A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.

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[ [link removed] ]The Blue Wave in 2020 starts now - in VA



PFAW Member,

By now, you’ve likely heard about the massively important elections coming
up in Virginia this year (probably from us!)…

As we close out the summer and head into the final two-month stretch of
2019’s most crucial election, I wanted to send a quick campaign update.

Extremism and bigotry are driving the Republican campaigns – as they did
in the past several election cycles in Virginia, when voters REJECTED the
Trump playbook of race baiting and immigrant bashing.

And we’re ready to defeat their ugly tactics once again, but we need your
help.

Our August fundraising deadline is TODAY (midnight tonight) and we’re
still behind our goal by $4,099 for this work.



[ [link removed] ]Can you chip in with a donation to help us turn Virginia blue before
our end-of-month deadline?



We’ve endorsed about 40 amazing young progressive champions running at the
state and local level, with most of our endorsements being in state
legislative races.

That’s because this year’s Virginia election is a chance to flip both
chambers of a critical swing state’s legislature to Democratic control,
and reap all the amazing policy opportunities that will come with that
victory.

The race also has massive national importance because of
redistricting/gerrymandering, Virginia’s role as a bellwether, and even
the ability to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
(Virginia would be the FINAL state needed!).

Here’s how we’re fighting to flip control of the state legislature (it
takes a lot of hard work, but it’s really as simple as 1-2-3):

1) HOLD the seats of vulnerable progressive allies:

We have Democratic seats we helped win in 2017 that we must hold in 2019
if we’re going take back the House and Senate. One great example is Del.
Danica Roem – whom we fought to elect in 2017 and who is the first openly
transgender person ever to serve as a state legislator, and flipped the
seat she’s in by defeating the Republican author of Virginia’s anti-trans
bathroom ban. This year, Danica is a top target of the Radical Right and
her Republican opponent is another extremist homophobe who has compared
same-sex marriage to slavery.

2) FLIP Republican-held seats in competitive districts:

We’re backing incredible progressives in some of the most competitive
races -- like Joshua Cole, who we also endorsed in 2017 when he came
within just 73 votes of unseating the Republican incumbent in his state
House district. (Joshua might have won in 2017 if not for an election
administration error that directed several hundred voters in that district
to the wrong precinct, but with your help we’ll make sure he wins
decisively this year.)

3) COMPETE EVERYWHERE:

If we’re successful, this could be a state-level wave election and,
because of that, we’re expanding the map by endorsing exciting
progressives in some districts that might be seen as an uphill battle but
that could help deliver a historic progressive landslide. One example is
state Senate District 28, where Sen. Richard Stuart (R) has not faced a
challenger for his seat since 2007 and the GOP has held the seat since
1975. Stuart has voted to expand access to guns and to restrict funding
for abortions and family planning services. He also voted against
ratifying the ERA, against raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and
against expanding Medicaid.

We’re backing progressive fighter Qasim Rashid in this race. Qasim is a
human rights lawyer who is running to raise the minimum wage to $15 an
hour, expand health care access for Virginians, and improve worker
protections and strengthen unions. He is a champion for voting rights,
supports ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, and is ready to fight for
common-sense reforms to address gun violence. Rashid is rejecting campaign
contributions from corporations and the state’s largest electric utilities
to focus on small dollar donations from individuals – including hundreds
of PFAW members. Rashid’s grassroots campaign has raised more money from
small donors than any other state Senate candidate in Virginia, according
to Virginia Public Access Project, with 65% of his campaign contributions
coming from donors who’ve contributed $100 or less. Meanwhile Republican
Richard Stuart, who is attacking Qasim with racist, Islamophobic ads, has
received nearly half of his campaign contributions from Big Business in
2019, including Dominion Energy, Appalachian Power, Verizon, Altria and
Capital One -- only 2% of his campaign contributions have come from small
donors.

We have a chance to score the country’s biggest progressive political
victory since the 2018 midterms … but we’ll only be able to do it with
your help.



[ [link removed] ]Can you chip in whatever amount you are able right now to flip Virginia
from red to blue?



Thank you so much for all you do.

-- Lizet Ocampo, Political Director



[ [link removed] ]FLIP VA




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