Jonathan Chane, Palm Beach area attorney, running to fill Patrick Murphy’s congressional seat got a beautiful endorsement today. His opponent for this seat is Randy Perkins, a Republican turned Democrat shortly before filing for this race. (File under things that make you go hmm...) Perkins is a wealthy self-financer with a natural disaster clean up business. Perkins was recruited by the National Party to run in this district. The decision will be made by the voters in late August. Jonathan Chane is a member of 90for90, as is the entire Florida Democratic Party.
PCCC Endorses Jonathan Chane (FL-18) for Congress
With Warren Wing Rising, PCCC Endorses Chane to Join Effort to Expand Social Security, Make College Debt-free, and Oppose the TPP
Today, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is announcing its endorsement of Jonathan Chane in Florida’s 18th District. The PCCC was on the ground assessing Chane’s campaign in the run up to the endorsement and will aid Chane with fundraising, volunteers, and staff support. A district wide fundraising email to PCCC members touting the endorsement will go out this week.
Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the PCCC, said: “Jonathan Chane will be a bold, progressive warrior in Congress. As a pro-bono attorney for foster children and a volunteer for organizations that help those with developmental disabilities, Jonathan is grounded in public service. He’s committed to bold, progressive ideas that help working families get ahead -- expanding Social Security and Medicare, equal pay for equal work, and opposing unfair trade deals like the TPP. The PCCC is confident that Chane will represent Florida well and bring real, transformative change to Washington.”
Chane said about the PCCC’s endorsement: “I am so excited to have the support of such an awesome organization. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee's leadership on expanding Social Security is badly needed in the current political environment in which Republicans are constantly trying to end the program for good. With the PCCC's help I'll be elected to Congress, and when I'm there, I look forward to joining them in this fight!"
Chane has also been endorsed by the Florida AFL-CIO, the Teamsters, Alliance for Retired Americans, NOW, JacPAC, DFA of Palm Beach County, and Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis. A longer list is here.
Chane is running against Randy Perkins, a multi-millionaire who has given over $1.6 million to Republican candidates and wasn’t a registered Democrat until a week before the filing deadline. Perkins contributed $200,000 to Gov. Rick Scott and served as an advisor to Gov. Rick Perry’s 2016 presidential campaign. Perkins’ family foundation gave over $70,000 to anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers.
Perkins recently wrote that Democrats "shared in the blame" for the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando because they were "refusing to use the term 'radical Islamic terrorism’."
In addition to his work as an attorney, Chane is the president of the Board of Trustees of Temple Judea in Palm Beach Gardens and is active in the Arc of Palm Beach County and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. He also provides pro bono representation to children and young adults who are aging out of the Palm Beach County foster care program and Holocaust ghetto survivors obtaining reparations from the German government. He lives with his wife, Christina, in North Palm Beach with their three children.
Facts about the PCCC and its endorsed candidates:
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PCCC has six endorsed candidates running for the US House of Representatives in 2016: Jonathan Chane (FL-18), Zephyr Teachout (NY-19), Angie Craig (MN-2), Susannah Randolph (FL-9), Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), and Jamie Raskin (MD-8).
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The PCCC has over 1 million members nationwide, including over 69,000 in Florida.
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The PCCC has raised nearly $8 million for progressive candidates and committees since its founding in 2009 -- including over $1.17 million for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2012 Senate run.
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PCCC staffers are on the ground with campaigns -- organizing supporters, running aggressive “Call Out The Vote” and GOTV programs, and helping get candidates’ bold progressive messages out to voters.
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The PCCC runs an intensive multi-day candidate training program called P100, which teaches candidates best practices for modern campaigns.
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The PCCC did not endorse any candidate for president in the 2016 cycle, focusing instead on incentivizing all Democratic candidates to adopt Elizabeth Warren-style positions, including expanding Social Security benefits, debt-free college, and women’s health.
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Find out more at BoldProgressives.org or @BoldProgressive on Twitter.
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More on the PCCC at BoldProgressives.org.