RFS feel-good update (9/8): Our newest endorsements & our even newer podcast!!
Hi all -
First: ICYMI, we endorsed 109 new candidates last week!! This is our most diverse class yet; 68% are BIPOC; more than half are women.
The class includes a non-binary first-generation American community organizer running for city council; an art teacher running for state legislature; a voter protection attorney running for supervisor of elections in the biggest swing county in FL; a candidate running for mosquito control district; an Indigenous woman with deep roots in tribal government who’s now running for state house; a former library director running for state assembly; a combat veteran and father of five running for state house and so many others. They’re amazing. Stay tuned for more highlights.
Launching today: Run for Something (the podcast!) We’ve partnered with Dear Media to put out an inspiring, hopeful, optimistic show about politics in 2020 that almost never mentions Trump. The first two episodes drop today everywhere you get podcasts.
In episode one, I talk with Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy about her experience as a Black woman running for office (while pregnant!) and what it feels like to be told no over and over again.
In episode two, I chatted with Alleghany County Councilmember Bethany Hallam, who shared her journey from opioid addict to elected official (including an incredible anecdote of her election night 2016 experience, spent in the county jail she now oversees.)
Subscribe, rate, review, listen — do all the things you do with podcasts. And let me know who you think we should talk to!
In RFS candidate & alumni updates…
Worth reading: RFS alum Jabari Brisport — who will be the first gay Black state senator in NY — did an interview with AOC. Read it. It’s awesome.
Lewiston School Board member Kiernan Majerus-Collins is pushing forward to remove police officers from schools — following in the footsteps of RFS alum leading similar efforts in Denver and Minneapolis.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon has been prepping her office for more than 10,000 vote-by-mail requests. Electing Democratic county clerks = super important!
Our partners at Victory Fund have endorsed Alexsis Rodgers in her campaign to be the next mayor of Richmond.
Incoming Washtenaw (MI) county prosecutor Eli Savitt is committing to an independent review of the racial disparities in the prosecutor’s office in order to create a more equitable justice system.
Natalie Quevedo is taking on an 18-year incumbent in the NH state house, fighting for the chamber to prioritize taking action to stop climate change.
This time last year, Fatima Iqbal-Zubair was prepping for teaching the high school students she worked with. Now she’s taking on a three-term incumbent for CA state assembly with an incredible sense of urgency around environmental racism.
NY state Senator Alessandra Biaggi is one of 17 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Trump and DeJoy around the issues with the USPS, and she’s not backing down.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was named to Fortune’s 40 under 40 list (and in a full-circle moment, so was I!)
If you need to be inspired, watch this new ad from Chokwe Pitchford, who’s working to flip a seat in the MI state house.
There are a few events coming up to put on your radar:
This Wednesday at 6pm ET, tune in to our Armchair Chat about vote by mail with Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams (who is also chair of the GA Democratic Party and the nominee to fill Rep. John Lewis’s seat). If you missed last week’s chat about campaign management with all-time expert Emmy Ruiz, catch up on Facebook.
Also Wednesday at 8pm ET: A ~house party~ focused on NY candidates, including Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, Amanda Septimo, and Administrative Law Judge Karen Best. Tickets start at $25!
On 9/15, we’re hosting another Unapologetically Progressive spotlight, this time on a few amazing folks in Michigan. RSVP now for free.
Thank you for making all this possible. We are so lucky to do this work with you! The end is (sort of) in sight and we WILL survive the next few months, I promise.
- Amanda