RFS feel-good update (9/3): No time to waste
The Run With Her call, new endorsements, and great vibes
Hi all -
Happy Labor Day! We’re back and in the final sprint from now until polls close. Voters start voting in just a few weeks as ballots go out — no time to waste.
First, ICYMI: Last week we held an incredible call, Run With Her. We were joined by amazing young women — leaders like Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, WA Sen. Emily Randall, TN state house candidate Allie Phillips, WI Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, VA Sen. Danica Roem, and others — along with folks like former EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock, writer Amber Tamblyn, and superstar musician & actress Janelle Monáe. Catch up and get inspired.
Also last week: We announced our latest endorsement class! 49 incredible leaders running for offices across 26 states. We’ve got school board candidates, city council candidates, leaders running to flip state legislative seats, candidates running for conservation & environment-related boards in CA and NC, and a few candidates running for Rent Control Board in Berkeley.
We’ve got more than 400 candidates up this fall (and have already elected 32 folks this year!) — these are the present and future leaders of our party and are going to generate the reverse coattails that will help Democrats at every level win close races.
They’re only able to run because of your help. Thanks for doing what you can.
In other RFS community updates:
State house candidate Sarah Henry is part of the wave of young leaders running for office to fight for abortion access in Florida through both their campaigns and the ballot initiative up this fall.
Erie (PA) City Councilmember Jasmine Flores shared her story of community and representation as part of a larger story about how the city has surged in population due to immigration and the beautiful multi-cultural organizing community they’re building together.
Joe Dalia, candidate for Nevada state assembly, has a great op-ed in the Daily Beast about how impactful it is to provide free lunch at schools — something the NV GOP Governor has veto'ed.
In Pima County, AZ, county clerk Gábriella Cazares-Kelly explains why it matters to have Native leaders as part of election outreach and administration: “Since getting elected in 2021, she has found that even well-meaning officials commonly have little understanding of why voter engagement campaigns and election policies that work for most of the population may not work for people who live on reservations.” I also LOVED this profile of Gabriella in the 19th.
This piece from Overland Park (KS) City Council Member Melissa Cheatham is a critical reminder that federal legislation (like the amazing Inflation Reduction Act, which put big money into climate programs) requires partners in governing at the state and local level.
Onondaga County Legislator Mo Brown and Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion make the case for Syracuse to adopt Good Cause Eviction laws, which would help give tenants the fundamental right to basic due process if the landlord wants to evict them for no reason.
In PA, Reps. Rick Krajewski and Aerion Abney are bringing much-needed attention to making it easier for incarcerated people to vote if they are eligible.
Charlotte (NC) City Councilmember Victoria Watlington has been leading the city’s holistic plan to solve the housing crisis.
More on housing: Madison (WI) Alder Juliana Bennett, a recent UW-Madison grad herself, led on a study that identified the housing crisis faced by students in the area. (Spoiler: It’s very hard and expensive!)
Last week, in Fort Bend, Texas, the community gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for what will become the largest African American Memorial in the region. County Commissioner Dexter McCoy led the effort to make the project a reality.
MN Sen. Zaynab Mohammed is pushing hard to raise the minimum wage for Minnesotans.
SD State Rep. Kadyn Wittman has pushed for more support for low-income and homeless populations — she’s fighting hard against an upcoming ballot initiative that would add work requirements to those who want to get covered under the Medicaid expansion the state passed a few years ago.
Minneapolis City councilmember Jason Chavez is pushing forward a plan to add “homeless status, immigration status, and justice impacted status as protected classes” in the city’s civil rights ordinances.
And as always, an eye on our bench:
US Rep. Yadira Caraveo is speaking out openly about her mental health and struggles with depression — the kind of destigmatization that can and will save lives.
Lucia Báez-Geller, former Miami-Dade School Board member and current candidate for U.S. House, is sharing the story of her abortion — one that would now be illegal under Florida’s 6-week abortion.
In related reading:
Trump spoke to the Moms for Liberty convention on Friday night — a reminder that when a Moms for Liberty candidate wins a school board seat, it’s as if Trump won a school board seat. That’s why Run for Something’s work on school boards is SO important.
In Pennsylvania, the state party and coordinated campaigns are a running a hyper-targeted hyper-local campaign focused on local issues & local candidates, in part an effort to “narrow loss margins” across the state. The RFS strategy in action!
The bullshit in Georgia to change the rules to local election boards can refuse to certify the election if they don’t like the results is happening because Trump wanted it to happen. This is why Run for Something’s Clerk Work program has been so important, and why we need to fully fund our efforts to run up the score and protect the count.
In case you needed another reminder why building state and local power matters, take it from President Obama: “Politics in America is and always has been, not simply a matter of rhetoric and joy and excitement. It is also nuts and bolts exercises of power. If we elect Kamala, but we haven’t dealt with the nuts and bolts issues … she will confront the same nonsense that I had to deal with.”
The Harris campaign announced this morning they’re sending $25 million to the committees focused on Congress, statewides, and the state leg races. That’s amazing. It’s also not enough (and of those, only the DLCC overlaps with the level of office Run for Something works with.) We’re the closest the Democratic Party has to a committee for local elections. Take your cues from them and send money locally!
Thank you for being part of this community. We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and when polls close (and even more to do after!!) but I know we can do it with you on this team.
- Amanda
I absolutely love that the new African American Memorial is being built. This is a chance to teach real history about the heinous goings on in this state in our past. Especially since they’re trying to white-wash our history even more than it already was, in schools.
I’m shocked Paxton and Abbott didn’t try to stop it from happening. It’s not like they care about the rule of law or anything. Paxton was under investigation and indictment for over ten years (I think it was) until his cronies in the Texas legislature gave him yet another pass for all his criming.
But the memorial is truly a good thing! It should be mandatory for all Texas schools to make field trips to it with every child old enough to understand.
And it should also be mandatory to have one in every state in this nation. Teach the true history! You don’t get to change the narrative just because it makes you uncomfortable.
A great idea