John, Emerge alums just keep on shaking up systems and making history. 

In late 2021, Susan Hutson defeated a four-term incumbent to become the first woman elected sheriff of New Orleans, Louisiana. She also became the first Black woman to be elected sheriff in the entire state. 

This is a huge step, John. With 10 years of independent police oversight under her belt, Hutson ran on a platform of serious criminal justice reform – including saying NO to jail expansion and NO to neglect and violence against incarcerated people. 

Like so many of our Emerge alums, Hutson faced a vicious smear campaign from her opponent. She was called “radical,” “soft on crime,” and a “puppet” of “out-of-state special interests.” But the reality is that community supporters heard Hutson’s message and rallied around her to deliver the reforms New Orleans actually needs. 

That’s the powerful difference between Emerge alums and their opponents – community. As Hutson herself said, “This took a village to get to this point, and I thank everyone for that.” But more importantly, “You all need to stay in this fight. It's not done, not even close.” 

Our team here at Emerge is so proud of the bold work our alums are doing – and the just, equitable, and compassionate futures they’re all fighting for. But it does take the whole community to succeed in this work, and we’re counting on your support to empower women like Sheriff Susan Hutson to run for office and win. 

Will you give $5 or more now to help Emerge recruit, train, and elect bold Democratic women up and down the ballot in every state?

Emerge is a national organization working to recruit, train, and get Democratic women elected across the country, and we are so grateful to have you on our team. Our alums are strong voices for Democratic values — and they are running up and down the ballot to fight for working families. They are fighting for critical issues that affect our communities, such as the environment, accessible and affordable health care, social justice, and education equity. We need more alums fighting for us across the country.

You may notice that we send a lot of emails asking for your support — that’s because we win when everyone does what they can to help. Our organization depends on thousands of actual people who care about our democracy and want to see positive change in our communities and across our country by building power through investing in Democratic women. If you’d like to donate, click here.