John,

We need to talk about Mike Bloomberg.

The American oligarch is suddenly everywhere. TV and radio ads, a digital invasion, pundits on cable news breathlessly praising his wealth and his imaginary “electability.” He’s rolling out endorsements from elected leaders by the dozens -- including several members of Congress we are running against. More on that in a moment.

Let’s cut to the chase. Bloomberg is trying to buy this election, and it’s not going to happen on our watch.

As mayor, Bloomberg turned America’s largest city into a petri dish for abuse of power. His unconstitutional police policies like Stop and Frisk and the mosque surveillance program terrorized Black, Latino, and Muslim residents. He reigned over the unbridled greed of Wall Street that triggered the global financial crisis.

When he faced a two-term limit, he pushed through a change to the law by cashing in favors from his “philanthropy,” and secured a third term for a total of 12 long years in power.

Now we’re watching the same dynamic play out in his run for the White House.

Elected officials who have benefited from Bloomberg’s financial support are rushing to endorse him. Two of them are Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-05) and Rep. Bobby Rush (IL-01). Let us be clear: These endorsements are utterly disqualifying.

Fortunately, Brand New Congress decided it was time for a change months ago, and  announced our support for challengers to both Meeks and Rush.

Challenging Meeks is BNC’s Shaniyat Chowdhury, a 27-year-old USMC veteran and bartender from Queens. Life in Bloomberg’s New York City wasn’t easy for Shan as a young man from a Muslim family. So he joined AOC’s campaign as a field organizer to put an end to those abuses.

Replacing Rush is Robert Emmons, Jr., a 27-year-old community organizer fighting to end the scourge of gun violence and systemic poverty that has gripped his southside Chicago district for the three decades Rush has been in office.

Both Shan and Robert have seen firsthand the harm done to their communities as a direct result of policies Bloomberg promoted. This unmistakable stench of corruption is exactly why these incumbents must be replaced with a Brand New Congress that can’t be bought.

Bloomberg has already spent over half a billion dollars and he’s just getting started. TV executives are already celebrating booming ad revenues -- don’t forget, they cheered on Donald Trump in 2016.

We’re drawing the line. We cannot allow a billionaire oligarch to buy an election with his pocket change -- because this is bigger than the presidency.

Bloomberg is buying the loyalty of mayors, party insiders, members of Congress and more. What will he demand in return?

Shan, Robert, and all the other BNC candidates are working hard to win these seats, and they need our support. We don’t need Bloomberg’s billions, but we do need to raise enough to help these campaigns get out the vote.

Right now, we’re only about $6000 shy of our stretch goal in this final month before the primaries begin.

Can you chip in today with $5 so we can onboard and train enough volunteers to help get out the vote in Texas, California, Illinois, and Ohio?

It is more crucial than ever that we elect principled representatives like Shan and Robert who cannot and never will be bought. Every district we can take for Brand New Congress is one that can’t be controlled by Bloomberg, Trump, or anyone else cashing in for special treatment.

With your support, we will have a Congress that works for all of us -- not just the oligarchs.

In solidarity,

Cory Archibald
Chair of the Board of Directors
Brand New Congress