Below is a personal message from David Hogg, a national gun safety advocate who co-founded March For Our Lives after the Parkland school shooting in Florida. 
Hey, it’s David Hogg, gun safety advocate and co-founder of March For Our Lives.
Many of our elected officials can be described as one word:
Cowards. Our kids, our planet, our freedoms, our democracy — are all under attack by far-right extremists, from the State House to the U.S. Senate, who are willing to let children be slaughtered at school and watch our planet burn for their own personal gain.
We refuse to back down. There were many who said after Parkland that we couldn’t change anything because we were just a “bunch of kids.” But we proved them wrong —
we passed gun laws in a state owned by the NRA. There were many who said young people would never vote. But we proved them wrong in 2018 —
defeating more NRA backed politicians than ever before in U.S. history. Then, in 2020, we defeated NRA puppet Donald Trump.
Both of these victories enabled us to pass the first federal gun law in 30 years. There were many who said Maxwell Frost, March For Our Lives' first National Organizing Director, could never be the first Gen Z Member of Congress.
But we proved them wrong, again. Badass young people have a habit of being underestimated — and I have a habit of scaring the shit out of Republicans by proving that, while we might be young, we are
powerful. That is why today, myself and Kevin Lata, Maxwell Frost’s Campaign Manager and 2022 Campaign Manager of the Year, are launching Leaders We Deserve — a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young leaders to Congress, and especially our State Legislatures, across the country to help defeat the far-right’s agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future. Leaders We Deserve will work in partnership with a stacked Advisory Board, including Maxwell Frost, Justin Jones, and other influential leaders.
Are you in? Split a donation between Leaders We Deserve and 314 Action so we can win back our country and advance a progressive agenda.
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be immediately processed and split between 314 Action and Leaders We Deserve.
Why is this important?
Despite making up 45% of the electorate, Gen Z and Millennials only hold 21% of State Legislature seats. Conversely, Republicans have made significant investments in down-ballot races, leading to the absolute assault on our rights and freedoms that we’re seeing happen across states — from abortion bans to taking away LGBTQ+ rights to repealing life-saving common sense gun laws put into place after the Parkland shooting.
Our political system is stacked against us, but incredible young leaders have fought back and beat the odds to get elected to office. It’s time to take more young people from movements like March For Our Lives and elect them to office to be the leaders we deserve.
But grassroots support is what moves the needle, and it’s what we need from you today. Join us by splitting a donation of any amount between Leaders We Deserve and 314 Action today. So how are we going to fight back against the 50-year chess game conservative special interest groups have been manipulating?
- Recruitment: Identifying candidates who will have the biggest impact on their states (that's where the real work is happening).
- Providing Day-to-Day Support: We’re helping campaigns build from the ground up and will work with them directly on fundraising, messaging, coalition building, voter contact, and volunteer recruitment.
- Volunteer Network: Our grassroots volunteer army (that’s you!) will have person-to-person conversations with voters all across a candidate’s district, advocating on their behalf.
- Running Paid Media Campaigns: We’ll run well-funded independent expenditure programs.
But there’s a reason our political system favors those who are older, wealthier, and white —
running for office takes serious resources. Which is one of the reasons I’m reaching out today. Young candidates aren’t seen as viable and often struggle to raise money. They have lower personal wealth and smaller donor networks.
So I’m asking: Will you join our movement by splitting a donation between Leaders We Deserve and 314 Action today?
There’s so much more I could say, but I’ll end with this —
we absolutely cannot do this work without you. Thank you.
More soon,
David Hogg
Co-founder
Leaders We Deserve
