Democracy had a very good day on Tuesday!
Democracy had a very good day on Tuesday, with significant victories notched by candidates, organizations and initiatives supported by Balloon Juice. Michigan was a clean sweep for candidates and initiatives we supported. Most (if not all) of the close races we supported elsewhere were successful, and the Democracy deniers in Nevada and Arizona appear to be on the way to losing (we hope).
We’ll have more on how our candidates did at a later date, but our work isn’t done yet for this cycle, so that analysis will have to wait! At least for a bit.
Georgia Runoff!
Control of the Senate hinges (again) on the Georgia run-off. Catherine Cortez Masto is locked in a nail-biter, with ballots in Nevada still being counted. If she loses, we have to win Georgia. If she pulls it off, all indications are that the Election Deniers will bombard her with frivolous challenges and delay the day she takes the oath of office as long as possible. Even if Cortez-Masto wins, if we lose Georgia, the Republicans would have a 50-49 majority until she is seated.
So we have to fight for Rev. Warnock in GA as if he is our 50th vote, regardless of what happens in NV. (Plus he elevates the senate just by being part of it!)
If Rev. Warnock could be our 51st vote, it would blunt the influence of you-know-who.
So we have a plan!
Rev. Warnock will undoubtedly be flooded with direct donations to the campaign. Therefore, just as we have done since 2021 began, we want to support on ‘boots on the ground’ to increase turnout in the run-off and build relationships for future elections. A further investment in the future!
Is everybody on board with that?
Four Directions is heading to Georgia, to focus on the Native American vote. There are as many as 145,000 Native Americans of voting age in Georgia, and history tells us that native voters vote their interests and vote for Democrats at a rate of at least 85%.
The Four Directions team has a track record in Georgia from 2020. They know what to do but they need money NOW to ramp up in Georgia ASAP.
So I have set the thermometer for $50,000 – with $25k to kickstart their operations, and then we’ll hope for another $25,000 to help fund ongoing efforts through the December 6, 2022 election day.
We’ll also be putting up a thermometer for Worker Power, who has the infrastructure in place to start canvassing in Georgia this Monday, but needs money and volunteers! But they have infrastructure in place, so donations to them can wait until we help get Four Directions launched in GA. More on this over the weekend!
We’re also looking at a third boots on the ground organization operating in Georgia to see if they are a good fit, and if so, to see whether we can be of assistance to them.
Stand by for more on that!