Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I. VT) on behalf of Democracy for America:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I. VT)I am about to ask you to do something very, very important. I'm going to ask you to make a contribution to help elect DFA-endorsed progressive governors in four states that are currently held by Republicans: Arizona, Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Here is why I am making this request now, with only 6 days left until Election Day:
I know that there is a lot of energy focused on winning back Congress. And that is how it should be, because ending reactionary one-party rule in Washington is enormously important. But if we're going to stop Trump's disastrous policies, we cannot do it alone in Washington. We need to elect strong progressives in state government all across the country.
For too long, Republicans have used their control over state governments to protect the interests of the wealthy at the expense of working families. Not only that, but they've used that control to undermine our democracy through extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression.
These actions by Republicans are unacceptable and cowardly. If you can't win an election based on your ideas, you shouldn't be in politics. If you have to deny people the right to vote in order to win an election, you shouldn't be running for office. But these cowardly candidates will not leave politics on their own. It's going to take an effort from all of us to put them out of work.
On my recent 9-state campaign tour to get out the vote in critical races across the country, I had the chance to spend time in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin. And soon, I'll be going to Maryland. The enthusiasm for our progressive message in all these states has been tremendous. People are standing up and fighting back for economic, social, racial and environmental justice.
And while I was traveling, I had the chance to meet three great gubernatorial candidates working to take these states back from the far right: David Garcia, Gretchen Whitmer and Tony Evers. Ben Jealous is someone I have known for years.
All four of these candidates are in very, very winnable races. And if they win, we will have governors who will stand up for working families, and for everyone who has been left behind by the political elite.
Let me tell you a little bit more about these candidates, and why I think you should support them right now:
David Garcia is running to become governor of Arizona, a state where many of Trump's attacks on the immigrant community got their start. Arizona officials like Joe Arpaio, who is a racist of the worst kind, put the right wing on a path towards the hateful policies we are seeing now across the country. But the people of Arizona have a history of fighting back. And, if they go vote, we will see a truly progressive governor in this very important state in November. Very few individuals I know -- running for any office -- have the record of progressivism that Ben Jealous does. He is the former President of the NAACP and is someone who has been on the front lines of the struggle for racial justice, social justice, economic justice, and environmental justice. He is currently running to unseat a Republican governor who claims to be moderate, but still supports Donald Trump in many important ways. A win for Ben would be a very important win for our movement. Gretchen Whitmer is a progressive who is trying to end years and years of terrible Republican mismanagement in Michigan. The last governor there oversaw the Flint water crisis, which still has not been resolved. Her opponent, Bill Schuette, has a long history of supporting big business and the billionaire class, both in the legislature and as attorney general. We need to make sure Michigan finally gets the progressive leadership it needs and deserves. Tony Evers is running to replace Scott Walker in Wisconsin, whose attacks on the right to form a union are well-known nationwide. He spent many, many years as a public school teacher and, as Superintendent of Public Instruction, he has worked to make sure all children in Wisconsin have the right to a quality education. This is the closest working families have ever come to getting rid of Scott Walker, but it's going to take massive turnout in Wisconsin to win.This election is an opportunity for us to begin building an America that works for all of us, not just the billionaires and the corporations.
By putting progressives in charge of states that have been under attack by Republicans for years, we can send a message to the entire country that when we organize, and when we come together, we can change this country.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Click here to donate to Garcia, Jealous, Whitmer and Evers campaigns.