We hope you had a restful Thanksgiving holiday. This year, we’re grateful for this month’s election results, which have us feeling both relieved and optimistic.
It’s worth taking a moment to celebrate the wins. And if you’re looking for a way to help build on the momentum, now’s a great time to support Raphael Warnock’s runoff campaign for Senate in Georgia.
Before we explain why this race is worth your attention – here are a few of the wins which have us feeling hopeful for the future.
Lina Hidalgo won re-election to Harris County Judge against a well-funded opponent. As one of the first Arena candidates, we’ve been fans and supporters of Lina’s since she was first elected in 2018 to serve nearly 5M people and manage a $4B+ county budget in Houston, Texas. As a result of this month’s election, Democrats grew their majority on the Harris County Commissioners Court — the county’s five-person governing board led by the county judge. This has big implications on progressive climate policy in Harris County.
Wes Moore & Aruna Miller were elected to Governor and Lt. Governor of Maryland, respectively. Wes is a combat veteran, bestselling author, small business owner, Rhodes Scholar, and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. Now he is only the third Black person to be elected governor in US history. Meanwhile, his running mate Aruna will become the first Indian American and first South Asian woman to be elected to a statewide lieutenant governor’s office. Their leadership will be a game changer for the people of Maryland.
Lauren Underwood was re-elected to Congress in Illinois’ 14th district. Like Lina, Lauren was an early Arena candidate. Lauren doesn’t dominate the headlines – but she is dogged and persistent in service of her community. So far, Lauren has helped shepherd 10 bills into law, including legislation to lower healthcare costs. Lauren flipped this seat from red to blue in a historic fashion in 2018, defeating a four-term Republican incumbent, and in 2020 became the first Democrat to ever be re-elected in the district.
Though there are plenty of wins to celebrate, not all the results are positive. There is still lots of work to be done to build progressive political infrastructure that survives (and thrives) from one election season to the next.
In particular, the ongoing Senate runoff in Georgia has big implications. While Democrats have already secured the majority in the chamber, each additional seat makes a monumental difference, and makes us less beholden to the whims of any given legislator.
The race in Georgia between Reverend Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker has advanced to a runoff to be held on December 6. Now’s a great time to give a boost to the Warnock campaign to help them across the finish line.
In addition to giving to the Warnock campaign, we encourage you to donate to Georgia-focused programs building robust political infrastructure like Fair Fight’s Georgia Runoff Fund and the New Georgia Project. Both are doing work to organize voters and build sustained political power designed to persist between election cycles.
And if you’re looking for ways to roll up your sleeves without donating, check out volunteer opportunities to call and text voters with Georgia Votes.
Are there other wins you are celebrating? Are there other actions you’re planning to take in the weeks ahead? Let us know.
