Received this e-mail today from the former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D. WI):
Friend,
How much different would gerrymandering, assaults on voting, and other key legitimacy issues be in Georgia, Kansas, and South Dakota with progressive governors? Let’s find out.
Stacey Abrams (GA), Laura Kelly (KS), and Billie Sutton (SD) are each running in a red state led by a Republican governor who will exit office at the start of next year. And each of those red states has a notorious Trump ally eager to be next in line.
But these progressives are bursting out of left field to inspire voters, defy the odds, and just maybe flip the state’s highest seat from red to blue. And right now is when support from national progressives can make the biggest difference in their races.
Contribute $4 now to progressive leaders and gubernatorial hopefuls Stacey Abrams, Laura Kelly, and Billie Sutton.
Stacey Abrams has been in the news a lot recently, after her Trumpist opponent Brian Kemp abused his power as secretary of state to block more than 53,000 voter registrations -- 90% of them from people of color. Kemp is a career voter suppressor, while Abrams has spent her career fighting back against attacks on minority voting rights.
Democrat Laura Kelly is taking on the most notorious vote suppressor in the country in her race against Republican Kris Kobach, who unforgettably chaired the sham Trump-Pence voter fraud commission back in 2017. Kobach’s decades of assaulting the franchise should disqualify him from leading Kansas -- and polls show enough voters agreeing to potentially put Kelly over the edge with enough progressive support.
And in South Dakota, no one expected Cook Political Report to shift Democrat Billie Sutton’s race against four-time statewide election winner Kristi Noem to the “Toss Up” column. Sutton’s anti-corruption message, which includes a plank solely dedicated to campaign finance reform, is resonating with voters, enough to make him a serious contender in this ruby-red state.
These candidates can all win, and each would not only represent extraordinary progress for their state and the nation as a whole -- but would also be in a position to veto any hyperpartisan gerrymandering efforts from Republicans after the 2020 census. We need to do everything we can to help them win, and we need to do it now.
With the election racing closer and closer by the day, we can’t wait to support key progressive gubernatorial candidates. Contribute $4 to Stacey Abrams, Laura Kelly, and Billy Sutton now.
The future governors of Georgia, Kansas, and South Dakota will make choices about voting rights -- and about stopping or promoting attacks on our democracy -- that will shape our national elections for the next decade or more. We have to take this opportunity to step up.
Thank you for standing up for democratic legitimacy today,
Russ Feingold
LegitPAC
P.S. Governors have power to drastically improve (or hurt) a state’s democratic legitimacy, and that affects the entire country. Please contribute today.