RFS feel-good update (9/28): Our alum bare it all in a vote-by-mail PSA
Hi all -
First, thank you to those who reached out after last week’s update & our notes about our $400k budget gap. (I’m especially grateful to Secretary Hillary Clinton & Mayor Pete Buttigieg for lending their public support for our efforts!) We’re making a dent, but we still have a long way to go to close that hole, so whatever you can do helps.
Second, some good news: Democrats are challenging more state legislative seats than Republicans. While we’re still not at 100% contested elections, we’re making progress. Fun fact: Run for Something has endorsed 16% of all Democratic candidates running for state legislature. Another fun fact: At least 181 of our 331 state legislative candidates are running in districts Trump won in 2016.
This matters: The bad laws that end up in front of the Supreme Court start in state legislatures. Protecting reproductive choice requires focusing on these offices in both red and blue states — the more pro-choice legislators we can elect, the better. Stay focused on the root of the problem!
A few ways you can help Run for Something candidates directly…
As part of Latinx Heritage Month, we’ve put together a page with 66 Latinx candidates on the ballot this fall. You can donate directly to their campaigns right here.
The DLCC has a slate of 48 seats needed to flip 10 state legislative chambers red to blue — it includes RFS-endorsed candidates Lydia Bean (TX), Celina Montoya (TX), Lorenzo Sanchez (TX), Akilah Bacy (TX), Natali Hurtado (TX), Aimy Steele (NC), DeAndrea Salvador (NC), Brittney Rodas (PA), Lindsay Drew (PA), Brian Farkas (NC), Sarah Crawford (NC), Ricky Hurtado (NC), and Kayla Koether (IA).
Crooked Media has a slate of 16 races to help tackle gerrymandering — it includes RFS-endorsed candidates Katie Dixon (KS), Cole Fine (KS), JD Wooten (NC), Annette Collazo (FL), and Pasha Baker (FL).
Every Friday on Medium, we’re sharing ways you can volunteer for local campaigns in key battleground states, so you can help build sustainable power and gin up Democratic turn-out at the same time. Last week, we posted opportunities in PA & NC — find a campaign and pick up your phone!
In other RFS candidate & alum updates…
President Barack Obama made another round of endorsements, including our very own Sarah McBride (DE), Joshua Hicks (FL), Franccesca Cesti-Browne (FL), Matielyn Jones (GA), Kayla Koether (IA), Christina Blackcloud (A), Jo Ella Hoye (KS), Ethan Corson (KS), Choke Pitchford (MI), Emily Siegrist (WI) and Amanda White Eagle (WI).
Allegheny County Councilmembers Bethany Hallam and Liv Bennett and state house candidate Emily Kinkead put together a bold PSA to make sure Pennsylvanians know not to send in “naked ballots” when they vote by mail.
The Missouri state house races are high stakes — whoever wins this fall will have a role in implementing Medicaid expansion, and redistricting, among other things. RFS candidates in key races include Maggie Nurrenbern, Ashley Aune, and Emily Weber.
Jevin Hodge, candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, wrote a powerful op-ed in Teen Vogue about what happened when racists & KKK members zoom-bombed the birthday party he hosted for his incredible mom.
Raul Campillo is running in a tough race for a seat on the San Diego City Council against a Republican who initially doubted the legitimacy of the pandemic.
In newspaper endorsement news…
Cindy Polo was endorsed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel: “For lots of reasons, the Sun Sentinel recommends that voters keep Polo in the Florida Legislature, which needs her fighting spirit. She’s one of just 32 women in the male-dominated club of 160 politicians. Do not silence this voice, voters. Polo is truly representative of District 103. She’s a single mom of Colombian-American descent who struggles to support herself and her four-year-old son on a meager legislative salary of $29,697 a year.”
Akilah Bacy was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle in her fight to flip a Texas state house seat.
Julie Gunnigle is running for Maricopa County Attorney — she studied with Amy Coney Barrett when Barrett was a professor at Notre Dame. It’s worth reading her thread on what she learned….
Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, candidate for CA state assembly, STEM teacher, organizer, was profiled in both Brown Girl Magazine and on Shondaland.com. If she wins, she’ll be the first woman and first person of Sri Lankan heritage to represent LA’s district 64, and she’ll be the first Muslim in the CA state assembly.
Marie Pinkney and Madinah Anton-Watson talked about how shocked and proud they are to have beaten out incumbents for seats in the Delaware state legislature.
Ken Mejia-Beal’s opponent in his IL state house race has been accused of making racist and homophobic statements against him, saying things like: “That’s all we need is another person in the Black Caucus.” She mocked “the way he talks,” saying “He’s all LGBTQ. He wants to work for the chronically ill. He just gives us, like crazy, and every week it’s a different reason for why he wants to get into the race.” We’re as proud as ever to be on Ken’s team.
“This election can help show a young kid struggling with their place in the world here in Delaware or North Carolina or Texas or anywhere that our democracy is big enough for them—that they can be themselves and the sky can still be the limit. I think about how meaningful it would have been for me as a young kid going to bed having just watched Danica Roem win an election, or going to bed having just seen the news that Delaware could potentially elect an out-trans person as a state senator.” - Sarah McBride, on her groundbreaking win.
Brittney Rodas’s campaign for PA state house is squarely focused on affordable health care because it’s personal for her: Her father was disqualified from getting on Medicaid because his social security income put him just $7 over the monthly income limit.
In related reading & watching:
TO WATCH: A quick video from someone you might recognize about how important local elections are…
TO READ: This great op-ed from our partners at Sister District in the Guardian, titled “To protect our democracy, Democrats must win state legislative elections”: “In the absence of a court willing to strike down unconstitutional and harmful laws and enforce federal protections, states may be our last line of defense. Eighty percent of this country’s state legislative seats are up this year. We must act now, quickly, to shore up these critical chambers.
For decades, Democrats prioritized federal elections over state-level races, and left-leaning interest groups often fought through the courts, not local elections. … At the same time, Republicans and their donors have kept a laser focus on winning state legislative races – especially in redistricting years like this one. By gerrymandering districts, Republican strategists have almost guaranteed that their candidates can pass unpopular legislation without risking their seats or control of their states. This trend is especially alarming given that a central goal of conservative jurisprudence is to eliminate federal protections and give states more leeway to write their own laws.”
TO READ: While the progressive movement may not see as much success on the national level, at the state and local level, we’re seeing huge wins and opportunities, as Data for Progress and Way to Win point out, spotlighting RFS endorsed-candidates & alumni Akilah Bacy in TX, Ricky Hurtado in NC, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Michigan LG Garlin Gilchrist.
Finally, in upcoming events:
This Thursday, 10/1: We’re talking Arizona with Yassamin Ansari (Phoenix City Council), Julie Gunnigle (Maricopa County Attorney), Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah (Tucson school board) and Gabriella Cazares-Kelly (Pima County recorder). Join us for FREE.
Tomorrow, a new episode of Run for Something: The Podcast drops — we talked with Nada Elmikashfi, Francesca Hong (WI state assembly) and Max Prestigiacomo (Madison city council) about the Black Lives Matter protests, the tension between activism and electoralism, and whether they consider themselves politicians. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts to get the episode first thing on Tuesday.
As we get closer to Election Day, and as the Senate does what it might about the Supreme Court, your anxiety will likely skyrocket. You’re going to feel like you’re not doing enough, like you want to throw up each morning, like the sky is falling and we should kiss all hope goodbye. But the outcome of the election is in our hands: Keep donating. Make calls. Stay in this. Talk to your friends, family, acquaintances, and anyone/everyone you come in (socially-distanced) contact with about why they have to vote the whole ballot in this election. The end is in sight!
Thanks for being part of our team. We’re gonna make it!
- Amanda
P.S. If you need something fun, a group of dancers in Atlanta made one of the best voting ads I’ve ever seen — my favorite thing about it is how specific they are about why voting in local elections matters. Watch!