Let’s GoooTV
Hi. I’m going to keep this simple — the goal in the next 60 or so days will be to Get Out the Vote (GOTV).
We need to motivate people to vote and educate them about their options, particularly in the face of COVID-related health concerns and Republican-fueled efforts to disenfranchise people by making it harder to vote and harder to get your vote fairly counted.
There are 3 key things that you can do — and they are all relatively easy. I am outlining my personal plan below, with some helpful links. I would love for you to join me.
If you are interested in participating in any group activities — virtual via Zoom, or possibly in person at Studio Rodrigo in Gowanus — please email me.
Action 1: Donating Money
If you have the ability to donate money, there are lots of ways you can donate.
It doesn’t really matter how much you donate — $5 is probably as good as $100.
Donating now is critical, versus waiting to donate in a panic in late October or November. Donating now will help campaigns plan — do voter outreach, produce digital and TV campaign ads, staff up their teams, and do get out the vote work.
You should certainly donate to the Biden Harris campaign if you want (https://joebiden.com/). I did.
But you can maximize your donor support by supporting critical state races and organizations doing get out the vote work — particularly, tipping point states & states that will help drive a Senate majority. Admittedly, not every candidate will be inspiring or check all your boxes. They are all important races, given our system.
Below are state races and organizations that matter. Pick 1 or 2 that resonate with you — maybe you lived there, had a great visit there, or have friends there.
Adopt a state and donate.
Michigan — Gary Peters is running for re-election as a (D) Senator. He is a totally fine senator. We need to help him get re-elected. In 2018, Michigan elected an amazing slate of women for statewide office, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
https://www.peters.senate.gov/
Wisconsin — Support Wisconsin Dems. In 2018, they won back the governorship with Tony Evers.
https://wisdems.org/
Pennsylvania — In 2018, Pennsylvania flipped a few house seats blue, won the Governorship for Tom Wolf and kept Bob Casey’s Senate seat. There aren’t as many prominent state-wide races, but you can support Swing Left or adopt competitive House races.
https://swingleft.org/p/pennsylvania
Arizona — Mark Kelly is a former astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords, a former Representative who was shot while serving in office in 2012. Mark Kelly has a big polling lead over the current Republican candidate.
https://markkelly.com/
Florida — We don’t have a chance to send Marco Rubio home this year, but you can support Florida Dems.
https://www.floridadems.org/
North Carolina
Cal Cunningham is a popular candidate running against an unpopular Senator. He can win in NC.
https://www.calfornc.com/
Colorado
Democrats have won most recent state-wide races in Colorado, and former governor John Hickenlooper, while not the most progressive, is generally well liked and should win.
https://hickenlooper.com/
Maine
Sara Gideon is an exciting candidate for Maine to defeat Susan Collins, who has continually betrayed any “moderate” sensibility over the last six years in office.
https://saragideon.com/
Iowa
Iowa voted for Obama just 8 years ago. Theresa Greenfield is polling even and might be able to pull an upset in Iowa’s Senate race. Support her.
https://greenfieldforiowa.com/
Georgia
Georgia has two Senate races happening in 2020. Support both Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
https://electjon.com/
Other State-wide Senate races
There are some great, longer shot Democratic candidates in other states, but a lot of them have great stories. You should check them out:
— Jamie Harrison in South Carolina (https://jaimeharrison.com/),
— MJ Hegar in Texas (https://mjfortexas.com/),
— Dr. Al Gross in Alaska (https://dralgrossak.com/),
— Steve Bullock in Montana (https://stevebullock.com/)
Plus a couple of Democratic incumbents who can always use help:
— Doug Jones in Alabama (https://dougjones.com/)
— Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire (http://maggiehassan.com/)
Competitive House of Representative and local races
Check out Sister District (https://sisterdistrict.com/) if you need inspiration, but here are some competitive House of Representative races that I have donated to:
New York — Jackie Gordon (https://jackiegordonforcongress.com/)
New York — Max Rose (https://www.maxroseforcongress.com/)
New York — Nancy Goroff (https://www.goroffforcongress.com/)
New Jersey — Amy Kennedy (https://amykennedyforcongress.com/)
Iowa — Abby Finkenauer (https://www.abbyfinkenauer.com/)
Iowa — Cindy Axne (https://cindyaxneforcongress.com/)
Indiana — Christina Hale (https://haleforcongress.com/)
Ohio — Kate Schroder (https://kateforcongress.com/)
Texas — Wendy Davis (https://www.wendydavisforcongress.com/)
Texas — Sri Preston Kulkarni (https://sri2020.com/)
Nebraska — Kara Eastman (https://www.eastmanforcongress.com/)
New Mexico — Xochitl Torres Small (https://www.xochforcongress.com/)
Missouri — Jill Schupp (https://www.jillschupp.com/)
Arizona — Hiral Tipernini (https://hiralforcongress.com/)
South Carolina — Joe Cunningham (https://www.joecunninghamforcongress.com/)
Don’t get overwhelmed! Just pick 1 or 2 — adopt a state where you have a connection.
Action 2: Donating Time: Phone Banking and Text Banking
After Labor Day, we will start phone banking in the evenings from 6–9 at Studio Rodrigo. If you are interested in joining (either in person or via Zoom), email me.
If you would like to do it on your own time, volunteer with one of these organizations (or adopt a state from the list above):
Biden Harris — get connected with the campaign and volunteer to phone bank: https://joebiden.com/take-action/
Indivisible — find your local Indivisible chapter. They are in places large and small all over the country and you can work locally with your neighbors to help get out the vote: https://indivisible.org/
Run for Something — support first-time progressive candidates organizing via Run for Something. https://runforsomething.net/
Action 3: Protecting the Result & Holding Democrats Accountable
Be ready for Republicans to contest the result of the election. We will need to be vocal to our elected officials and to the media to make sure that the election result is honored and the transition is smooth. Please follow organizations like Indivisible on your social media of choice (https://indivisible.org/).
Assuming the Democrats win, yes, it’s likely that there won’t be massive changes, since there is some vestigial idea that “moderates” don’t want things like health care, well funded schools, well funded public transportation, and “system change” policies to address systemic issues like climate change, police violence, and racism.
Get used to using tools like Resist Bot (https://resist.bot/) which make it super easy to contact your officials and push them on issues.
