November 8, 2022

Attend Two Important Events this Week in North Carolina and Pennsylvania

North Carolina

Cheri Beasley is poised to make history as the first black woman from NC to serve in the U.S. Senate. Her race—touted as one of the Dems’ best chances to flip a Senate seat—is now rated a tossup against Ted Budd, a steadfast Trumper. At Make History With Cheri Beasley, we’ll hear directly from Cheri Beasley about the state of her race and how we, as out-of-state volunteers, can help her and her down-ballot colleagues win in November.

Sign up for Make History With Cheri Beasley, a Lean Left co-sponsored event on Wed, July 27th at 8:30 pm ET. Beasley will be joined by State House Democratic Leader Rep. Robert Reives. They will share their thoughts about what winning will mean for North Carolina—and the nation. And be sure to check out our prochoice postcards for Cheri Beasley HERE!

Pennsylvania

Much of the focus in Pennsylvania is on the governorship, a flippable Senate seat, and US House seats. However, perhaps the most exciting thing in PA is that Dems have a shot at flipping the State House of Representatives. By flipping this chamber, Democrats have a chance to go on the offense to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians instead of playing defense with a veto. Every state should have an organization like Turn PA Blue, which is focused on the state legislature.

Turn PA Blue Summer Update Hear the latest! Meet the team! Get inspired and get involved! On Thursday, July 28th at 7:00 ET, TPB will share their plans to elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November and help you get involved and make a difference.

Wisconsin

Booting RonJon out of the Senate would be wonderful. However, the most important races in Wisconsin are keeping Tony Evers in the governor’s office and ensuring that Republicans cannot gain a veto-proof majority in the state legislature. In June, SCOTUS ensured that Wisconsinites must live with arguably the most gerrymandered state legislative map in the country for another 10 years. The best way to help remotely? Make calls.

Call with Sister District to support state legislative candidates. There are a couple of weekly opportunities. No experience is necessary. You will get the training and support that you need. All you need is a strong desire to support democracy in the Badger State.

Sister District National Phonebank for WI State Representatives Wednesdays at 6:00 ET
Wisconsin Sister District Phonebank for WI State Representatives Thursdays at 7:00 ET

New Hampshire

With Ballot Inspector recruitment behind us, the Organize New Hampshire Voter Protection Team is shifting focus back to recruiting for Hotline volunteers and Poll Observers.

Join us in this critical recruitment action. You’ll be talking to dedicated Dems who want to help bring NH back from the brink. You can make the calls on your schedule or join us on PowerHour Sundays (the first one is August 7). For more information about this action, contact Rebecca.

We are starting up our PowerHour Sundays on August 7! If you’ve been trained or have been making calls with any state, think about joining us for an hour or two. Get the work done and feel great all week long! More information here .

Fund the Movement

July Beneficiary
North Carolina Building Electoral Power in Marginalized Communities

This month Lean Left is supporting Advance Carolina and NC A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund. Together, these organizations connect year-round with rural black voters and then mobilize them to vote in November.

BIG NEWS! Every dollar donated this month will serve as a kick-off match for a September 13th event (7-8 pm EST) featuring the leaders of Advance Carolina and the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, with guest speaker NC Governor Roy Cooper! So, if you have not yet made your July donation, please do! Lean Left is a co-sponsor of this event, along with other groups around the country.

Why are our dollars so important to the work these grassroots groups are doing? Rural black voters could make the difference in November:

In 2020, Cheri Beasley lost her run for Supreme Court Justice by 412 votes—out of 5.2 million. And recently, when asked which voter groups needed to be mobilized for this year’s campaign, Cheri Beasley, candidate for U.S. Senate, replied, “rural black voters, particularly in northeastern North Carolina.”
Republicans are two seats short of a supermajority in the Senate and three seats short of a supermajority in the House. If Rs win a supermajority in Nov, they will override Gov Cooper’s vetoes. The GOP has been open about passing more extreme restrictions on abortion if they win a supermajority in the state legislature in Nov. Their assaults on reproductive health care disproportionately affect people of color, the poor, and those living in rural areas.
Most elections in NC are won by less than 1%; unaffiliated voters are now NC’s largest group of voters at 34.6%, compared to Dems (34.5%) and Rs (30.3%); historically, voters of color tend to undervote (more than 1 million did not vote in 2020).