John – While we wait for results to roll in for Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, let’s take a look at what happened in New York yesterday.
ICYMI: A few weeks ago the New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state) threw out the new district maps issued earlier this year, citing partisan gerrymandering.
Just yesterday, a draft of the new proposed maps was released, and the outcome for BNC candidates is very mixed.
First, some good news. The new district lines for BNC’s Melanie D’Arrigo (NY-03) now incorporate both the community she was born and raised in, and the community where she has lived and organized for years. Melanie has deep roots across this district from years of activism, and she is now the clear frontrunner in this race.
The new lines for NY-11 are also good news for BNC’s Brittany Ramos DeBarros. Her district will now encompass more working class communities of color that are engaged and excited about Brittany’s campaign – communities that are NOT favorable to her insurrectionist Republican opponent. And Rep. AOC is still on solid footing in NY-14, the district she has served faithfully for the last three years.
Now for the more challenging news: We don’t know for certain who Rana Abdelhamid (NY-12) or Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) will end up running against.
The new maps have prompted multiple powerful incumbents (including Rana’s opponent Carolyn Maloney) to contemplate running in different districts. And with the primary moving to late August, NY election officials are planning to re-open petitioning and allow new candidates to qualify for the ballot.
It’s not just New York, John. We’ve seen low turnout in every election this year. Multiple BNC candidates have had to change districts after new maps were issued. And now dark money groups are dumping millions of dollars to oppose our candidates.
Clearly, we have to be ready for ANYTHING.
BNC is working closely with our candidates as they navigate the next steps, and it’s more important than ever that we have the resources we need to support our candidates effectively.
That means money and volunteers. Which brings me to how you can help, John.
We made up some ground with our fundraising the last few days, and we are so thankful to everyone who pitched in. Unfortunately, we’re still $1,740 short of where we need to be – and we need to close that gap TODAY.
John, I’m asking you to dig deep right now and pitch in $25, $50, $100 or more before midnight tonight.
