Dear MoveOn member,
At his first rally since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump on Sunday called President Joe Biden "an enemy of the state" and the FBI and Justice Department "vicious monsters."1
The FBI is run by Christopher Wray, whom Trump nominated to the post in 2017.
He told the crowd on Sunday, "It was not just my home that was raided last month. It was the hopes and dreams of every citizen who I've been fighting for."2
Last week, Trump posted a barrage of messages on social media demanding to be "immediately" reinstated as president.3
In a powerful speech at Independence Hall last week about the danger this poses to our democracy, President Biden warned that "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic."4
Biden called the midterm elections a "battle for the soul of this nation"—which they absolutely are.5
But while most people are focused on races for control of Congress and the states, the most important races in the whole country may be for secretary of state—the official who oversees elections—in several battleground states.
That's because Trump and Steve Bannon are trying to install MAGA loyalists in these critical offices, which set the rules for elections and declare winners and losers. When 2024 comes around, Team MAGA plans to win—no matter the true will of the voters.6
It's an existential threat to our democracy. Which is why for the first time in our 23-year history, MoveOn is running a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat MAGA candidates for secretary of state and elect Democrats who will protect our democracy and count every vote.
And today—for the first time—we are asking you to donate directly to the Democrats who are running against Trump's hand-picked candidates in four critical battleground states. These Democrats, all endorsed by MoveOn members in their states, will work to make voting more accessible, especially to young people and marginalized communities.
Steve Bannon stated it outright: "We're taking over all the elections."7
And here's what we're up against in these four battleground states:
In Arizona, the Republican nominee for secretary of state is Trump-endorsed Mark Finchem, a member of the white supremacist group the Oath Keepers, who tried to decertify President Joe Biden's win in the state and personally attended the January 6 insurrection.8 Taking him on is Democrat Adrian Fontes, a Marine Corps veteran who, as Maricopa County recorder, implemented historic measures to ensure voter access to the ballot in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic.9
In Nevada, the Republican nominee is insurrectionist Jim Marchant, a member of Nevada's fake slate of pro-Trump electors seeking to overturn President Biden's victory in 2020.10 His opponent is Democrat Cisco Aguilar, an attorney who is running to make Nevada's elections as transparent as possible to maintain the public trust.11
In Michigan, Trump has endorsed Kristina Karamo, a far-right conspiracy theorist who filed a sham lawsuit to get the Supreme Court to throw out the 2020 result and to this day continues to say that Trump is the true president.12 Her opponent is Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's current secretary of state, who courageously resisted Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.13
In Georgia, the Democratic candidate is Bee Nguyen, a progressive state lawmaker who is fighting for a free and fair democracy.14 She's taking on Republican Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's current secretary of state, who championed one of the nation's most harmful voter suppression laws, preventing the use of drop boxes, restricting early voting, and denying water to voters waiting on line.15
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Allison, Kelly, Isbah, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Trump Lashes Out in First Rally Since F.B.I. Search," The New York Times, September 4, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/166774?t=4&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
2. Ibid.
3. "Trump Woke Up and Went on a 60-Post, QAnon-Fueled Social Media Spree," Rolling Stone, August 30, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/166621?t=6&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
4. "Biden Warns That American Values Are Under Assault by Trump-Led Extremism," The New York Times, September 1, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/166775?t=8&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
5. Ibid.
6. "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=10&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
7. "Trump allies are angling for election jobs up and down the ballot. That could have consequences in 2024," CNN, December 6, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/164045?t=12&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
8. "‘This should terrify the nation': the Trump ally seeking to run Arizona's elections," The Guardian, February 21, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/161799?t=14&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
9. "Meet Adrian Fontes," Elect Fontes Secretary of State, accessed September 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/166776?t=16&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
10. "Jim Marchant, a Trump loyalist, is G.O.P. voters' choice to be Nevada's top election official," The New York Times, June 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163506?t=18&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
11. "Cisco Aguilar: Strong leadership for a healthy democracy," Cisco Aguilar for Nevada Secretary of State, accessed September 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/166777?t=20&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
12. "Who Is Kristina Karamo? GOP Candidate for Michigan Secretary of State," Newsweek, July 4, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/164500?t=22&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
13. "2022 Election Michigan election chief: Trump suggested I be arrested for treason and executed," May 19, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163035?t=24&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
14. "Brad Raffensperger Defended the Election—But Not the Right to Vote in Future Ones," Mother Jones, January 4, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/166769?t=26&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
15. "Meet Bee," Bee Nguyen For Secretary of State of Georgia, accessed September 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/163600?t=28&akid=331905%2E40999114%2ENYN5jp
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Paid for with regulated funds by MoveOn.org Political Action, P.O. Box 96142, Washington, D.C., 20090.
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?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
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