September 2021
“I am not optimistic or pessimistic. I am determined.”
--Stacey Abrams
WE AT AIRLIFT ARE DETERMINED TOO!
Our partners on the ground are laser-focused on fighting back against voter suppression, keeping voters engaged, and winning in 2022. AND they need our support to do this essential work.
Airlift donors have already shown up big time to fight the Republican Power Grab in California--aka the Recall Election.
You contributed over $22,000 in response to our special appeal to fund our partner groups in California so they can mobilize Orange County and Central Valley residents to Vote NO. That’s determination, and we can’t thank you enough. (Here’s a glimpse of the Communities for a New California’s robust NO ON RECALL efforts. And be sure to read our story below about why we need to continue to fight in blue states.)
THANK YOU! to everyone who contributed.
If only the Recall Election was the last fire we need to put out! Unfortunately, the anti-democratic headwinds we face nationwide are strong. We’ve all watched with horror as Republicans’ Big Lie spreads like wildfire, gutting voting rights while the Senate dithers and the Supreme Court turns a blind eye. Gerrymandering will tilt an already unlevel playing field even more steeply right.
Overcoming these obstacles as well as the historical pattern of mid-term losses by the party in power is a heavy lift, but not impossible. We take nothing for granted—including the so-called “inevitability” of mid-term losses. Does Stacey Abrams succumb to demoralization and walk away from a steep uphill climb? Never. Neither do the grassroots groups Airlift funds. They have what it takes to connect with and energize potential voters in the communities they know so well. And we as determined donors have what it takes to support them when we remain engaged, energized—and generous--too.
NOW is the Time for Capacity Building—
and Defeating Republican Power Grabs
Building capacity now is crucial for the work ahead in 2022. It’s the unglamorous, day-in, day-out stuff our partner groups do as naturally as breathing--what Steve Phillips, in a recent article in The Nation, calls “the nitty-gritty work of getting people to cast ballots.” Think of it as infrastructure. It’s what wins elections. Without it we lose in 2022 and 2024.
WHAT'S AT STAKE? PICK A STATE
The stakes in 2022 could not be higher: we are in real danger of losing the narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Either loss would spell the end of the Biden administration’s legislative agenda--an agenda poised to change millions of people’s lives for the better. Loss of the Senate would be uniquely disastrous since it would hand control of judicial appointments back to the GOP.
As things stand right now, Republicans have the wind at their back with supporters galvanized by The Big Lie.
With this scheme, Republican operatives have ruthlessly undermined voting and civil rights in all the states where they hold power. Their strategy proves how effective Airlift’s partners and other groups were in getting young people and People of Color to the polls in 2018 and 2020. Turning out 18 million first-time voters was crucial to Democratic victories. The Republicans understand this, which is why they are doing everything in their power to thwart these groups’ ability to vote.
What are our chances of holding the Senate and House?
The balance of power in the Senate hangs on close races in just nine states--Airlift’s partners operate in seven of these. Wouldn’t it be great to see Ron Johnson’s Wisconsin Senate seat turn blue? Let’s keep that Senate Majority Leader gavel out of Mitch’s clutches!
Equally alarming--make that motivating--is the specter of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. We currently hold a tiny majority of just eight seats. According to the Cook Political Report, roughly 40 seats for each party will be vulnerable. Republican redistricting--aka gerrymandering--will doubtless be a factor in the southern states of Georgia, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina, posing a huge challenge to our Airlift partners.
Governors and down-ballot races
Imagine what could happen without Democratic governors able to veto the worst excesses of Republican-controlled state legislatures in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. All these governorships are on the ballot in 2022—WE MUST KEEP THEM BLUE! Not to mention tossing out Georgia’s Brian Kemp in favor of a Democratic governor--possibly one named Stacey!
Down-ballot races may not be so sexy or headline-grabbing, but who fills those seats and which party controls state legislatures have enormous impact on peoples’ daily lives. In fact, these low-profile races are usually far more motivating than top-of-ballot candidates in the communities who make all the difference in building a more progressive future. We need to keep or flip them blue.
WHY GIVE NOW?
Because Early Money Wins Elections!
“It’s the power of early money, stupid”--something the GOP understands in spades and Democrats ignore at their peril. Billy Wimsatt of Movement Voter Project advises political donors to “give 50% now, 30% in early 2022, and 20% in the run-up to the elections.”
Money invested in our partners on the ground is NEVER wasted. They put every penny you donate to work constructing and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to build and support democracy.
Our partners are depending on us for $200,000 to fill their budget gaps before the end of the year. Please make a generous donation to fill that gap today!
Giving now is a force multiplier for the work ahead.
HOW OUR BLUE-STATE PARTNERS ARE WORKING TO HOLD POWER
The Road to 2022 House Majority Runs Through California
Remember how you felt when you first saw this map after the 2018 election?
The Road to 2022 House Majority Runs Through California
Remember how you felt when you first saw this map after the 2018 election?
For the first time in history, Democrats won seven U.S. House seats previously held by Republicans, including EVERY ONE in Orange County. In 2020, however, four of these seven seats flipped back to red by razor-thin margins. Two Airlift partner organizations are working every day to win back these San Joaquin Valley and Orange County seats (on top of also turning out NO votes against the recall):
Communities for a New California (CNC) fights to achieve social, economic, and environmental justice for poor and minority communities in California’s San Joaquin Valley. In 2020, CNC directly engaged 250,000 voters and helped re-elect Josh Harder (CA-10). With their sophisticated grassroots organization and your support, we can hold CA-10, win back CA-21, and retain a majority in the House.
Orange County Community Engagement Table (OCCET). From now through the 2022 election, OCCET will have a 60-member team engaged in full-time deep canvassing. This means in-depth and ongoing conversations with the Latinx and AAPI community to provide information on progressive issues and candidates--and to get out the vote. OCCET’s sophisticated and intense grassroots campaign is essential to flipping the 39th and 48th congressional seats back to blue, and to re-electing Congresswoman Katie Porter in CA-45.
And don't forget Nevada! Nevada is blue, but with an alarmingly paler shade than expected in 2020. Defending the US Senate seat and governorship currently held by Democrats will be vital in 2022. That’s why we welcome the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) to Airlift’s current portfolio. PLAN’s engagement of Latinx and Indigenous communities is key to winning elections and securing a more progressive future.
SAVE THE DATES
Airlift will be bringing you three timely and important events this fall featuring our partners--highlighting what they do and how they do it. Be sure to join us!
Developing New Grassroots Leaders for Midterms- October 19, 5pm PST
Upholding Voting Rights in Turbulent Times- November 16, 5pm PST
How We Win: Strategizing 2022 Elections- December 14, 5pm PST
IN BRIEF
MOVE Texas--Pro-democracy heroes: Although the Texan-style David/Goliath legislative match about voting rights has ended for now with the Big Lie Guys prevailing, MOVE Texas played a big role in galvanizing opposition AND helped win a huge lawsuit that’s meant 1 MILLION new voter registrations in the past 10 months, with more to come in the future!
Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) based in Milwaukee is on fire in its determination to recruit a whole new generation of voters by espousing student rights and justice. Last year they were a catalyst for the approval by the Milwaukee School Board of a $1.2 billion budget for schools and a unanimous vote to end police in schools. Read more…
Down Home North Carolina (DHNC) co-founder Brigid Flaherty movingly shares what human dignity and determination can build: “Some days I only had one person talk to me after being out on the doors all day . . . [Now] I see folks coming together to show that the racial and class stereotypes of rural NC are shams. I see folks coming together to change how their economy and their democracy functions in order for it to work for us, for all us." Read more...
“We have to fight like hell to keep our majority -- and our democracy.” --Billy Wimsatt, Executive Director, Movement Voter Project
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT