John,

The question we come back to is, was July’s surge in support simply a reaction to the incumbent’s ridicule of the left in the New York Times and tangle with the Squad, or was it the signal we’ve been waiting for that says this nation is finally ready to throw off rule by neoliberal elites? Because when thousands of new donors tell us it’s time to replace the nation’s most powerful Democrat with a radical progressive, we listen up.

Is this the signal that we’re ready for mass mobilization to halt climate change and repair our ecosystem? The signal that we’re done with medical bankruptcies and homeless sweeps and ready for Medicare-for-All and massive federal block grants for affordable housing? Is the left ready not just to resist but to lead the federal government?

It it’s time, Shahid for Change needs you to be with us now. Our fundraising is down sharply in the first week of August and will have to surge three times by September to meet our goals of bringing on new organizing staff. This week, we’ve been going back and forth over the numbers. We’ve ripped up early projections to make sure our budget can stand the rigor of a protracted ground game that will bring the political revolution to San Francisco over these next 15 months. To win this race, we must employ up to two dozen full-time organizers by next fall.

To get there in one of the nation’s most expensive cities, we need recurring donors and a predictable base of financial support for Shahid’s bid to replace an opponent who hasn’t even bothered to debate since 1987. Please join us at $5 a month or make a one-time contribution below.

The national press continues to look to San Francisco for leadership in the 2020 presidential cycle. Shahid last weekend attended the Democratic Socialists of America biennial conference and was quoted on the presidential race in the New York Times and the Washington Post. And Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs, spent time with Shahid to profile the CA-12 race against Nancy Pelosi: “Believe in Shahid.”

“Believe in Shahid. Shahid can win. Shahid must win. Now how do we make it happen?”

We know how to make it happen—it is going to take those two dozen organizers and thousands of volunteers. It’s going to take the largest political campaign in San Francisco since Gavin Newsom and the Democratic establishment had to fly in Bill Clinton and Al Gore, separately, to buffer a win over progressive rival Matt Gonzalez in the 2003 mayor’s race. Since Tom Ammiano faced Willie Brown after upsetting the 1999 primary with a write-in campaign (“anyone who makes less than $50,000 a year shouldn't live in San Francisco”). Bigger.

Can you feel it?

- Shahid for Change