John,
Today, I'm endorsing four candidates for the U.S. Senate: Marquita Bradshaw of Tennessee, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Mike Espy of Mississippi, and Jaime Harrison of South Carolina.
I'm endorsing these four candidates because I know how high the stakes are in this upcoming election. In order for us to take our democracy back, we can't solely focus on getting Trump out of the White House. We have to work just as hard to flip the Senate back to a Democrat majority.
What's more, the U.S. Senate only has two sitting Black senators, and only 10 have ever served in the Senate. Electing Black lawmakers to the Senate is critical, particularly as we seek to fight systemic racism and push for meaningful change.
If you're with me, will you split $5 between myself, Marquita, Raphael, Mike, and Jaime today?
Marquita Bradshaw is a working-class single mom from Memphis who is running for U.S. Senate in Tennessee. As an environmentalist, she realizes the life and death nature of policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage, funding public education, and creating a world where Black and brown people are protected and heard.
Her historic primary victory in Tennessee shows that it's not just a "red" state — it's a state where there are more unregistered folks than voters who are traditionally ignored by the political establishment. Marquita is a people's champion, and will bring the voices of working-class Tennesseeans to Washington.
Raphael Warnock is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia. As a pastor, Raphael understands the importance of making sure every voice is heard. He's ready to fight on issues around affordable health care, working-class folks, Wall Street, and more.
Currently, Raphael is just a couple points behind Trump Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was investigated by the Department of Justice for insider trading after a closed door meeting of Republican Senators on the coronavirus. He's well within reach of winning back this critical seat, and turning the Senate blue.
Mike Espy ran for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi for the first time in 2018 and received the highest percentage of votes for a Democrat in the state in three decades. Now, he's running once again for Senate against Trump Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith — and he is just a single point behind her in the polls.
While Hyde-Smith has made jokes about public hangings and makes statements supporting voter suppression, Mike will work as U.S. Senator to bring good jobs, affordable health care, and quality education to Mississippians.
Jaime Harrison is running for U.S. Senate in South Carolina up against Lindsey Graham, one of the Senate's most powerful Republicans and one of Trump's biggest supporters. Current polling shows Jaime in a slight lead over Lindsey Graham.
In the Senate, Jaime will fight for the American Dream, from growing the middle class to protecting health care coverage — and put an end to Lindsey Graham's abetting D.C. corruption instead of fighting for South Carolinians who need a champion in Washington.
Marquita, Raphael, Mike, and Jaime will bring much-needed change and fresh perspective to the U.S. Senate. Come January, I hope to join them in Washington so we can fight together to move this country forward from the past four years of the Trump administration and the Republican Senate's disastrous leadership.
These elections are critical, John. We have a real chance to turn things around, but only if we organize and fight back hard. But with less than five weeks to go until Election Day, time is running out — so we have to act quickly.
Thank you,
Jamaal Bowman
