2K Sign Up on National Run for Office Day

Run for Something Action Fund (RFS) and its 41 partners in the progressive movement kicked off the first ever National Run for Office Day and recruited 2,000 new candidates to run for state and local office! With those gains, RFS has recruited nearly 15,000 potential candidates. That means Election Tuesday’s big wins were just the beginning of a new era of community-based campaigns and the reverse coattails effect.

National Run for Office Day is the largest recorded effort to recruit potential candidates to put their name on the ballot. It also ushers in a new era of cooperation and coordination between groups in the progressive movement. RFS brought together Sens. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, Our Revolution’s Nina Turner, Pantsuit Nation’s Courtney Titus, Alicia Garza of Black Lives Matters, actress Piper Perabo, and National Domestic Workers Alliance’s Ai-jen Poo – all on the same issue.

Amanda Litman, co founder of Run for Something and author of Run for Something, said, “People are signing up to run in droves, especially young women, LGTBQ Americans and people of color. The reality has been that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see,’ and last week, Americans saw a new wave of public officials. We’re here to build the bench, and after Tuesday, we can really see that happening. And now on to special elections and 2018. We’re just getting started.”

“It may not be the first position you think of when considering running for office, but election officials play a hugely important role in making sure our democracy works as it should. If you don’t like how elections are run, run for office,” said Alexis Prieur L’Heureux of Access Democracy.

Hannah Brown of ActBlue said, “We were so excited to meet people from the community who are ready to run or help their friends and neighbors run. Boston City Councilor-elect Lydia Edwards — a Run for Something candidate who raised small-dollar donations via ActBlue’s fundraising tools — showed us how it’s possible to run and win a grassroots campaign in a competitive district and inspired more people to take the leap and run for office! We’re excited to work with more Run for Something candidates!”

“As we look ahead at the fights in 2018 and 2020, a plan for victory for the progressive community includes more – more organizing, more engagement, more mobilization, and especially more recruitment,” said America Votes President Greg Speed. “We must continue to recruit an inclusive, diverse set of candidates at all levels of the ballot who reflect their communities and speak genuinely to the issues of those communities. The call and response to the National Run for Something Day shows that progressives are ready to step up to the plate and fight back against Trump-isms, racism, xenophobia, sexism and more.”

Kathryn Poindexter of Campaign Greenhouse said, “Campaign Greenhouse was thrilled to help kick off the first annual National Run for Office Day; my personal favorite side effect was having a concrete solution to offer for almost every single complaint on Twitter.  Unhappy with the #SessionsHearing?  #RunForSomething.  Feel strongly about pedophiles holding high elected office?  #RunForSomething.  Toddler throwing a tantrum about the wrong shape sandwich?  #RunForSomething.  Well, I might have gone a little overboard on that last one.  Nevertheless, we’re very happy with this year’s kickoff and already looking forward to National Run For Office Day 2018!”

“If the 2017 election results have taught us anything, it’s that diversity wins. As the U.S. increasingly becomes a minority-majority nation, it’s critical to have diverse candidates on the ballot. We at Voto Latino are proud to be part of National Run for Office Day, and will continue to work hard to cultivate young, diverse leaders and encourage them to be the change makers in their communities,” said Natalie Montelongo, National Organizing Director of Voto Latino.