Courtney O’Donnell and Christina Sass hosted a Women For Biden House Party with guest speaker Karine Jean-Pierre, who recently joined the Biden campaign as a senior advisor. Women For Biden was launched back in 2019 to focus on gathering talented women to use their time, skills, networks and money to elect Joe Biden POTUS46.
Jean-Pierre shared a key message with the group of more than 70 entrepreneurs, activists, and organizers: “We will win because of women in November.”
At the same time, Jean-Pierre cautioned attendees to keep the focus on election day. Pay little attention to the polls, she advised, and instead act as if Joe is running 20 points behind. Jean-Pierre also addressed a few crucial questions.
After 2016, how can we have faith in the polls?
Be mindful and take the important lessons from 2016. Turnout is everything. With COVID, however, Americans around the country are now witnessing the impact of Trump and his policies. As they see how damaging he is, Biden is rising in the polls. But anything can change.
To that end, Biden supporters need to be laser focused on the election, building coalitions and reaching out to diverse voters. Unlike the Trump campaign, which is relying on exciting the base, the Biden campaign is about future, hope and optimism.
What specific actions can we take to have the greatest impact?
We must do better with younger women, and we can do this by telling our personal stories. So talk to young women, especially white collar women, about why you support Biden. Talk about how his policies will help women and families. Talk about what’s going on in the country right now. Our most important goal is draw more young women onto Joe’s side.
How can we be active in swing states? What other voting will be critical in 2020?
Commit to spending one day a week calling or texting into swing states. We need your help to build our grassroots efforts there.
Equally important are the 7 million new voters who will be eligible to cast a ballot this November. We need people to help register these potential voters and get all voters jazzed up about Joe, interested in the election, and involved in the campaign. We need to re-engage the voters we lost in 2016, which saw 4 million fewer voters than 2012.
Ginning up support for Joe can start at home. Make sure that everyone in your household and all of your friends and family members are registered to vote. And act now! It will be harder to organize due to our new, virtual world.
How is the campaign thinking about voter protections?
To safeguard voters during the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Biden is meeting voters where they are. This means installing cameras in his house so he can reach out to Americans personally. Biden also is holding round tables and town halls with community and business leaders, elected officials and others. Any in-person trips will be carried out with voter safety in mind.
Voter suppression also is a real issue! It has presented a problem for decades but in the last 10 years, the GOP has spent millions of dollars to prevent people with black and brown skin from voting. Team Biden is:
- Working with local officials to ensure people have the information they need about how to vote.
- Working to secure multiple ways for Americans to cast their ballot – such as absentee or early voting opportunities – which will allow us to maintain social distancing.
- Working to increase citizens’ access to voting.
Can you tell us anything about who Biden is looking at for vice president?
No! But Biden knows what he’s looking for: someone who is sympatico with him, just like he was with President Obama. To guide his process, Biden is asking himself questions like “Who can match with me?” and “Who can help me govern on Day 1?”
After Jean-Pierre left the call, Carissa Smith, Biden’s National Women’s Vote Director, gave some specifics about the campaign game plan.
- Protect the states (CO, MN, NH, NV, VA) that Democrats won in 2016, which are a critical part of a winning coalition. Do whatever you can to encourage people to vote; talk to friends and family in these states or make phone calls.
- Win back the swing states (FL, IA, MI, NC, OH, PA, WI) that Democrats won in 2008/2012 but lost in 2016. We are committed to getting these states back; it’s a top campaign priority. You can help by educating and enlightening friends and family in these states.
- Expand the battleground with new states (AZ, GA, TX), which are now in play based on 2018 trends. Based on the midterms, we know these newcomer states are gettable, but we need more boots on the ground (in person if safe and virtual).
What can you do right now? Log on to the website and visit:
- Joe’s Vision to learn more about the bold ideas that comprise policy specifics.
- the Action Center to find events, make phone calls (and get trained), become a grassroots fundraiser, contact an organizer and more.
- Women For Biden to understand how Biden’s agenda helps women and their families. You can also join the team!
What’s next? Sign up now for the National Women For Biden’s next bimonthly training, which focuses on combating disinformation online, this Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m. EDT.
Get on the frontlines with Team Joe!
