Hi friend,

When I trained to become a Marine Corps officer, there was one mantra impressed upon me more than any other: grow where you’re planted. My instructor at The Basic School constantly reiterated to us that we rarely could control the context in which we would find ourselves, and we needed to thrive regardless of the environment around us. Today, as the Director of Campaigns at New Politics, that’s how my team and I are approaching the candidates we support as coronavirus disrupts their campaigns.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the extent to which social distancing affects our political process. After all, running for office is, by its very nature, a social exercise. Effective servant leaders build connections with their constituents. They listen to them face-to-face. No interaction is more valuable than that. But candidates from coast to coast are putting others’ health and safety first, pausing campaign activities that could put themselves, their staff and volunteers, or the voters they meet at risk.

As with any disruption, these changes present major obstacles to the way campaigns connect with volunteers, donors, and, most importantly, voters — and for the campaigns that grow where they’ve been planted, a unique opportunity.

It’s been so inspiring to see our candidates put their communities first. From donating blood and conducting thousands of wellness checks, to delivering tens of thousands of groceries, and volunteering to activate with the National Guard, servant leaders are doing what they do best: putting people over politics. Personally, it has made me prouder than ever to be working to elect these men and women. So if you agree that these are the kind of leaders we need more of in our politics, I hope you’ll take some time to support their campaigns, too.

To continue getting their message across, our candidates are relying more than ever on ways to connect with voters over the phone and online, and they need all the volunteer help they can get.

Will you volunteer to make calls to voters in the coming weeks to help elect servant leaders? Join our Action Team to get paired with a campaign.

Our candidates need your help filling shifts at their virtual phone banks to connect with voters. Click the button above to volunteer, and we’ll match you with one of our candidates’ campaigns to get to work.

We face a lot of uncertainty in the coming weeks and months, but if there’s anyone who can meet this moment, it’s the folks who know what it means to lead in times of crisis because they’ve done it before. Thanks in advance for volunteering to help. I know that we will grow where we’re planted, and together, transform our politics.

Semper Fi,

Brendon Mills Director of Campaigns