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JOHN,
While this month’s elections brought many losses, especially at the federal level, people across the country voted for progressive candidates and policies at the state and local levels.
In red states like Alaska and Missouri, voters passed ballot measures to increase the minimum wage and expand paid sick leave (which passed in Nebraska, too). In eight states, the majority of voters voted to protect the statewide right to abortion, expanding abortion access for millions of people—including states where Trump got a majority of votes such as Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida (though Florida didn’t reach the 60% threshold needed to pass).1
In many states where Trump got the majority of votes, progressive state Supreme Court justices won against Republican opponents, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Montana, and my home state of Michigan.2 The two judges I endorsed in Michigan won, expanding the left’s majority in our state Supreme Court and ensuring our state’s abortion rights stay protected.
Many other progressive candidates I endorsed for November’s elections won, from school boards to State Houses in my state of Michigan to Florida to Delaware to New York and more. We know that most people are with us, and while many leftists are feeling sick of electoral politics, we cannot cede this realm of power to the far-right. We need to keep leaning into the bold progressive demands that people want and deserve, including clean air and water, reproductive justice, affordable housing and healthcare and childcare, and workers’ rights such as paid leave.
I created the Rooted in Community Leadership PAC to help elect everyday candidates who understand their neighbors’ struggles and will always put their communities’ needs first, prioritizing marginalized and working people. We can win at all levels of government, especially when progressive candidates stay engaged with voters and have the grassroots financial support they need to successfully take on candidates who are backed by billionaires.
Will you chip in today to my Rooted in Community Leadership PAC to show that we’re not giving up and we’re not going anywhere in the fight for social justice?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:
Together, we will keep building the bench of progressive candidates who understand the urgency and the speed at which we need to move in order to make people’s lives better. We will keep building the power of social movements for transformative change, to keep pushing government institutions and corporations and other entities.
In my hometown of Detroit, we know that real power comes from people rising together, demanding what we deserve.
I will keep advocating with and consistently showing up for the residents in my district, including workers like the Local 283 Teamsters who are still striking for better conditions at Marathon’s Detroit Refinery. Our team has been showing up to help striking workers with shifts, food, and water, and I will always stand with workers against corporate greed.
In solidarity,
Rashida
1. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/06/election-state-ballot-measure-results
2. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/11/2024-election-progressives-judicial-races-allison-riggs.html
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Mon, Nov 25, 2024
Subject: Thanks to pressure, 39 Democratic Representatives changed their votes last week
To: [email protected]
JOHN,
Last week, the House of Representatives passed HR 9495, a dangerous and unconstitutional bill that would give presidential administrations unchecked power to shut down any nonprofit organizations they disagree with. This attack on our right to dissent threatens the existence of groups like the NAACP, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, LGBTQ+ or environmental justice organizations, Palestinian human rights groups, or any nonprofit organization critical of government policy—including news outlets and schools.
Now we have to make sure this “nonprofit killer” bill doesn’t pass the Senate.
Even while this bill passed the House, 39 Democratic Representatives changed their votes in just one week and voted against this assault on our civil liberties, thanks to their constituents reaching out to them and pushing back on their previous “yes” votes.
This affirms that people have tremendous power to move their government representatives and reminds us how important it is to have elected officials who listen to their constituents.
Let’s keep this in mind come mid-January when Republicans control the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate: People will still have power at the local, state, and federal levels. Transformative change comes when the people demand it, and we cannot stop fighting for the society we need and deserve, where we all have equal rights and freedoms and everyone’s needs are met.
We know that most people want progressive change and are with us: In at least seven states where Trump got the majority of votes, the majority of voters passed ballot measures to increase the minimum wage, expand paid sick leave, or enshrine the right to abortion in their states’ constitutions.1 In at least five states where Trump got the majority of votes, progressive state Supreme Court justices won against Republican opponents—including two judges I endorsed in my home state of Michigan. This expanded the left’s majority on our state Supreme Court with justices who will enforce our state Constitution’s abortion protections.2
I created the Rooted in Community Leadership PAC to help elect progressive candidates with working class backgrounds who are rooted in their communities and understand their neighbors’ struggles. These are folks who understand how urgently and desperately their constituents need change, and who aren’t afraid to push for bold progressive policies to make their neighbors’ lives better.
Will you chip into our Rooted in Community Leadership PAC today to support progressive grassroots candidates, especially as right-wing billionaires increase their spending in elections?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:
Thank you so much. And as a reminder: The presidential election was not a landslide. Even with $200 million from Elon Musk and roughly $2 billion from other far-right billionaires, Trump won less than 50% of the vote. There is no right-wing mandate, only the responsibility we all still have to each other to keep pushing for a better world.
People are understandably afraid about what’s coming with the upcoming presidential administration. I promise I will not back down when it comes to protecting our communities and making sure that our most vulnerable neighbors are safe, seen, and heard.
Always in service,
Rashida
1. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/06/election-state-ballot-measure-results
2. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/11/2024-election-progressives-judicial-races-allison-riggs.html
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