Friends, I don’t know how to say it other than simply.
This is it.
It’s crunch time.
When I first mapped out competitive State Legislative races on a national spreadsheet last August, I knew this moment would come.
And it’s here.
Over 22 diaries in three months time, I’ve profiled 26 candidates in 8 states, you’d think we’d be running a little lean on candidates at this point. But that’s not us fighting Democrats in 2020!
In fact, the two candidates I’m featuring today, Coral Evans and Felicia French (both SisterDistrict endorsed, which means serious ground game support from Blue Districts committed to help out) are two of the strongest and most hopeful yet, in a state, Arizona, where we have everything to win in 2020:
- Presidential Electoral Votes
- A US Senate Race (Mark Kelly)
- 2 Competitive Congressional races (O’Halleran and Tipirneni)
- And majority control of BOTH State Legislative branches (link to a highly recommended “What’s on the Ballot” page by @Taniel)
Mayor Coral Evans running for the Arizona House is the respected Mayor of Flagstaff and aims to prove that you should never count a successful local elected official out of the running. Colonel Felicia French is a retired 32 year veteran with a Bronze Star and service in Afghanistan who is well-liked in the district (Arizona LD 6) and whose election to the Arizona Senate would expand Latino representation in the Arizona State Legislature. The local press are covering this potential earthquake in Arizona politics, and what they are reporting is that we have a real opportunity in Arizona Legislative District 6!!
This year, Democrats see an opportunity to win seats in the House, Senate or both because of the strength of their candidates. Felicia French is now running for the Senate, and she has spent most of the intervening two years still on the campaign trail, going door-to-door to meet with voters in even the most remote areas of the sprawling northern Arizona district.
To prevent a French win, a political action committee connected with Ducey is spending tens of thousands of dollars on ads to convince voters that French is too radical for LD6. And GOP consultants are trying the same strategy in the House, where Democratic Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans and independent Coconino County Supervisor Art Babbott are challenging sitting Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, and former Rep. Brenda Barton.
You can check out their endorsements here: French / Evans.
Let’s give Ducey and the Arizona GOP a HUGE WAKE UP CALL the morning of November 4th!!
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If you are a bit “email fatigued” and haven’t had a moment to donate using my email opt-out ActBlue State Level Local Impact page yet, now is the perfect time. (This is an unaffiliated fundraising page that I created to provide a data-private, email opt out default option for those looking to contribute to many candidates at one time without signing up for emails or sharing your info with a group.)
You are able to donate to 25 worthy local candidates flipping Red seats Blue, but with the email setting to default opt-out (you have to opt-in at the end if you want to be subscribed.) Not only does this send last minute money to crucial local campaigns (who can spend on digital GOTV right up until the last second!) but it also lets you save yourself the hassle of unsubscribing from multiple lists.
Even small donations split multiple ways make an impact. 60 of us have donated a grand total $3,400 so far, and every donation is definitely appreciated by the candidates. I know we can grow that total as the election closes.
Trust me, this will help us win.
Please consider donating today.
(Prefer to donate via a group or organizational portal? This DLCC page focused on flipping state houses and the official DKos anti-Gerrymander page are great options!)
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About this series:
I’m a longtime local election activist and Dailykos blogger dating back to 2003. I was part of helping local blogs and the netroots drive Democrats to take back the House in 2006 and helped build some of the biggest and most successful grassroots and online groups supporting Barack Obama.
The 2020 Democratic State Legislative candidates are heroes, and deserve our support. (If you are on Twitter please click on that link!) They are our best chance of changing US politics including GOP voter suppression and gerrymandering for decades to come and many of them will run campaigns that help us win electoral college votes and key US Senate and House votes:
Pennsylvania:
Michigan:
Wisconsin:
North Carolina:
Arizona:
Texas:
Georgia and Florida:
You can also visit and donate at the State Level Impact 2020 ActBlue Page (Page created w/ an email privacy option for those who prefer to make a one time donation to multiple candidates.)
