On this week's episode of The Downballot, we're joined by Ruby Powell-Dennis, founder of the Elect Black Women PAC. Powell-Dennis tells us about her inspiration for creating the group, the work it does to help elect its endorsed candidates at all levels of the ballot, and the particular challenges faced by Black women running for office—including whether to even run in the first place.
David Nir also homes in on races where abortion is on the ballot this year, quite literally: Kansas and Michigan are just two states where voters will decide whether their state constitutions should recognize a right to an abortion. David Beard, meanwhile, discusses the good and bad of election forecasting models and recaps one of the wildest days in U.K. political history—whose fallout is still reverberating.
David Beard:
Hello and welcome. I'm David Beard, Contributing Editor for Daily Kos Elections.
David Nir:
And I'm David Nir, Political Director of Daily Kos. The Downballot is a weekly podcast dedicated to the many elections that take place below the presidency from Senate to city council. You can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. And we'd be very grateful if you would leave us a five star rating and review.
David Beard:
We've got a ton going on in today's episode. What are we covering, Nir?
David Nir:
We are once again going to be talking about the topic of abortion rights. In fact, you can expect that to be a frequent topic for us from now through election day and beyond. And in particular, we are focusing on races where abortion is quite literally on the ballot this year. There are measures in Kansas and Michigan to either remove the right to an abortion from the state constitution or add it to the state constitution. And then there are also contests for state Supreme Court in a number of states, again, including Michigan and these courts, which often do not get the attention that they deserve, are going to be responsible for interpreting state abortion laws in the future. Progressives really need to focus on these.
David Nir:
We're also going to be talking a little bit about election models; 538 launched theirs recently. Many others are likely to pop up this year. And we're going to discuss the good and the bad about them and how you can make the most use of them. And finally, we are going to recap one of the craziest days in UK political history in a long time, and try to parse what it means for the future of that country's government.
David Beard:
Great. Let's get started.
David Nir:
On last week's show, we talked extensively about the need for democratic party leadership on protecting and restoring abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's evisceration of Roe V. Wade. Sadly, we still have not heard a lot from the top echelons of the party, but we have a strong tradition in this country of leadership from the bottom up as well from the grassroots level. And we want to call attention now to a number of races that are on the ballot this year where abortion rights are going to be central. In fact, you hear this phrase abortion is on the ballot. Well, there are a few races this year where it is literally on the ballot and there is in fact one coming up next month in Kansas.
David Nir:
This is a huge one. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court issued a decision saying that the state constitution recognized a right to an abortion. Republicans have been furious with this ruling ever since. They would very much like to pass new abortion restrictions into law. They have supermajorities in the legislature so they could do so over Governor Laura Kelly's vetoes; she's a Democrat of course, but they can't because of this Supreme Court ruling, by the state Supreme Court to be clear. So what they've done instead is put a measure on the ballot that would amend the state constitution to say that there is no right to an abortion found within that governing document. If that amendment were successful, then they would be allowed to pass all the abortion restrictions they like, including if they want a total ban.
David Nir:
This ballot measure is coming up for a vote on August 2nd. That is Kansas's primary. It is all but certain that Republicans decided to put this on the ballot in the dead of summer in the hopes that lower turnout would benefit their side. But of course, there has been a huge amount of attention directed toward this ballot measure ever since the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling. And there is a big progressive effort to try to defeat it to preserve the right to an abortion as the Kansas Supreme Court has interpreted it.
David Nir:
But Kansas is by no means the only state on the docket this year. In Michigan, activists are going on offense. They want to amend the constitution in that state to formally recognize a right to an abortion. And that's critical there because even though Michigan is typically a blue state -- it's one that has a democratic governor — it has two things that are a huge problem. One is a Republican controlled legislature that has won office year after year through gerrymandering, though those gerrymanders are finally about to go away. But the other is that there is still a law on the books from 1931 banning abortion in Michigan. Now, right now that 1931 law has been put on hold by the courts in the wake of the Dobbs ruling. And ultimately, it may go up to the state Supreme Court where Democrats have a 4-3 majority.
David Nir:
But if this ballot measure, which is happening in November, is successful in adding a right to an abortion to the state constitution, then the Michigan courts are going to be responsible for interpreting that in the future. Because Republicans aren't simply going to give up just because this ballot measure might be successful.
David Nir:
That brings us in turn to a number of races for state Supreme Courts that are also going to be on the ballot in November, including in Michigan. Democrats have a 4-3 majority on the bench. There are two seats that are up this fall. One is held by a Republican and the other is held by a Democrat. So if Republicans can beat the democratic incumbent, then they would flip the court back to a 4-3 majority. And of course, they would try to recognize the narrowest possible interpretation of any abortion rights even if the ballot measure passes in November.
David Nir:
There are a couple of other states as well that we need to mention. And these are by the way, not the only states that are holding Supreme Court elections this year, but they are some of the most important with regard to abortion rights. North Carolina Democrats also have a narrow four to three majority there, which Republicans could flip again this fall. Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has vetoed many attempts by the gerrymandered GOP legislature to place abortion restrictions on the ballot. He is term limited out in 2024. So if Democrats don't continue to hold the governorship, then holding the Supreme Court will be of the utmost importance. And meanwhile, Ohio has a 4-3 Republican majority. There a six-week abortion ban is now in effect. The ACLU filed an emergency motion with the state Supreme Court asking the justices to block that six-week ban. The justices declined. This is a particularly difficult court for Democrats to flip, but they simply have to try because without a state Supreme Court that is open to protecting abortion rights, Republicans are going to clamp down absolutely as hard as possible.
David Nir:
These races, ballot measures and state Supreme Court races, they rarely get the attention that they deserve. Hopefully with all the attention now on the issue of abortion, thanks to the Dobbs ruling, they will get more focus and more grassroots energy. But again, leaders in the democratic party need to speak out and they also need to highlight these kinds of races as well.
David Beard:
Absolutely. And just one additional issue I'll flag specifically around Kansas is that as of now, and we've seen Republican legislatures talking about going after this of course, but as of now, it's of course legal to cross state lines to go get an abortion in another state. A state like Kansas in the middle of the country is an important place for people from Oklahoma, from Arkansas, from western Missouri to be able to travel to in reasonable distances to go and access reproductive healthcare in Kansas. So the importance of maintaining abortion rights in that state is even higher. It goes beyond just that state to the whole region.
David Nir:
It's incredibly dismaying and depressing that we have to be talking about these islands of abortion. Illinois is much the same way. They also have contested Supreme Court elections. This year, Republicans could flip that state as well. But the fact is, this is where we are right now. We have to protect the right to an abortion for as many people as possible wherever we can, however we can.
David Beard:
To shift gears a little bit, one issue I wanted to talk a little bit about as we move into the heat of election season and something we'll hear more and more about as we move into the fall is election models forecasting the 2022 election. The most famous of these of course is 538's, which just launched last week. These election models, of course, were probably most famous for missing the 2016 presidential election result as of course did most people at the time. But that one failure doesn't mean that election models are useless. And I know a lot of people who follow one or more of them increasingly closer as the election takes place, sometimes checking it more than they should, and I've certainly been guilty that a time or two as well.
David Beard:
So I wanted to just touch on a few big picture points about the good aspects and the bad aspects of election models. The best thing about election models is that they're a good gut check. So they're independent of your own thoughts and feelings about an election. Because elections are so important and we so passionately care about them, it can be very easy to convince yourself of your own arguments and why your side is going to win. And if you believe something that's, "Oh, our side is going win because of this factor or that factor," and the models are telling you very differently, it's worth evaluating why that might be. And if you might not be looking at things clearly in that case.
David Beard:
Now, for example, the new 538 model thinks Republicans are pretty strongly favored to take the House. And that was pretty much what I expected before looking at it. So that sort of lines up. But their Senate model thinks that the Senate is a lot closer to something like 50/50, which is honestly a little more optimistic than I have been thinking. So that's something worth keeping in mind. It doesn't change my overall outlook obviously on the election, but it's definitely something for me to think about.
David Beard:
Now, the bad part of election models forecasting is often determining individual race results. Models can use this data down to the individual race level, but that's not really what they're there for or what they're good at. Particularly down at the House level where the data is just so limited and there are so many races, it's hard for that to be useful. And even at the state level for a Senate race or a governor's race, I would just recommend looking at a polling average before looking at an individual model forecast. And in the House, there's always going to be surprises. So looking that far into it is almost never going to be helpful.
David Beard:
Another good aspect of election models is that they compile a lot of information in one place. They're great at taking in a ton of different things, fundraising, polling, fundamentals, whatever has been put in there and bringing out one synthesized result. And that can be definitely useful, particularly for people who can't or aren't interested in following the election in depth. Not that that would be any of our listeners, of course, but I'm sure there are people out there who don't follow elections in depth for whatever reason.
David Beard:
So if you only have 30 seconds or a minute to see what's going on with an election, a model is a good place to go to just check-in, see what the thing is saying, and then continue on. And then lastly, a bad aspect of models is separating good information from bad or useless information. The other side of that coin of putting in a ton of information is that models are only as good as the information that's added to it. And that's going back to 2016.
One of the issues, if the polls are off, the models are going to be off because polling is a huge factor into all of these models. And there's no secret sauce that makes any model better than the information. The model is just a way of synthesizing it. So, as we head into the fall and everyone starts talking about election models and starts checking them every morning and how many seats Democrats will win or lose, keep this in mind. Don't get too into the rabbit hole with these models, and you'll stay ahead of the curve.
David Nir:
You mentioned secret sauce. Some of these models are proprietary in nature, and others are, perhaps the right way to put it is, open-source. And I feel like that can be a serious limitation if you don't know exactly what a model is trying to crunch or how it's weighting various pieces of data. To me, it makes it a lot harder to evaluate a particular model's value.
David Beard:
Exactly. And I wouldn't trust myself, if I were even an expert in all of this, to build a model and have it exactly right and just be, "I'm not going to tell other people what the model does or how it works. Just trust me that I've got it right." So, it's best when it's open source. Folks can have input and can have thoughts and be, "Oh, I think this is not the best way to do something." And then, maybe even, your model can improve. So, that's absolutely a major factor to look for as well.
David Nir:
We want to close out our weekly hits with some very strange political goings-on across the pond. Beard, what the hell is happening in the UK?
David Beard:
Yeah, it's been described as one of the wildest days in UK politics history, which is really saying something, because they've had a few. But Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been under pressure for some time now, due to his own increasing unpopularity. Just scandal after scandal after scandal, most prominently Party Gate where Johnson and many of his staff were partying during lockdowns in the UK where it was literally illegal to be having social events, and they were just doing it anyway, after work hours. And then a number of recent local and by-elections, which is what they call special elections: losses in those races from the Tories.
David Beard:
He narrowly won a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs, by a vote of 211 to 148, on June 6th. So, about a month ago. A new scandal, in which Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher resigned after getting very drunk and groping two men at the Conservative Party members' club last week, came out. And then it came out that Johnson knew that Pincher had a history of exactly these problems and had ignored it. He even reportedly said, at one time, "Pincher by name, pincher by nature," which is just absolutely the line that will go down in history, assuming this ends his career amongst other things.
David Nir:
And he hasn't denied saying that, either.
David Beard:
Yes, he's specifically avoided denying that. And this was very much the straw that broke the camel's back. Health Secretary, Sajid Javid and Chancellor, which is basically the Treasury Secretary, but more powerful in the UK, Rishi Sunak, both resigned Tuesday night, followed by, as of this recording, because it's increasing literally by the hour, 44 ministers, junior ministers, and Parliamentary private secretaries. And this group is essentially members of Parliament that act as either ministers or various assistants to ministers.
David Beard:
There are about 160 to 170 of these in total. And the key aspect is that they are paid an additional salary by the government for this role and are expected to essentially follow the government line or resign. So, the fact that this large number of individuals are essentially resigning these jobs, in order to oppose Boris Johnson, is very big news. These positions are also where Johnson's core supporters tend to be because there was already the no confidence vote. So, everyone who voted against him would have not been in the government or would've resigned from the government to vote against him. So, it was already just the core of the party that was Johnson supporters who are now resigning in mass.
David Beard:
So, there's basically no question at this point that Johnson would lose a new vote of confidence, but he's refusing to resign despite that. And current Tory party by-laws say that a prime minister, who won a vote of no confidence, can't face another one for a year. But that rule is expected to be changed very soon, probably by sometime next week, if Johnson hasn't resigned by then.
David Beard:
And we're expecting more cabinet resignations, possibly any minute and certainly in the coming days. The fact that Johnson is refusing to resign makes this all extremely, extremely messy because really, in the British system it's expected that when you lose the confidence of your party, whether there's an official vote or not, you are expected to step down or lay out a schedule for when you're going to leave. And Johnson is refusing to do this, so it's requiring measures, that previously hadn't been required, to actually get him out of office.
David Beard:
But ultimately, in a parliamentary system, no prime minister can survive without the support of his own party, so I expect this to be the end of Boris Johnson. It may take a week or two, but soon enough he will no longer be prime minister of the UK.
David Nir:
Once BoJo goes, what happens after that? Who becomes prime minister? Who becomes head of the Tory party? And what happens in terms of the next elections?
David Beard:
Well, normally, as we saw with Theresa May, when she, after narrowly winning a vote of no confidence, eventually said that she was going to step down before the next election, she stayed on as prime minister until a new Conservative Party leader was elected and then handed over the prime minister job to Boris Johnson, with no interim.
David Beard:
But if Boris Johnson doesn't do that and is essentially forced out of office, then obviously he can't be the interim prime minister. And so, somebody would have to become a caretaker prime minister, probably out of informal discussions out of Tory cabinet ministers or former ministers because so many people have resigned at this point. So, it's very unclear. But ultimately, the Tory Party would unofficially give a recommendation to the Queen through back-channels. And that person would be appointed as the interim prime minister and need a vote of confidence in Parliament, which presumably they would get as the Tories have a majority on their own, to then serve as an interim prime minister while a Tory election took place for someone to actually lead the party long-term.
David Beard:
The election is expected to take place, at this point, in 2024. It could technically wait until 2025. And the prime minister has the ability to decide when the next election is. But the wide expectation before this was that the election was going to be in 2024. And I think that's still the expectation, is whoever eventually becomes the long-term Prime Minister is facing difficult economic troubles and will probably want as long of a lead time as possible to try to stabilize the Tory party, move on from Boris Johnson, and hold the election, hopefully, from their perspective, when the Tory brand has rebounded a bit.
David Beard:
So, I would expect the election timeline not to change significantly. Johnson has hinted at calling an election, which it's very debatable whether or not he has the power to do. And so, no one actually thinks that he would do that because the Tories would get crushed. But it's something he's using as a threat to try to get people to back off. But it's not expected to work.
David Nir:
Well, that wraps our weekly hits. We are going to be joined shortly by Ruby Powell-Dennis, who is the founder of Elect Black Women PAC. She's going to be telling us all about everything her organization does to help elect Black women at all levels of the ballot across the country. And she is also running for State Senate herself in Tennessee. So, please stick with us after the break.
David Nir:
Joining us today on The Downballot is Ruby Powell-Dennis, the founder of Elect Black Women PAC and herself a candidate for the State Senate in Tennessee. Welcome, Ruby.
Ruby:
Thank you for having me.
David Nir:
Your PAC, the Elect Black Women PAC, is a relatively new organization. You founded it in 2020. So, we would love to hear about how your organization came together, why it came together, and your role in all of that.
Ruby:
Sure. Well, it was, I would like to say, decades in the making. I attended the University of Florida as an undergrad. And like many other folks, student government is where I got my start. I was as a Political Science major and an Advertising major. And was very involved, and looked around and saw oftentimes, when I would be in Tallahassee or just doing work representing students in our public universities, that I was often the only young Black woman.
Ruby:
And that continued to be the case. As I continued to work on campaigns and support different types of advocacy efforts, I would oftentimes be the only Black woman, particularly in terms of operatives outside of field. And when 2020 hit, I was running for state House, I was supporting a colleague of mine, Marquita Bradshaw, who was running for United States Senate. And what I learned in that moment, like many other folks, of course, we had to figure out a whole lot of stuff because of COVID.
Ruby:
But as someone who benefited from having a political science background, having worked in politics, it was still remarkably hard to run for office, especially if you were in a district, flipping it from Red to Blue. And I saw how Marquita's journey was, how difficult it was. And that's actually what, at that moment, I said, "If it's going to be this hard for everyday, hardworking Black women to run for office, we’ve got to do something different."
Ruby:
And that's where Elect Black Women PAC started. And the team that helped me run for state House has come along with me on this part of a journey. And so, yeah, that's how we got going.
David Beard:
Great. When people think about a PAC, I think the first thing that comes to mind is one of those big, traditional PACS that just raises millions and millions of dollars and spends a lot of it on TV advertising, that then everyone sees. But there are a lot of different ways that a PAC can be helpful and be effective in helping candidates. So, tell us about some of the ways that your PAC works to help the candidates that they've endorsed.
Ruby:
We are a federal PAC. And so, for folks running for federal office, we have a lot of small-dollar donors who, from all over the country, they give to help us get money to women who at least one identity, part of their identity, they identify as African American, who are running for federal office. We work so hard to get as much as we can into those candidates' campaign accounts.
Ruby:
And then, we have a lot of Black women who are downballot, who apply to us for support. And since we are a federal PAC and we can't contribute directly to their campaign accounts, we ask those same donors to give directly to those candidates. That's the one thing that's a difference-maker that often isn't talked about, is that when you run for office, you start downballot because you need to build your donor database.
Ruby:
And if you're getting a lot of checks on PACs, then you don't necessarily have the information you need to re-solicit those same donors. And so, we ask our donors to give directly to our women so that they can then re-solicit, build relationships. And over time, because we endorse our women two to four years, which is also something unique about a PAC, we stay with our women over time. And we want them to grow those relationships with our donors over time because we want to be a brand that people can trust. That the money you donate to us, the money you donate to our candidates is going to go right back into communities where our women are serving and working hard to get out to vote and make sure people are engaged voters.
Ruby:
We do more things too. Let's see. I'm being generous. Well, I'm being humble, I should say. We do a lot more than that. Last cycle, 2021, we had about 24 women on the ballot, and all over the country, running for a little bit of everything. And so, we were able to partner with organizations like Movement Labs, which is the back-end entity that does a lot of work with text messaging for Black Voters Matter. They partnered with us, and they dropped hundreds of thousands of text messages to help get out to vote, speaking directly to Black women voters about Black women that we were supporting, who were on the ballot in their community.
Ruby:
And so, that made a huge difference, particularly in Pennsylvania. We had a statewide candidate Judge Lori Dumas, who was running. And she needed something like 2.4 million votes to win. And so, our efforts to just turn out the vote for her, as well as other candidates. We had women running for judge in Montgomery County, Allegheny County. You name it. We were able to text message voters and say, "Hey, here are some incredible women who you should give a second look at. Learn more about their campaigns." And we had an incredible number of women who won.
So of the 24 who were on the ballot, about 18 of them won outright. There were a few women who, like Susan Hudson, who was running for sheriff in New Orleans. Her election was moved back because there was a storm. And so there were some elections that were postponed and so we didn't get the results until later. But nonetheless, those Get Out To Vote efforts made all the difference. We also saw it make a difference in Birmingham City Council. LaTonya Tate was one of our women. She beat an incumbent who had significant name recognition. And so the text messaging programs, we know work, particularly with Black women voters.
Ruby:
Another thing that we do, that folks really didn't realize was struggle for Black women candidates, is that we work with vendors, and partners all over the country, and bring them together and essentially make them accessible to our women. Most women who are running down-ballot don't have the time, the capacity, and the staff to look for mail vendors, to look for digital firms, and to do price comparisons. Women are just running hard to try and knock as many doors, and talk to as many voters as possible, and raise as much money as they can. And so that was a significant gap and it still continues to be a gap in our ecosystem. And so we had partners like Wildfire, partners like Backbone Leaders, which is a BIPOC-founded, woman-led organization, all come together.
Ruby:
We had women running in the Boston City Council. Kendra Lara, was one of our women who won her District 6 seat. And so we saw just a lot of success, particularly around endorsing women two to four years, and staying with them on their journey, getting them access to really great vendors who were unionized, union bugs, BIPOC founded woman-led, or woman-founded BIPOC-led. And that made all the difference. Because for a number of our women, they were like, "These are vendors I wouldn't have known about otherwise. And so I'm grateful for this connection." And we do all of that at no cost to our women. We don't ask our candidates to pay into anything. I mean, we could talk ad nauseum about just the ways in which people prey on Black women candidates in politics, and take advantage of just the lack of resources, the lack of support. And so that's something that's really made a difference for a lot of our women. And again, has positioned us to be someone that they trust. And so we continue to work with women even after they've been elected.
David Nir:
I find that really fascinating because it's very easy to read about elections, and you understand how hard it is to win an election. But simply how difficult it is to run an election, to run a campaign, those are the kind of details that I feel often get glossed over and ignored. Especially when we're talking about candidates who are women, or people of color, or from other underrepresented communities. So I'm just super glad to be able to shine a spotlight and hear about you talking about this kind of issue, because really does not come up often enough.
Ruby:
And that kind of stuff matters. Particularly when you're talking about credibility within the democratic community, credibility within politics. When you're a first-time candidate and you have your background, your stump speech, but people don't really know you. And so people sometimes decide whether or not it's worth investing depending on who's working on your campaign. And so there are some firms, like if you say 76 Words, people know who is in that firm. They know the work that they're doing. They know some of the candidates they've worked with. But that doesn't always mean something in a local context.
Ruby:
So I live here in Memphis, it's a predominantly African American city. And so we have a number of folks who have supported campaigns of like Harold Ford Jr., and all of these folks. And so they may not be the biggest names in terms of the broader Democratic operative community, but they matter here. And they have a track record of winning and supporting traditional democratic candidates. So the more progressive you get, it actually can be really challenging, particularly if you're in a red district working to flip it blue. Or if you're in a non battleground state. And don't even get me started on if you're a Black woman running in a rural community. It's rough out here.
David Beard:
So how can Democratic party officials, vendors, sort of the broader establishment, do better and work harder to support Black women as candidates both before, obviously, because you want to get them to the point where they want to be candidates, and then once they declare for office.
Ruby:
So I think the thing that folks often look over is that Black women have a lot of responsibilities, both inside the home and outside of the home. And it really doesn't matter sometimes the socioeconomics of a woman's life. And when we think about leadership, one, we have to think about it pretty broadly, because if a woman is working in her church, volunteering at the food pantry, those are the types of stories, the types of relationships, the type of connectedness we want in our elected officials, in our elected leadership. But the gap is that oftentimes that woman who's so hardworking, who's doing such incredible work, people don't want to tap her on the shoulder for a leadership position because they can't think of someone else who wants to backfill that position. Right? Because it's hard work. It's behind the scenes. And unfortunately Black women are conditioned to kind of be behind the scenes.
Ruby:
I can't even tell you how many candidates I talked to and I'm like, "You would be so great." Or how many leaders I talked to and I'm like, "You would be so amazing." They're like, "No, no, no, no, no. I'm behind the scenes." And I'm like, "Ma'am, you're a CEO of a nonprofit. You are not behind the scenes." So the irony of it is when you have CEOs who feel like, "Well, I could never be an elected official." There's a disconnect, again, between that service piece, being behind the scenes, and what it means to actually be an elected official and a leader. So there's a whole conversation we can have about why is it that we're so hesitant to tap extraordinary women, who are serving right now, for positions that are in more of a spotlight. Because quite frankly we know their leadership stories and their narratives are going to resonate once they're out there running. But before we even get to that, the other part of it is that folks just don't feel compelled to give as much money, resources, or just support to Black women.
Ruby:
And a lot of times it's because Black women, we won't complain, we just make things happen. And we often don't, are so accustomed to not having the social networks and resources so we figure it out. And that works in your, doesn't work in your favor in politics because it is about networks, and people knowing you over time, and giving you discounted services for things for your campaign, et cetera. And people don't do that for people they don't know. And so when we talk to partners and vendors and say, "Hey, we're a led Black woman PAC," a big part of our work is doing that on candidate's behalf. We say to our partners and vendors, "Listen, our women ain't got no whole lot of money." And it's not because they're not doing call time. It's not because they're not raising funds or throwing fundraisers, and all the things that other candidates are out there doing.
Ruby:
It's just that we live in a country where people just don't feel compelled. It's not in our DNA to cut large checks to Black women running for office. We are surprised when Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who now represents Florida Congressional District 20. She was one of our women we supported in the Alcee Hastings special election at the end of last year. She had her general at the beginning of this year. She had to come in with $2.4 million in order for people to take her seriously. And she contested the seat when Alcee Hastings was still alive. And so in situations like that, she had to walk in with $2.4 million just to hold off the opposition and to win that seat. That's not realistic for most Black women. Quite frankly, there are probably very few Black women in our country who are willing to make that kind of an investment politically; that can't be a realistic expectation.
Ruby:
So there's still a lot of work, conversations like this, the work we're doing with Elect Black Women, but we just have to be open and honest, and talk about the fact that most political firms do not give discounts to Black women candidates. And they expect Black women candidates to raise money, and to engage people at the same level as white men who've often gone to Yale Law and some of the finest educational institutions in our country. But we do it, we get it done anyway. I mean, I feel like that's why they're talking about the Kemp and Stacey Abrams race now. They're talking about how she's outraised them, but let's be clear. She had to start fair... She had to run twice, start Fair Fight, and go on Star Trek to be able to get that type of recognition. That's not realistic.
David Nir:
Well, you talked a bunch about candidates you supported in recent years who have been on the ballot, and met with a lot of success. Who are some of the candidates that you've endorsed this cycle that you're excited about. And if they have not also appeared on Star Trek, that's quite all right. We still want to hear about them.
Ruby:
So there are... Where do I begin. One, all of our candidates are amazing. One thing that folks will notice is that are Black women are not monolithic. And so we're really proud to endorse Black women whose political beliefs and values are quite representative of the spectrum, we'll just say that. Because we do endorse women running for judge, as well as State House, State Senate, legislative, statewide executive, and the list goes on.
Ruby:
So some women that we're proud of, I mean definitely Jennifer Rourke in Rhode Island. Before the most recent incident with her opponent, with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and a protest in Rhode Island that took a turn for the unfortunate, we had talked with Jennifer just about the work she'd been doing for the last several cycles as a part of the progressive movement there. And when people think about Black women, reproductive justice, and the progressive movement, Jennifer Rourke is someone whose name you should know. Because, again, she's just incredible. She's an incredible wife, incredible mom, and just has been doing good work for some time.
Ruby:
And then of course there are women in North Carolina. Valerie Foushee, who is now running for Congress. We'll talk a little bit about Chief Justice Beasley, who won statewide office before and is just going to be a phenomenal United States Senator. And then State Senator Murdoch who won her primary and is headed to the general. These are all women who, their profiles are very different. Chief Justice Beasley served statewide as a chief justice before her run for Senate. And that type of representation, that type of experience matters, especially when we're talking about the issues around human rights, the Supreme Court. I think now more than ever, we need strong Black women in the Senate because, quite frankly, we have zero right now. And so we know that she's going to do a great job when she's elected.
Ruby:
And then we love women like State Senator Murdoch, because she is in the environmental justice space, she went to Glasgow, and really has a pulse on not only what it means to work in rural communities, in agriculture, but also what does it mean in terms of climate change and the role that North Carolina and the rest of the country plays in that. And again, these are the types of issues that, when we talk about climate change, oftentimes there's not Black women at the forefront of that. Not down ballot Black women at least. And so we're proud of the work that they're doing in North Carolina.
Ruby:
And then we swing over to Florida where we have Michele Rayner, who's running for reelection to State Senate. Melissa Myers, who's a first time candidate. All are doing a great job.
Ruby:
And so the list goes on and on, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our women in Tennessee. We have an incredible slate. So Odessa Kelly is running for Congressional District 7. And then we just have a number of great candidates, including myself, if I say so myself, running for state House and state Senate. And that matters, because as y'all know, Tennessee was a state taken by Trump. And yet we have communities where people are just not voting because they just don't feel heard, they don't feel seen, and they don't feel engaged. And so we have a lot of work to do in non-battleground states. And we know that we can engage those voters because we have Black women on the ground who are doing that work already.
David Nir:
You mentioned Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, and Stacey Abrams in Georgia. We also have Val Demings running for Senate in Florida. These are three very prominent Black women running in competitive statewide races across the south this year. Having candidates like that on the ballot and so visible, does that help with recruitment and inspiring others to run for office?
Ruby:
Absolutely. One of the things I love about Val Demings is that she has a background as a police officer. And I think that in communities across the country, we're having conversations about what does it mean for criminal justice reform? And so for candidates who are not sure about... Well let me say it like this, it's important that people recognize that Black women are also police officers and that we care about safe communities. We care about crime. We care about common-sense gun laws and all of those things can be true and be in one candidate.
And that's one of the things that I love about Val Demings. She proves that our beliefs are not monolithic and that we can have folks who care about crime, who are serving in Congress and that because you're a Democrat it doesn't mean that you believe completely in not providing resources to our police departments and our public servants who are on the front line. And so that's why I think Val Demings, her candidacy is important.
Ruby:
And in the case of Chief Justice Beasley, again, I go back to her experience as a judge we have a number of judicial positions that go uncontested across the country, oftentimes judges can be in a seat 8 years, 10 years. And when you talk about the fact that they hold the power of life and death, the fact that any of us can appear in a courtroom for any reason. You could be the victim of some type of crime and end up being in a courtroom. Candidacy like Chief Justice Beasley's matters because my hope is that it's inspiring another generation of black women to run for judge. We saw in 2018, we had a historic number of black women run for judge in the Dallas area and it completely changed people's beliefs about reform in that community. And then went on to inspire a similar wave of newly elected judges in New Orleans, we see that in Pennsylvania, we're seeing that in Ohio and it's stretching across the country.
Ruby:
And so yes, their candidacies are important. They are inspiring people and inspiring other black women to run. But I also think that it's illuminating that there are over 500,000 elected positions in our country. And that when black women get on the ballot it doesn't always have to be for state house, state senate. It can be for sheriff. It can be for attorney general. It can be for secretary of state. Because there's so many places and positions where those positions have not been held by a person of color, a woman, much less a black woman.
David Beard:
Absolutely. Now, obviously we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the Dobbs decision overturning Roe, that's just really sent a shock wave throughout the country and obviously many different levels, but in this case for campaigns that are happening right now. What sort of response in just a few days, obviously since it's happened, have you seen with your endorsed candidates and on the ground in general as this has sort of continued to develop?
Ruby:
I think it's general disbelief. People just didn't believe that the changes and new appointments to the Supreme Court would end up in such a significant landmark decision revoking a major human right, and I'm saying that putting it politely. For women and birthing individuals who experienced life before Roe v. Wade, the stories that I have heard, the stories that my own family members who didn't have access to any reproductive services whatsoever, it's hard. It's hard to listen to that.
Ruby:
The other thing is that there are a number of folks who are celebrating the overturning of Roe Wade, but they are not impacted by it. And I think that's particularly challenging. We're seeing folks come out proudly saying, we're glad that these services are not being made available, but they're not thinking about the women and birthing individuals who can't get access to a necessary service and that's really hard, especially if that's not a service that person would ever need. I think the other thing that's happening on the ground, which is a little disturbing to me is that I'm seeing a lot of conversations about put your child up for adoption, there are people who are willing to adopt. And I struggle with that because until we have lines out the door and waiting list for children currently in our foster care system, that is a hurtful statement. It completely glosses over the necessary reforms in children's services. It completely glosses over the fact that in places like Tennessee TennCare, is our version of [Medicaid]. So, because we didn't take the expansion, if you are having children and TennCare is not enough to cover the needs of your children, then what are you supposed to do for access to affordable healthcare?
Ruby:
It doesn't take into account hospital closures around the country. So for example, in the town I was born in, Bogalusa, Louisiana, you got to go to New Orleans or Covington or some other parish to have a baby safely, because there are not these women's hospitals and centers all over the country. And so I think that's probably the most disturbing part that I'm seeing is that people are seemingly rejoicing that this service is no longer available. And yet we don't see any reforms happening to make healthcare more accessible to people, to children, significant legislation being passed to lift children out of poverty toward any of the other human rights demands, paid family leave. All of that is necessary, it's not just about being pregnant and giving birth. I think that's the hard part.
Ruby:
I'll just close by saying I was reading an article, I can't even remember the publication, but it talked about Planned Parenthood and other birth control, family planning organizations targeting Black communities and Black women for abortions. And that couldn't be further from the truth. Every day I go out and serve and volunteer in the community with women and people of all different backgrounds, and we still don't have enough information about reproductive healthcare out there in the world. And so those arguments that insinuate that communities are being targeted by abortion clinics are just incorrect. And again, especially when we're not teaching any type of sex education, reproductive health in schools as a part of the core curriculum.
David Nir:
Have you had conversations with any of your candidates? Obviously, every race and every district is different, but have you talked with these folks, these women, about how they're talking with their voters or constituents about this post-Roe world?
Ruby:
Some of them aren't talking at all to be candid. We always ask candidates are they pro-choice? And we have a number of women who are hesitant to come out and share their beliefs around it because quite frankly, I mean, in the instance of Jennifer people underestimate how willing people are to be violent towards black women. And so I always advise our women to operate from a place of safety because everything that's progressive is not necessarily progressive for black women, depending on where they live and where they're serving. We already have a number of candidates who have to have security as a part of their campaign budget line items. And so those are the types of things and nuance we take into consideration. So when a candidate tells us that it is not safe for them to talk about it publicly, then we honor that and try to focus on messaging that will help them reach voters and allow them to talk comfortably about the issues that are most important in their community, because that might not be something that their constituents are particularly focused on.
David Nir:
So, we mentioned earlier that you yourself are running for the State Senate in Tennessee this year. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your race, your district, and what you've learned from running previously?
Ruby:
My goodness. So my race is an interesting one. So I have, because of redistricting, maps changed, and as much as I like to say that we've made progress in terms of how districts are drawn and providing full representation. I am sad to report that is not the case. So my district before was pretty diverse, it was split about close to 50-50 in terms of people of color, white people, younger people with families, and folks who are retired, definitely more affluent. Because the median household income in Memphis is a little under $40,000 or at least it was the last time I checked. The zip codes in my district are much more affluent, like folks have a million-dollar house.
Ruby:
So my race is challenging because Memphis as a whole, we are a minority-majority city, and we are always on the cusp of greatness. And what I mean by that is before COVID it was still one of the most affordable places to live in the south in terms of job opportunities, I mean, that's why I live here. Housing affordability. And all of that has changed quite a bit. My opponent is everything I'm not I feel like. He's a conservative, older gentleman. He most recently posted he was really proud that his first vote as a city council person was to defund Planned Parenthood.
Ruby:
My hope for my race is that we were trending purple, the district was trending purple in 2018, the seat was barely retained by the outgoing incumbent by 1,500 votes. We've had a number of Republicans who've been indicted. I think at one point 20% of conservatives in our state House are under indictment. The incumbent who's leading the seat is under indictment for campaign finance. And so it's just really challenging because people in Shelby County want leadership they can trust. It's a big small town, people bump into each other at the Kroger and see each other at church. And so it's just really hard right now as a candidate to talk about family values, my faith, being in service to the community when you have a state legislature with so many people under indictment who are also saying the same things.
Ruby:
It's going to be challenging, but my district is 87% white. So I've definitely had folks calling and wanting to talk a lot about whether or not should a Democrat even run in this district. But at the end of the day, people over and over, when we call them on the phones when we talk to them at doors, they say I just want to vote for someone I can trust. Someone who's going to do the right thing when they're in Nashville. Someone who cares about families and who's thinking about us back home. That's what I'm trying to focus on. I tell people it's not worth going to hell over getting elected, at a certain point you got to have some integrity in this, and people just got to believe that you're who you say you are. I tell everybody I'm the same old Ruby when you meet me in person as whatever you might see on social media.
David Beard:
So before we let you go, where can people find out more about Elect Black Women PAC?
Ruby:
Yes. Follow us on social media at electblackwomenpac.com, that's our website, Elect Black Women PAC on Facebook and Instagram. Elect Black Women, W-O-M-X-N on Twitter. And there, you'll see all of our endorsed women, you can click on each post and learn a little bit more about them. We're proud to have endorsed over 100 black women running for every level of office and counting. So our women are out there doing great things and so you can follow their journeys through our social media. And then if you're curious about my campaign, you can follow me at RPowellDennisTN on all social media platforms. We have a lot going on so definitely check us out.
David Nir:
Well, thank you so much, Ruby. That was really fascinating. We really appreciate having you on the show.
Ruby:
Oh, it's my pleasure. Thank you for the good work that you do.
David Beard:
That's all from us this week. Thanks to Ruby Powell-Dennis for joining us. The Downballot comes out everywhere you listen to podcasts every Thursday. You can reach us by email at thedownballot@dailykos.com. If you haven't already please like and subscribe to The Downballot and leave us a five-star rating and review. Thanks to our producer, Cara Zelaya, and editor, Tim Einenkel. We'll be back next week with a new episode.