Dear MoveOn member,
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the Republican Party.
Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with writing a hit piece about it.1
You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history. The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists.2
You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results.3
At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"4
Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen election.5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.6
That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising efforts so we can stop them."7
That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today. Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency donation of $5 a month to MoveOn to power and sustain their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their involvement in the insurrection.8,9
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."10
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger "compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted coup.11,12
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $5 a month—or whatever you can—to help stop Trump's plot to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Trump helps thrust once-ignored secretary of state campaigns into big donor spotlight," Fox News, January 10, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160149?t=6&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
2. "How Trump-backed secretary of state candidates would change elections in the United States," The Washington Post, December 1, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159806?t=8&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
3. "After attacks on the 2020 election, secretary of state races take on new urgency," NPR, November 4, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160153?t=10&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
4. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160078?t=12&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
5. "How Republicans became the party of Trump’s election lie after Jan. 6," The Washington Post, January 5, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160080?t=14&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
6. "Almost Everyone Trump Endorses Wins Their Primary … But Is He Padding His Record?" FiveThirtyEight, August 26, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/159840?t=16&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
7. "Trump helps thrust once-ignored secretary of state campaigns into big donor spotlight," Fox News, January 10, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160149?t=18&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
8. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160078?t=20&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
9. Trump gives endorsement in Arizona secretary of state race," Associated Press, September 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160079?t=22&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
10. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160078?t=24&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
11. "Jody Hice tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now he wants to be in charge of Georgia’s elections." Vox, March 22, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160152?t=26&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
12. "After attacks on the 2020 election, secretary of state races take on new urgency," NPR, November 4, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160153?t=28&akid=315857%2E40999114%2EYgE3U7
Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump's preparations for being able to steal the presidency in 2024 are well underway and include working to replace top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists. Which is why MoveOn is doing something we've never done in our 23-year history: We're launching a powerful, multimillion-dollar effort to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state across the country and elect individuals who will count every vote and ensure fair elections.
Will you chip in to power our campaign to defeat Trump and protect our elections in 2022?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
This email was sent to John xxxxxx on January 30, 2022. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.