We’re excited to share two more important endorsements with you: Andy Levin (MI-09) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05).
Both are running for open blue Congressional seats. Clinton won the Michigan 9th by 7 points and the Minnesota 5th by 55 points! Democrats should keep these seats. But it matters which Democrats. We need changemakers in thess seats -- people who will make a difference starting on Day One.
It says something if an inspiring and bold progressive running on a strong economic populist agenda wins in Michigan. And it says something if an immigrant woman and mom fighting for economic justice on a strong progressive platform wins in Minnesota.
Read more about them below, and click here to chip in $3 to their campaigns if you can.
When we endorse, we’re always looking for candidates who will use their power to get things done for working people. Andy and Ilhan are the real deal. They would be activists inside the House from day one.
Andy Levin (MI-09) is a former union organizer, and one of the main architects of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for anyone to join a union if they wanted to. He’s running for Medicare-for-All, free college for poor and working-class kids, and to stop global warming. As he says, “We can build a new politics of solidarity that will help working class people vote in their economic interests and take and hold power.” Fun fact: Andy learned Haitian Creole during his days organizing nursing home workers. The current congressman is his dad, New Deal Democrat Sandy Levin, who is retiring this year. The primary is August 7.
Ilhan Omar (MN-05) emigrated from Somalia with her family when she was 8 years old. After spending 4 years in a refugee camp, they arrived in Minneapolis. Years later, she worked for the City Council as a policy analyst, where she fought for paid parental leave for municipal employees, restricted the use of pesticides in the city, and formed a task force to examine pollution’s impact on communities of color. She’s now a 36-year-old mother of three, a state representative — and the first Somali-American Muslim woman to hold public office in the United States. (She’s also a past PCCC Champion, and alumni of our training program!) The current congressman is progressivehero Keith Ellison, who is running for Attorney General of Minnesota. Clinton won this district by 55 points. The primary is August 13.
Both Andy and Ilhan have impressed the heck out of us with their vision for strategic organizing inside Congress. Let’s get them there. We need them, especially with the leadership fights ahead.
One more time, you can chip in $3 here. With August primaries on the horizon, every dollar makes a huge difference right now.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Stephanie Taylor, PCCC co-founder