, and continuing to do everything we can to elect leaders who will both keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and will refuse to embolden racist ideologies.
Second, and apologies for the tone shift, but, some quick election updates:
Last week, we had some great wins! Congrats to Joe Solomon (Charleston WV city council), Dr. Sydnee Smiri McElroy (WV state house), John Frederickson & Sarah Slattery (both NE senate), Kristen DuPree (Metropolitan Community College Board, NE) and Jamell Johnson (Little Elm City Council, TX).
Not for nothing, but I’m really really proud we’re helping build a new bench of talent of Democrats in West Virginia in particular…
Tomorrow we’ve got 33 incredible Run for Something candidates on the ballot in Kentucky, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
Keep an eye on our social media and your inbox for updates.
Two stories relevant to Clerk Work, our 3 year plan to save democracy from the ground up by recruiting and supporting candidates for local election administration positions:
Republicans in Michigan have replaced election officials who certified Biden’s win. (Note: These are positions appointed by political parties — not the kinds of jobs we get a say in…but still! Big flag!)
One of the main candidates to become chief election official in Idaho is a lawmaker who recently defended restrictions on voting by claiming people were “coming in and voting” from Canada into Idaho.
The Idaho story may feel a little random, but I point it out because it needs to be said over and over and over again:
Democracy is under threat in all 50 states, not just the presidential battlegrounds.
What happens in red states does not stay in red states. What happens in red states makes it way through the courts, or through the Fox News ecosystem, or up to Congress and ultimately affects us all. And even if that wasn’t the case, it hurts people in those states! “Elections have consequences” is true for every election.
No recent issue makes this more clear than on abortion. More than half the country is imminently going to treat women like second-class citizens; had Democrats made different decisions over the last 3+ decades over which states “mattered” and which didn’t, maybe some of those state legislatures and governors wouldn’t be in the position to pass those laws. (After all, in Mississippi, where the SCOTUS case originated, Democrats controlled the state legislature up until 2011. What if we’d invested in MS the way we invest in PA?)
All that’s to say: A plan to save democracy that only runs through the presidential battlegrounds simply isn’t a plan to save democracy. It’s a plan to win the electoral college - and while that’s a completely legitimate and important goal, as we’ve seen over and over again, winning the presidency isn’t enough to protect our values.
Run for Something is currently closing out fundraising for phase 2 of Clerk Work. If you want to learn more about our current budget gap and what you can do to ensure we don’t have to scale down this critical program, just reply to this email.
Some great updates from across the RFS community…
RFS candidates & alum continue to lead on the fight for abortion access. More to note for you:
When Roe is likely overturned, local prosecutors will play a critical role in deciding whether or not the patchwork system of laws actually gets enforced. A number of RFS candidates/alum, including Eli Savit in Washtenaw County, MI, Jose Garza in Austin, and candidates Julie Gunnigle in Maricopa County, AZ, and Allison Miller, candidate for Pinellas-Pasco state attorney in FL have promised not to prosecute these laws.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo introduced a resolution to the commissioner’s court to push Congress to take action on Roe v. Wade — right now, every little push matters.
A must-read profile of Janelle Perez, who’s running for FL state senate: “Janelle Perez had just finished testifying in front of Florida state senators about the impact the “don’t say gay” bill would have on her family when she received a text. It was a photo her 4-year-old daughter had drawn of her family: herself and her two moms, one with a baby in her belly. “I just broke down crying,” said Perez, 35. She worried that under the new legislation, her daughter wouldn’t be able to share artwork or talk about her family in school.”
CO Sen. Julie Gonzales is leading on a new state program that would regulate toxic air contaminants — particularly important since right now, CO is facing an air quality crisis.
NYC Councilmember Sandy Nurse is pushing the mayor to find more money and appropriately invest in sanitation services.
The Houston Chronicle has endorsed Staci Childs for State Board of Education, a critical position that has direct oversight over Texas schools and curriculums.
The LA Times endorsed Lindsey Horvath for LA County Supervisor, naming her a “particularly impressive leader likely to give the board a jolt of youthful energy and accelerate its sense of urgency.”
NYC Councilmember Lincoln Restler released a new climate action roadmap for his community, the first of its kind for a city council district.
We partnered with Lead Locally and others to host a training for folks considering a run for local office to fight for climate — people LOVED it.
CO Reps. Brianna Titone and David Ortiz (who uses a wheelchair himself) have passed a “right to repair” law for wheelchairs, making it easier for Coloradans to take care of their own equipment.
NY Sen. Michelle Hinchey is leading on legislation to require the state Health Dept to collect and publish a list of the prohibited health care services within each hospital across NY and publish it online, all in service of fixing a bureaucratic mess.
For Justin Tseng, Medford City Councilmember, fixing potholes is an equity issue: “As simple as a pothole is, it’s really about transit access, racial justice. It’s an economic issue. These are municipal issues that have a broader lens to them.”
For the first time in 36 years, Portland has a competitive race for city auditor - we’re proud to support Simone Rede for the job.
If she wins, Saraswati Singh will be the first woman of color to serve as Hennepin County Attorney.
Take it from ME Sen. Chloe Maxmin, who’s done it (twice): “Young people can run and win in rural conservative communities. We can embrace our progressive values for social justice, climate justice, racial justice, and all that we care about. And we can rebuild our relationships with rural America to build sustainable political power. “
As we keep an eye on RFS alum running for higher office:
Alum Adrian Wallace is running for mayor of Lexington, KY.
VA Del. Danica Roem announced her plan to campaign for VA state senate, moving to the upper chamber of the legislature.
In related reading:
In the Chicago Tribune: “One way to save democracy? Invest in young people running for office.”
I really liked this overview of the political road to the end of Roe from Peter Hamby at Puck, and in particular, would flag this ending:
”Put another way: If Roe dies, the entire country becomes a battlefield for abortion rights. Indeed, as [Jessica Post of the DLCC] said, the federal government isn’t coming to save the left. Unless Democrats suddenly devise a cohesive, bottom-up, always-on strategy to fight back against the ascendant right in a post-Roe universe for decades to come, supporters of abortion rights will have to find a way save themselves and protect a generation of women now at risk—and perhaps a generation after that, too.”
RFS is different from a lot of other organizations in that it doesn’t target swing states. Its power-building strategy is longer-term than that: By electing Democrats at the lower levels of government, RFS hopes to not just get good people in vital but oft-ignored positions like school board members and election officials, but also build a bench of experienced progressives who will go on to win higher office. It also hopes to make Democratic officeholders more diverse by breaking the cycle of local Democratic parties recruiting candidates who look like candidates who have won before (white men who have networks to draw on for fundraising).
No one is doing what RFS is doing, and it occupies a key position in the progressive electoral ecosystem. Blue Tent highly recommends donating to Run For Something, and considers funding the group a priority. …
Giving to Run For Something is an investment in the future. RFS-endorsed candidates may not be running in major races, or even in key state legislatures, but one of Democrats’ problems in the past decade has been an unwillingness to play the long game. Everyone is worried about who will control Congress in 2022 and 2024, but we should also consider who will control Congress in 2030 and 2040. RFS’s pipeline will help ensure that battle-tested progressive candidates are running for office in those years.
Just something to make you feel proud!
Thanks for making all this possible. I’m mad but I’m hopeful, which is a weird but powerful combination!
- Amanda