John,

This is going to be a long email, but please stick with me and read the whole thing. It’s important.

Justice Democrats was started by a handful of Bernie 2016 staffers and super volunteers. We had just worked on this inspiring campaign for president. Bernie put a progressive agenda front and center for millions of people for the first time — myself included.

A group of us got together and thought: what if we could take all the lessons we learned from Bernie 2016 and run to replace all the members of Congress who were standing in the way of real change?

When we launched in 2017, we got a New York Times article covering our effort to elect working-class progressives to Congress. It’s been a long, tough road between then and our latest feature in The New Yorker, the increased media coverage of our endorsed candidates, and having 10 Justice Democrats in Congress.

In 2018, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was running for the House in a primary against a corporate Democrat, there was very little media attention. When Justice Democrats recruited AOC to run, she was working as a bartender — she even worked as a bartender for many months while running for office. Sometimes, that’s what it takes when you’re a working-class candidate.

We helped AOC manage her team, run her organizing program, and make everything we could of our small budget. Then, she won. We toppled one of the most powerful corporate Democrats and elected the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress in his place.

Money has always been one of the biggest things holding us back from doing more. It’s the one thing that our establishment opponents have a seemingly endless supply of and that we’re always working hard to raise just a fraction of what they can raise.

Now, we’re in a predicament heading into the 2022 elections. We won a few major upsets last year, from our first-ever recruit, Cori Bush, to progressive champions Jamaal Bowman and Marie Newman. We’ve proven we can win. We’ve shown that we can contribute as an organization in a serious and meaningful way to the organizing, fundraising, and comms strategies that can help progressive challengers oust powerful incumbents.

We’re a grassroots organization. Whether or not we can succeed, whether or not we can grow beyond what we did in 2020, largely depends on supporters like you donating when you can.

So today, I’m asking you to help us make 2022 a winning year for Justice Democrats. I promise you that no other org will spend your money more efficiently. If we can raise enough this year, I know we can elect more new Justice Dems than ever before.

So, what do you think? Can you make a $3 donation today?

⇢ Yes, I can chip in $3 to Justice Democrats to help elect the next generation of the Squad to Congress.

Contribute

We understand that not everyone can give. Typically, only 1-in-100 people who open an email from us end up contributing. Some people just don’t have the extra cash right now, and that is perfectly fine. We love all of you no matter what!

But if even 10% of the people reading this email decided to make a donation right now, it would give a huge boost to our budget heading into 2022.

I know we can do amazing things together. I’m grateful to be in this fight with you.

In solidarity,

Alexandra Rojas

Do not worry if you cannot afford to make a contribution — we understand that this is a difficult time. If you’re struggling, you can find a food bank here. We appreciate everything you do to keep our movement strong. Please stay informed and follow the most up-to-date recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and your state public health department.