[Progressive Democrats in Rhode Island won victories that could
transform the state’s politics.] [[link removed]]

POLITICS RHODE ISLAND PROGRESSIVES WON BIG IN 2020 WITH HELP FROM
YOUTH ACTIVISTS  
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Mara Dolan
December 29, 2020
Teen Vogue
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_ Progressive Democrats in Rhode Island won victories that could
transform the state’s politics. _

, Boston Globe via Getty Images

 

One of the biggest and most overlooked election stories may have come
out of the country’s smallest state.

Rhode Island, only 1,200 square miles
[[link removed]] and home to a little more than 1
million people [[link removed]], is rarely the
subject of national political interest. With a majority-Democratic
legislature
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Democratic governor, and an all-Democratic congressional delegation,
the state’s politics might seem sleepy to outsiders. Hiding beneath
the surface is a much deeper story.

Much of Rhode Island’s Democratic leadership is, put simply, quite
conservative. The long-standing (and now outgoing
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Democratic Speaker of the House, one of the state’s most powerful
elected officials, voted down
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abortion rights legislation, and has an A rating from the National
Rifle Association
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Democrats in the state House voted in 2010 to cut taxes
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for the rich, and in 2011, a majority of Democrats voted for
repressive voter I.D. laws
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The Rhode Island Democratic State Committee stripped
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the Women’s Caucus of privileges after the group lobbied for a
reproductive rights bill. As a Republican official once told NPR
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“[Rhode Island has] a lot of Democrats who we know are Republican
but run as a Democrat — basically so they can win.”

 
In this year’s elections, progressive Democrats mounted their most
organized challenge to date, and earned victories that could transform
the state’s politics.

Over the past year, progressives across Rhode Island mobilized to lay
the groundwork for this crucial moment. Activist movements and
progressive campaign veterans built an infrastructure to back
insurgent candidates ready to challenge more conservative incumbents.
Their preparation paid off in a huge way.

 
These wins were made possible thanks to the Rhode Island Political
Cooperative, an initiative launched in 2019
[[link removed]] to recruit, train, and
financially support progressive candidates. All candidates endorsed a
shared progressive slate of policy positions
[[link removed]], creating a unified front of
candidates fighting for a Green New Deal, single-payer health care,
and a $15 minimum wage. Joined by additional candidates
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Providence Democratic Socialists of America (ProvDSA), Reclaim I
[[link removed]] (a group of former volunteers for
Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign), and the Rhode
Island Working Families Party, almost two dozen
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progressives mounted challenges from the left for state House and
Senate seats. In partnership with movements like Sunrise Rhode Island,
a youth-led climate justice group, candidates had full-time organizers
dedicated to mobilizing voters. More than half of the progressive
challengers won
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their races.

The first-time candidates that emerged victorious included Tiara Mack,
a 26-year-old Black, queer reproductive justice advocate who
challenged
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an anti-abortion Democratic incumbent who had held his seat for 35
years. Mack beat him in the primary and won her seat
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resoundingly, with nearly 90% of the vote. David Morales, a
22-year-old activist who will become
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one of the youngest Latino candidates elected to any state
legislature, also defied expectations when he won. When the local
Democratic committee endorsed his opponent, Morales found support and
a volunteer army through partnerships
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local progressive groups like ProvDSA. Mack and Morales were joined by
13 other progressive challengers
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who ousted more conservative Democrats or Republican incumbents.

Pundits like The Hill’s Krystal Ball argued
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this state-wide progressive takeover in Rhode Island could offer
lessons to the rest of the country. “A little-noticed local movement
of left activists appears to have just successfully executed a massive
overhaul of the Rhode Island legislature, in a model that could easily
be replicated in states all across the country,” said Ball. To
understand how this statewide progressive strategy came to be and what
it can teach us, _Teen Vogue_ caught up with a few of Rhode Island’s
young leaders — including two new elected officials and two movement
leaders who mobilized to create real change in their state.

TIARA MACK, 26, FIRST-TIME CANDIDATE AND SENATOR-ELECT OF RHODE
ISLAND’S DISTRICT SIX

[Tiara Mack]
Benjamin Branchaud

“When I announced [my candidacy] in 2019, it was because I knew that
we needed bold and progressive leaders who were going to change the
way that politics works and what it looked like. There are very few
young women in politics, there are very few Black women in politics,
and there are very few queer women in politics. In general, we need
more people in politics who are unapologetic about their identities
and how [they] shape their values and work. My decision to run was
really about me being a young, queer Black woman, stepping into the
political realm and realizing, hey, we actually don’t have
politicians or policies that actually match what I’m seeing
happening around me.

“It was definitely important for me to have other people running who
looked like me, who shared my background and who weren’t
‘politically savvy.’ The systems that we want to change are the
ones that allow people to go into positions of power for power’s
sake and who don’t go into positions of power because they owe a
debt to the community. You’re really trying to fight for
working-class people. All of us are. All of us who ran are just
regular people who want to do good things.

“There’s still a lot of hope from this cycle. Many of us didn’t
see ourselves as anything but activists — and I think that’s
what’s needed to shake up the status quo. We need [fewer] officials
who just want to become the next governor or the next presidential
candidate, and more activists who are really just centered on making
the lives of people in their state and community easier, safer, and
healthier.”

DAVID MORALES, 22, FIRST-TIME CANDIDATE AND REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT OF
RHODE ISLAND’S DISTRICT SEVEN

[David Morales]

 
 
“Coming from a low-income community, I thought it was normal for
people to work long hours just to make ends meet. For too long, Rhode
Island’s state government has refused to help working people. Unlike
our neighboring states, we do not have a path to a $15 minimum wage,
affordable housing is not an annual line item on the state budget, and
our public schools are struggling. I believe our communities deserve
to be prioritized and invested in.

“The incumbent I challenged did not share my perspective…he was
fine with ‘business as usual.’ I’ll be advocating for a justice
budget that invests toward public education, affordable housing,
health care expansion — Medicaid specifically — and state aid for
our cities [and] towns. Despite being perceived as an underdog during
this year’s campaign, I felt prepared to unapologetically advocate
for the working class and help mobilize hundreds of our neighbors who
had lost faith in our government. Although I’m now elected, I’ll
always be an activist at heart.Representation is important. Lived
experience is important. Going into the 2021 legislative session, it
will be immediately clear how our identities and lived experiences
help influence the policies that we advocate for.”

KAYLYNN POLLEY, 21, SUNRISE MOVEMENT ACTIVIST AND CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR
MIGUEL TORRES, FORMER HOUSE CANDIDATE FOR RHODE ISLAND’S DISTRICT 38

[Kaylynn Polley]
“A friend invited me to a presentation on campus and I learned about
an organization called Sunrise Movement. It was a political home for
young people like me who were looking for ways to pressure local
politicians to support the Green New Deal. I ended up dropping out of
college because I couldn’t afford it, and three months later, the
pandemic hit. We were under lockdown, approaching the election cycle,
and a friend of mine from Sunrise Movement decided to run for office.
We were both 21 years old, had organized a handful of demonstrations
and actions together, and wanted to be a part of this progressive
movement with Sunrise and the R.I. Political Cooperative. He needed a
campaign manager, and I wanted a job I was passionate about, so I
jumped in and we gave it our all.

“I think the coolest thing about the progressive challengers who ran
this year was that they were truly representative of their own
communities. Our endorsed candidates were essential workers, single
parents, advocates, and activists. The campaign I was involved with
had a candidate and an entire team comprised of
20-something-year-olds.

“I believe Rhode Island can be an example to other states by
fighting for a livable and equitable future through a statewide Green
New Deal.”

KINVERLY DICUPE, 24, CO-CHAIR OF PROVIDENCE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF
AMERICA

[Kinverly Dicupe]
“I’m proud that DSA got into electoral politics this year in a
significant way. We want to continue doing electoral work while not
letting it keep us from doing our part to help create and sustain
social movements. At the end of the day, movements are the engine
which make the election of these progressive candidates possible. We
must never forget that.

 
“In Rhode Island we had many candidates who were being backed by
multiple organizations working in concert with one another. Senator
Sam Bell — backed by [[link removed]]
Reclaim, Providence DSA, and Sunrise R.I., among others — was a
major target for the establishment this year due to his very outspoken
nature
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We were not only able to beat back his challenger, but we scored a
blowout win with over 70%
[[link removed](Rhode_Island)] of the vote.

“Results of this kind can become more common when left-wing orgs are
symbiotic with one another, and are dedicated to putting the needs and
wants of the working class at the top of the priority list. I think as
folks on the left, we need to realize that monied interests will never
be on our side. [To paraphrase Representative Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez,] ‘We have people. They have money
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So that means it’s crucial that the left wing pools its resources
and uses them strategically. We cannot outspend the competition but we
can 100% outwork them — and we will.”

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