John,
Rep. Mondaire Jones recently defended Democratic efforts to grant statehood to Washington, D.C. on the House floor, telling the GOP: “I have had enough of my colleagues' racist insinuations that somehow the people of Washington, D.C., are incapable or even unworthy of our democracy. … One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn't be a ‘well-rounded, working-class state.' I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word white.”
More than 700,000 Americans, almost half of whom are Black, live in our nation's capital. They pay more taxes than residents of 22 other states -- but they have no representation in Congress.
Mitch McConnell and his Republican Senators have blocked statehood efforts for years because they believe it would “help the Democrats win elections in perpetuity” and secure two Democratic Senate seats.
The GOP is used to disenfranchising voters to stay in power, and they'll do anything they can to block D.C. statehood in the Senate. As we prepare to keep this momentum going, we need to know where engaged Democrats like you stand:
Do you think D.C. residents should be equally represented in Congress?
Thank you for adding your voice to this national debate today.
ASPIRE
