Happy Monday, John. Welcome back to another edition of BNC Insider, your weekly recap of everything that’s happening in the world of Brand New Congress.

There are just 92 days until the 2022 Midterm elections, and there’s a LOT of ground to cover.

In this issue:

• Upcoming primaries
• New legislation from BNC representatives
• Getting out the vote in Vermont
• Election results from last week
• Ways to take action

Get ready to dive in.

It’s Election Day TOMORROW for BNC’s Becca Balint, running for the open seat in Vermont’s At Large congressional district.

Becca is firmly in the lead for this race and has also been endorsed by Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ed Markey along with dozens of other members of Congress, state and local elected leaders. We look forward to celebrating her victory tomorrow night!

After Vermont, we have only two weeks left until our final primaries of the year before we head into the general election.

Five BNC candidates, including three of our elected incumbents, are on the ballot August 23rd in New York and Florida.

You can help turn out the vote for Melanie D’Arrigo, Brittany Ramos DeBarros, AOC, Jamaal Bowman, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in these crucial final two weeks. See below under Take Action for volunteer opportunities.

BNC Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) introduced new legislation to rein in the cost of living with his Emergency Price Stabilization Act.

In his statement on Twitter, Congressman Bowman said:

“Every person in America should be able to afford the cost of housing, food, energy, healthcare, and other basic necessities – period.”

Here’s an overview of the bill:

In other legislative news, ALL SIX Brand New Congress representatives in the House voted for the Assault Weapons Ban that passed last week.

A clear majority of Americans support an assault weapons ban, and we know from previous experience that these bans work to stop mass shootings and save lives.

Now the bill is headed to the Senate where it stands to be blocked by the filibuster. That’s why Brand New Congress is working so hard to elect Charles Booker, and recruit more bold progressives to run for the U.S. Senate.

Getting out the vote in Vermont

BNC Executive Director Adrienne Bell traveled to Vermont last week to rally with Becca Balint in the final week of GOTV for her race. Joining her were Jane Sanders (wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders), and former BNC candidate Kesha Ram Hinsdale.

New Candidates

Last week we also introduced our newest member of the BNC slate, Representative Katie Porter!

Rep. Porter is running for re-election in CA-47. She sent shockwaves through the political establishment in 2018 when she won her first race for Congress, flipping the longtime Republican stronghold of Orange County.

Since then, the Congresswoman has made a name for herself by holding corrupt corporate executives accountable, often breaking out her favorite visual aid, her white board.

If you didn’t have a chance to welcome Rep. Porter to the slate, please consider splitting a contribution between Brand New Congress and her reelection campaign now.

Election Results

Last week was a big week for BNC with six candidates on the ballot.

We’re excited to say that both Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib resoundingly won their reelection primary bids – which means both of them are headed back to Congress after they win in November.

Dark money groups spent big to target Cori and Rashida, but their service to their communities and their commitment to organizing held firm, and they each won by a WIDE margin.

We’re also excited to report that Odessa Kelly is now officially the Democratic nominee for TN-07. In case you missed it, Odessa is running to be the first openly gay Black woman elected to Congress – and her Republican opponent is a well-documented homophobe with a long history of bigoted policies directed at the LGBTQ+ community.

In November we have the opportunity to flip a Republican seat and grow progressive power in Congress, oust a GOP representative who is openly hostile to the LGBT community, and radically change the narrative about what is possible for progressives in red states.

Sadly, BNC Rep. Andy Levin, who was running for a new seat after redistricting, and BNC candidates Rebecca Parson and Stephanie Gallardo will not be advancing to the general election. Each of these candidates ran spirited campaigns fueled by true grassroots organizing. They each remain powerful voices for the movement, and we look forward to what they do next.

Stand Up for Abortion Rights

We’re calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster and codify Roe NOW, and there’s still time to add your name.

A total of 17 states have abortion bans in place or passed and pending implementation. More are on the way. Soon abortion may be outlawed in more than half of U.S. states unless the Senate acts NOW.

Over 36,000 people have signed this petition organized by a collective or progressive organizations and candidates, demanding that the Senate take action. Will you add your name now to protect abortion rights?

Volunteer

We’re just two weeks out from the final primaries of 2022, and we still have a lot of candidates who need our support.

Sign up to volunteer directly with a campaign and help BNC turn out the vote:

→ Volunteer for Becca Balint
→ Volunteer for Melanie D’Arrigo
→ Volunteer for Brittany Ramos DeBarros
→ Volunteer for AOC
→ Volunteer for Jamaal Bowman
→ Volunteer for Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick

Or volunteer with Brand New Congress to support ALL of our candidates!

Thanks for reading our BNC Insider! 💜 Watch for this update every Monday to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of BNC.

Until next week,

The entire team at Brand New Congress

P.S. If you appreciate this content, please consider signing up for a monthly recurring contribution to sustain our work.