The Democratic Party is focused on reelecting Biden as the top priority. Well over a billion dollars will be spent on that. We hope Biden divests himself from Netanyahu in time to save his presidency. But whichever way the presidential race goes— not a race that a small grassroots committee like Blue America can have much impact on— it is crucial that the House flips blue. A quick scan of congressional headlines tells us that it shouldn’t be that hard but…
“But” has a lot to do with some of the incredibly unappealing conservatives the DCCC has selected to run, in some cases corrupt state legislators like Rudy Salas and Adam Grey in California who were well known by voters and who already rejected them in blue districts in 2022.
We’ll just leave those kinds of races alone. Instead, we have a short, tight list of districts held by conservatives that can be flipped, not just for Democrats but for progressive Democrats. The ActBlue page is called, simply enough, Flip Congress. Right now we have an even dozen candidates in districts held by conservatives.
All of them are Republican districts and one, in blue, blue Broward County, Florida, is Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s seat, where progressive activist Jen Perelman is running to replace her in the Democratic primary.
“I think it’s important for people to understand that this is not simply about electing new Democrats,” said Jen today. “This is time for a complete paradigm shift from corporatism to collectivism. We can only be as great of a society as we treat the least of these. Our resistance to empire will only be successful when we all show up for each other. When the labor movement, the environmental activists, the anti-war movement, and the abolitionists show up for each other’s causes, is when we can truly push the needle. The representatives we elect must recognize the power of collectivism and want to facilitate the changes we all demand.”
Whatever happens in that primary, the district will remain blue— either in the hands of a disgraced corporate Democratic careerist who supports genocide and thrives on old style political corruption or in the hands of a movement progressive fighting for the values we believe in. The rest of these candidates, though, are fighting to take back seats from Republicans. None of them are the “easy” races that the DCCC is all over. These are winnable seats but only winnable because the candidates are so good and are working so hard. They deserve our support.
Probably the list’s toughest is the seat Ohio district Jerrad Christian is contesting. “We have the power to inspire change and shape the future,” he told us yesterday. “Together, we can create a wave of progress that echoes throughout this nation and beyond, building communities that thrive on empathy, respect, and understanding. By harnessing our collective strengths and embracing our diverse perspectives, we can tackle the grand challenges of our time, forging a path toward a more just, sustainable, and prosperous world for all. This power is what the far-right fears.”
Please consider checking out the Flip Congress page and contributing what you can to Jen, Jerrad and the 10 other candidates we think can make all the difference when the 119th Congress convenes next January. Whether Biden or, god forbid, Trump is in the White House, a progressive Democratic House is going to be essential to move the country in the right direction. You know that; we all know that, by looking at what a dysfunctional mess conservatives have made of Congress for the last two years.
Replacing GOP extremists like Scott Perry (PA), Rob Wittman (VA), Dave Schweikert (AZ), Jay Obernolte (CA) and John James (MI) hasn’t motivated the DCCC in the last couple of cycles and I don’t believe it will motivate them this year either.
It motivates us– and in a very big way. These are the kinds of seats Blue America is fighting to flip.
