John -- Brand New Congress officially launched five years ago today, and so much has happened! In a moment I’m going to ask for your help, but first I want to share with you what this day means to me personally.

Five years ago today I was watching the presidential primary results with growing despair.

I’d already seen the writing on the wall: The 2016 presidential race would come down to Clinton and Trump -- and I was terrified Trump would win.

It broke my heart to see the Democratic nomination slip away from the movement we’d built on Bernie’s 2016 campaign. I felt helpless, and I wanted to do something.

Then I got an email from Brand New Congress, a new organization founded by a group of Bernie staffers.

BNC had a plan to run unbought progressives across the country and replace career politicians with regular working people fighting for progressive values.

I was immediately hooked, and signed up for my first recurring contribution two days later.

A few months later I signed up to volunteer and joined the Communications team. I led a team tasked with drafting emails, campaign announcements, and other materials. I also helped develop the original training materials to give our nominees the tools needed to run viable campaigns.

In March 2017 we started a pressure campaign to push Democratic lawmakers on their support for Medicare for All -- doubling the number of cosponsors for the House bill.

In April 2017 we launched Cori Bush as our very first candidate. The next month we rolled out BNC-recruits Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Anthony Clark, Adrienne Bell, and many others.

That June we organized our first nationwide canvassing event, calling it “Knock Down the House.” The filmmaker following our candidates to capture their stories would later adopt this as the title of her award-winning documentary.

In the last five years Brand New Congress has supported more than 70 progressive candidates for the U.S. House and Senate. We built momentum for Medicare for All and Abolish ICE. We set the benchmarks for the Green New Deal that AOC introduced her first month in office.

We elected AOC in 2018, reelecting her in 2020 alongside Rashida Tlaib. In 2020, we elected Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman.

Along the way we’ve learned firsthand just how powerful the incumbent protection machine is, but we’ve also seen our movement beat that machine.

John, I’ve invested a lot of myself in Brand New Congress because I believe in this mission.

I’m asking you today to join us and really invest in this movement to help progressives build the power we need to get things done.

If you’re ready to take a leap of faith like I did five years ago, sign up for a recurring contribution of any amount here.

If you prefer to make a one-time contribution of $10, $25, or whatever you can spare today, choose one of the options below.
 

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Whether you give once or commit to a monthly contribution, you can be the reason that we elect a Congress that works for ALL of us.

Brand New Congress is not a super PAC. We depend on small dollar contributions from regular people to make this work. It’s the only way we can stay free of influence from wealthy donors and special interests.

Right now we are recruiting our slate for 2022 and building up the support systems we need to help candidates win. But the support we can offer depends on the funds we raise each month.

That’s why I’m asking you to invest in this mission with a monthly contribution.

Brand New Congress gives me so much hope, John. When I see our BNC reps in action, I see the future we are all fighting for coming to life before my eyes.

We’ve accomplished so much in our first five years. Let’s build on our first amazing chapter and win some more elections!

In solidarity,

Cory Archibald
Board Chair
Brand New Congress