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.
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.
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
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