ICYMI: Last week, we announced our new newsletter, The Bellwether, a deep dive into the Virginia legislative elections, along with information about how you can get involved. 

Thanks to the many of you who subscribed! For everyone else, we wanted to give you a sneak peek at our first edition with New Virginia Majority co-Executive Director Tram Nguyen. 

[SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE]([link removed])

 
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Bellwether 🔔 <[[email protected]]([link removed])>
Date: Wed, Sep 6 at 4:00 PM
Subject: The Stakes

Hello and welcome to our inaugural edition of The Bellwether 🔔! Over the next 9 weeks, we’ll be sounding the alarms and giving you insight into Virginia’s legislative elections. (Geddit because it’s both a 2024 bellwether state and we’re sounding the alarm bells to pay attention? Pretttyyyy clever.)

For our first edition, we wanted to set the scene, and there’s no one better to define the stakes in Virginia than [Tram Nguyen, Co-Executive Director of New Virginia Majority (NVM)]([link removed]). NVM was founded in 2007 and has grown into Virginia’s leading civic engagement organization. With a focus on building power in working class communities of color, NVM has knocked over 4 million doors in their pursuit of racial, economic, and environmental justice.  

Here’s our conversation with Tram:

The Bellwether: Could you give an overview about what’s at stake in Virginia’s November legislative elections?

Tram Nguyen: Sure. So all 140 state legislative seats are on the ballot this November. That means that this election will really determine whether Governor Youngkin and Republicans will have a governing trifecta or not. What has helped protect our progress so far, especially on issues like abortion, is having one chamber blocking the Republican trifecta.

TB: We've seen prominent Virginia Democrats like Mark Warner saying we really need the national alarm bells to be going off. They’re warning that the national progressive movement needs to be mobilizing in Virginia.

TN: Yeah. And I would add on that this is the first year that these state legislative races will be run since redistricting, so everything is up in the air. Right now, Democrats have a two-seat margin in the Senate and Republicans have a four-seat margin in the House. And we are seeing that these competitive races are entirely tossups.

You've heard people say abortion is on the ballot. Abortion is on the ballot. And if we had a statewide referendum on abortion, I guarantee you that Virginians would protect access. But we don't have that and so we’re one seat away in the Senate from rolling back all of our abortion access. Right now, Virginia is the only state in the South that hasn't imposed post-Roe bans on abortion—folks are coming here for reproductive health care. And if we lose this November, that may go away. And that would impact millions of people, not only in Virginia, but across the South.

"You've heard people say 'abortion is on the ballot.'
Abortion is on the ballot."

TB:  In 2021, VA Republicans swept the executive offices, won back the House of Delegates, and got extremely close to a majority in the Senate as well. What can we learn from that election?

TN: So I think in 2021, we underestimated the surge in Republican voters. We did a lot of work to try to increase turnout, particularly among our base voters, people of color, young folks, etc. And we achieved that. And at the same time, our increase in 2021 did not match the increase on the other side. Collectively, there was not enough emphasis on the issues that voters actually cared about. What we were hearing on the doors and on the ground weren’t necessarily being addressed across the board by every campaign and every organization. And at the same time, Republicans had a message around those issues. Whether voters agreed with Republicans’ solution or not, at least Republicans addressed the issues that voters cared about.

TB: What have you heard from voters this year that has surprised you or maybe that didn’t surprise you?

TN: I always say it's not rocket science. We've been on the doors for months now and have had tens of thousands of conversations with folks. It wouldn't surprise you that economic stability and economic anxiety are top of mind, especially around the affordable housing crisis. Folks are feeling economic anxiety over whether or not they can afford regular living expenses. And then education and gun safety are top issues. We've had an alarming increase in mass shootings and everyday gun violence in our streets and in our neighborhoods. And then, of course, abortion and health care access. So those are not sexy issues. I think there’s often this fixation on trying to find the sexy issue. And that's not how this works.

TB: We’ve spent a lot of time at VSA reminding folks that they have an election with enormous stakes every 2 years—because it’s true. How do you keep people engaged when they have critical elections every single year?

TN: Virginia has elections every year and it's a blessing and a curse. And sometimes we have multiple elections. I mean, I think I've voted six times since last November already. We love our elections, we love democracy, but there's a lot of voter fatigue. One of the things that we strive for is just to keep engaged with people. We don't necessarily just talk to them when there's an election coming up because that feels very transactional.

I think what's particularly hard this year is that a lot of folks aren't necessarily aware that there's an election. I think the media is so focused on the presidential elections and that has subsumed the conversation so that when we say, ”hey there's an election coming up,” they're like, “oh yeah, but that's like the presidential, that's next year.” I'm like, “No, no, we got one more like, right now.”

TB: How do you stay hopeful and engaged in this fight? What keeps you going?

TN: I think looking back at some of the gains we’ve made and how they have directly impacted a lot of people's lives. When we expanded health care access to 400,000 Virginians, when we restored voting rights, and did all of this stuff, we saw the direct impact. I think that keeps us in this fight.

TB: How can people help?

TN: Pay attention. Spread the word to let people know that there's a lot at stake right now. [editor's note: one great way to spread the word is to forward this email to someone 😜] We're just a small state out of 50, but what happens here this year, I think, is a good indicator of what we might expect in 2024, not only for the outcome of the elections, but also what people are talking about and what tactics and strategies are being deployed right now. Whatever works here they’re going to bring to other states. And so it's coming to a state near you very, very soon.

[We also have lots of volunteer opportunities available.]([link removed]) We have folks who come from out-of-state to canvass with us and we have plenty of packets for you. We also have virtual phone banking options. [And then for folks who have funds to spare, I think every dollar will really help at this point.]([link removed]) Governor Youngkin has demonstrated that he can raise a lot of money and Republicans in general have outraised Democrats this year. And so every dollar counts. 

Thanks for joining us all the way through this first edition and thank you to Tram for sharing her knowledge and experience with us. 

P.S. We’ve never done anything like this! Please reply to this email and send us feedback on what you like, dislike, and what you want to see over the next several months. 

 

Election Countdown ⌛

16 days till early voting

62 days till election day

 

Take Action Now

[DONATE]([link removed])

[VOLUNTEER]([link removed])

[VOTER INFO]([link removed])

Did someone forward you this email? [Sign up here]([link removed]) to get The Bellwether delivered to your inbox every other week!

[Custom]([link removed])
[Custom]([link removed])
[Custom]([link removed])

 [View in Your Browser]([link removed]) [unsubscribe]([link removed])

© 2023 Vote Save America

Paid for by Vote Save America [PAC] votesaveamerica.com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee