2019 Wave 1 Endorsements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2019
Democratic grassroots organization endorses a wide range of progressive candidates in Virginia and Mississippi.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA- Today, the Sister District Project announced its support for 10 candidates in Virginia and Mississippi in an effort to build and grow progressive power in state legislatures across the country. In Virginia, Sister District will be supporting Shelly Simonds for HD-94, Wendy Gooditis for HD-10, Hala Ayala for HD-51, Larry Barnett for HD-27, Karen Mallard for HD-84, Alex Askew for HD-85, Phil Hernandez for HD-100, and Josh Cole for HD-28. In Mississippi, the organization will be supporting Shanda Yates HD-64 and Brandon Rue for HD-102. Since late2016, Sister District has had tremendous success executing a comprehensive strategy that involves both electoral and non-electoral tactics in badly gerrymandered state legislative races.Working with their expansive volunteer network, they focus on three types of state legislative chambers: Blue Flips, Blue Holds, and Blue Inroads.
In Virginia, badly gerrymandered maps have been redrawn, and Democrats need to flip just two seats in the senate and two seats in the house of delegates to win control of both chambers.Between the slim margins and new maps, the 2019 election is a remarkable opportunity to turn Virginia into a Democratic trifecta state. Mississippi also presents opportunities for blue legislative gains in November. Later this year, Sister District will be announcing support for races in Louisiana, where about 40% of state legislative seats are open due to term limits.
“We are thrilled to endorse all of our 2019 Sister District candidates,” said Rita Bosworth, the Executive Director of the Sister District Project. “This election season brings Democrats an important opportunity to make blue strides ahead of the 2020 census. The co-founders and I, along with our district captains and volunteers are ready to get to work to help support fantastic candidates who have the ability to make meaningful, progressive contributions to Virginia and Mississippi.”
Sister District has grown rapidly over the past two years, demonstrating successes in 2017 and2018. In 2017, Sister District played a pivotal role in nearly flipping the Virginia House of Delegates from red to blue, raising more than $300,000 and supporting 12 winning candidates. Last year, Sister District was also extremely successful in securing 13 state legislative seats for Democrats in Arizona, Washington, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maine. The organization has quickly turned into a force to be reckoned with, expanding to 40,000 volunteer network, and they’re looking to come back to Virginia and make strides in Mississippi this year.
Already this year, Sister District has supported Senator-Elect Pam Iovino for Pennsylvania State Senate District 37, whose race was labeled as a victory late last night. Sister District will continue to support other critical special elections as they deem fit.
