Hey John, 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? Become a Founding Supporter of Leaders We Deserve so we can win back our country and advance a progressive agenda.

Add my name ››

Why is this important?

Despite making up 45% of the electorate, Gen Z and Millenials 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 and 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 becoming a Founding Supporter of Leaders We Deserve today.

So how are we going to fight back against the 50-year chess game conservative special interest groups have been manipulating?

Leaders We Deserve will invest in young people, knock down barriers, and elect more young people to office. We’re doing this by:

1. Recruitment: Identifying candidates who will have the biggest impact on their states (that's where the real work is happening).
2. 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.
3. Volunteer Network: Our grassroots volunteer army (that’s you, John) will have person-to-person conversations with voters all across a candidate’s district, advocating on their behalf.
4. 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 — they have the connections and established networks to support their campaigns.

Which is one of the reasons I’m reaching out today. One of the most powerful tools young candidates have is the collective voice of their supporters. By adding your name, you're helping to validate and amplify the importance of young leaders in politics.

So I’m asking: Will you join our movement by signing your name and becoming a Founding Support of Leaders We Deserve today?

Add my name ››

There’s so much more I could say, John, but I’ll end with this — we absolutely cannot do this work without you.

Please, sign up to be a Founding Supporter today so we can defeat the far-right extremists who have taken over our communities and our nation — and elect the leaders we deserve.

Thank you.

More soon,

David Hogg
Co-founder
Leaders We Deserve

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