👋 Hi John, welcome to the ✨first ✨ edition of The Sister District Dispatch! We’re glad you’re here.

Every month, we’ll catch you up on the latest election news and keep you informed on our collective fight to win permanent progressive power in the states.

Keep scrolling to read more!

🗳️ Elections Alert

There are just a few days until Election Day, and all eyes are on Virginia! More than 540,000 voters have already cast ballots, and the Sister District community is working around the clock to get out the vote for our candidates.

👉 You can join us by signing up to phonebank here!

Here’s a quick summary of what’s on the line:

Control of Virginia’s State Legislature: Democrats are just two seats away from losing our majority in the State Senate and three away from flipping the House of Delegates. GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin is laser-focused on winning a red trifecta to push through a right-wing wishlist of harmful legislation attacking LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights (more on that below), and more.
Abortion access for the South. Virginia remains the *only* state in the South that hasn’t passed a post-Roe ban on abortion and many across the region in need of abortion care travel to the Commonwealth to obtain it. But, that could all change on November 7th. Governor Youngkin has promised to implement a 15-week abortion ban if Republicans win control of the General Assembly—and he’s spending millions of dollars to do so.
MAGA Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Presidential Prospects: Youngkin is claiming he has no plans to run for President and is instead focusing on winning legislative races, but he has raised almost $9 million into his Spirit of Virginia PAC this year. Many believe that Youngkin, who Rupert Murdoch wants to be the GOP nominee, is laying the groundwork for a presidential bid.

💡 Candidate Spotlight

Earlier this year, we endorsed a fantastic slate of 10 progressive champions running in winnable and consequential state legislative districts in Virginia this November.

Now, as we come down to the wire, we want to lift up the 5 Sister District candidates running in races where your support today will make the biggest impact.

🔵 Schuyler VanValkenburg (Senate District 16) is a public school teacher and Delegate running to unseat a staunch, anti-choice Republican who promised to ban abortion if Republicans win a red trifecta.

🔵 Russet Perry (Senate District 31) is a former prosecutor and CIA officer who is running to protect reproductive rights, make Virginia more affordable, advance criminal justice, and more. She’s running against a MAGA extremist.

🔵 Michael Feggans (House District 97) is running to unseat an anti-choice extremist who worked to gut reproductive rights, criminalize medical providers, and discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, a political analyst named HD-97 as one of the most important state house races in the Commonwealth this year!

🔵 Travis Nembhard (House District 22) has a strong background in public service and advocacy and a proven track record of combatting injustice and inequality. He’s up against an opponent who put restrictions on women’s health centers in Manassas — and who could be the deciding vote for a new ban on abortion.

🔵 Joshua Cole (House District 65) became the youngest person and the first Black person elected from the Fredericksburg region to represent in the General Assembly. Now, he’s running in an open seat against a Youngkin-backed Republican.

👉 Click here to sign up to call voters in these high-priority districts!

✨ Team Spotlight: Greater Chicago

Across the country, Sister District teams are doing incredible work to support our candidates as we quickly approach Election Day in Virginia.

Recently, volunteers from the Greater Chicago team were excited to be on the ground in Virginia Beach, knocking on doors, talking to supporters, and getting out the vote for Michael Feggans! Together, they knocked on 423 doors in the district, providing a huge organizing boost for Michael.

A big thank you to each and every supporter, volunteer, and team who are making phone calls, sending postcards, knocking on doors, and donating to help win back the Virginia House of Delegates and protect the Democratic majority in the Senate!

📍 In the States: North Carolina

Sister District is focused on building progressive power in Virginia this year, but we’re also keeping a close eye on recent developments in critical 2024 battleground states. This month, we’ll share what’s been happening in North Carolina.

In 2022, North Carolina staved off a Republican supermajority in the state house by a single seat won by 629 votes. But earlier this year, Rep. Tricia Cotham—a former Democrat who supported abortion rights—switched parties after she was elected, giving Republicans veto-proof supermajorities that paved the way for North Carolina’s new abortion ban. And, this week, Republicans pushed through new voter suppression measures ahead of next year’s presidential election. These are the narrow margins that decide policy for millions of people.

In 2024, Sister District will be heading back to North Carolina, focusing our firepower on the tightest races that have the biggest impact.

👉 Want to learn more? Check out: NYT: Inside the Party Switch That Blew Up North Carolina Politics

📰 Sister District in the News

We’ve rounded up some key readings and podcasts featuring our work! Check them out:

🗒️ BLOG: Why States Matter: Virginia v. Environment

🎧 PODCAST: Could a Single Vote Save Abortion Rights? With Sister District | Jonathan Van Ness’ Curious Now

🎧 PODCAST: Youngkin’s Voter Purge | Gaslit Nation

📅 Upcoming events

☎️ Phonebank with Lashrecse Aird on Wednesday, November 1 at 6pm ET

☎️ Phonebank with Travis Nembhard on Thursday, November 2 at 6pm ET

📱 Tweet of the Month

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That’s it for this month! Sister District members like you are essential to our movement — and there’s no doubt with your help, we’ll continue to achieve historic and momentous victories for progressives in states everywhere.

Thank you for reading, John.

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