Last year, Democrats elected a record number of women and people of color up and down the ballot nationwide, but the fight for equal representation is far from over.
That’s why Daily Kos is proud to endorse Jennifer Riley Collins, who is running for attorney general in Mississippi on Nov. 5.
Riley Collins would be the first African American to win statewide since Reconstruction, and the state’s first-ever woman attorney general. But, as she noted in an interview with Essence, "What I bring to the table is not just my color or my gender, I bring my qualifications.”
Those qualifications run deep indeed. Riley Collins served 32 years in the Army as an intelligence officer, reaching the rank of colonel. After leaving active duty and joining the reserves, she pursued a law degree and became a champion of the vulnerable and marginalized.
She rose to become executive director of the Mississippi ACLU, where she advocated for reproductive rights and criminal justice reform. That's earned her a slew of progressive endorsements, including from NARAL, EMILY's List, the AFL-CIO, VoteVets, and the American Federation of Teachers, among others. But her civil rights work is what defines her, she told Essence.
"Being a civil rights attorney in the state of Mississippi where you are constantly fighting against people determined to hold Mississippi back, who want to maintain Mississippi as a closed society, yet still have successes in moving the needle forward is nothing to sneeze at," Riley Collins says. "When we see people following political rhetoric and not prioritizing the people that they're supposed to serve, those of us that have been privileged with skillsets, in my belief, have a responsibility to step up.”
And step up she has.
Please donate $1 to Jennifer Riley Collins to make history in Mississippi this year!
Democratic attorneys general have emerged as a critical force to fight Donald Trump on everything from his racist Muslim ban to his efforts to eviscerate health care, from abortion rights and women's health to clean air and water. Electing a Democrat in a red state like Mississippi would add an important voice to this coalition, and it would be critical to protecting civil rights in a state where they’ve so often come under assault.
Riley Collins is seeking the post left open by Jim Hood, a fellow Democrat who is running for governor. She’s running against state Treasurer Lynn Fitch, a chair of the Mississippi branch of “Women for Trump” who has been virtually invisible throughout the campaign.
And likely with good reason. Last year, when Mississippi hosted a special election for the Senate, appointed incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith brought down a cavalcade of condemnation when she “joked” that if a supporter “invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” That appalling embrace of lynching didn’t just damage Hyde-Smith: It helped galvanize Riley Collins to do even more on behalf of Mississippi.
That “more” turned out to mean running for attorney general. There’s no question that she’s taken on a monumental challenge, but even as Mississippi has turned red, the attorney general’s office is the one post Democrats have managed to hold on to. And Riley Collins is positioned like no one else to motivate black voters, especially the black women who make up such an important part of the Democratic base—and were key in powering Doug Jones to his improbable victory in neighboring Alabama just two years ago.
The election is just two weeks away, so Riley Collins needs our help ASAP. The good news is that campaigning in Mississippi is relatively inexpensive, so our dollars can go a long way to boosting her. Will you join us in supporting this warrior for equality?
Please give $1 to help Jennifer Riley Collins protect civil rights and shock the GOP!
