Election 2018 was one for this history books – and nearly a week later, races are still be called in our favor both here in California and across the Nation. We truly created a Big Blue Wave. While the Election is still recent, we want to take the opportunity to share some of our thoughts with you, the Grassroots Leaders and Elected Officials of our Party, while these tremendous victories – and the lessons we learned along the way – are fresh in our collective minds.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing more of entries in our Building the Big Blue Wave series with the hopes that it generates discussion, debate and feedback so that we can build on these victories in 2020.
Once again, we are so grateful for the downright inspirational work done by our Grassroots Democratic Activists! This truly was a victory born in California.
–The CDP Team
Building the Big Blue Wave:
Inclusion Matters
Democrats have won a resounding victory in California. As of this writing, we have flipped four Republican Congressional districts that haven’t been seriously contested in decades and that number could climb as high as seven when hundreds of thousands of uncounted mail ballots are processed. We elected most of our statewide ticket by landslide margins, and we recaptured our Supermajority in the State Legislature.
We are extraordinarily proud of the work done by our Grassroots Democratic Activists, candidates and our hardworking CDP staff. We rightly pride ourselves on having the most talented, energetic and diverse set of activists and Party professionals anywhere in America. Our Party looks like California, and that is true from our Permanent and Coordinated Campaign staff, to the candidates on our slate cards, to the Delegates of the State Committee.
Every community in our state has a seat at our table, and that is one of the key reasons that our Party has grown into such a dominant force in California politics. We have embraced inclusion and equality as the foundation of our values, and that resonates with Californians – particularly at a moment when Republicans are rapidly degenerating into little more than a thuggish white nationalist gang.
We know that we have much more work to do, both within our Party and throughout California. It’s not enough to simply say we value inclusion and diversity – we have to live it every single day.
That’s why we want to highlight some of the most notable aspects of the campaign:
Incredible staff diversity – 29% Latino, 9% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 16% African American and 4% Native American. Additionally, our staff includes a significant number of rural, LGBT and people with disabilities. CDP Emerging Communities program focused on African America, AAPI, Rural, Latinx, Millennial voters through organizing, dedicated staff and multimedia engagement.
History-making candidates elected – We have elected the most diverse cabinet in California history, with our statewide offices filled by three women, four Latinos, three AAPI, and likely the first-ever African American Superintendent of Public Instruction. Our Supermajority in the Legislature has been restored by Anna Caballero and Melissa Hurtado, two strong Latinas who captured longtime Republican Central Valley Senate seats. And we elected a number of notable candidates, including James Ramos, a former Chair of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, who captured a Republican Assembly seat.
Unprecedented Resources to Elect People of Color – Final numbers are still being tabulated, in part because there are so many tight races where we’re observing the vote count, but when all is said and done the CDP will have expended more than 10 million dollars to elect our candidates. Most notably, we spent more money to elect Tony Thurmond than all the other statewide candidates combined, and we are excited and hopeful as his vote count continues trending strongly the right direction.
This was, in many ways, a watershed election. The Media insists on viewing this only through the prism of whether or not we repudiated the current occupant of the White House enough.
It is far more than that. When we look to what People of Color – and particularly Women of Color – achieved in California, we know that we have made extraordinary gains and built a solid foundation to further empower women, People of Color, the LGBT Community and People with Disabilities. Our victories in California, and the thrilling, brilliant, still-unresolved campaigns of Stacy Abrams and Andrew Gillum in the heart of the old Confederacy shows that inclusion not only brings value to our Party, it brings votes to table.
And that is something every Democrat must embrace if our Party is to have the credibility we need to win in 2020.
–The CDP Team
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Over the past two years, we’ve put in so much hard work rebuilding and retooling the Democratic Party. Last night, our historic wins across the country showed all of that work paid off.
The new DNC created an infrastructure to support candidates up and down the ballot and organize year-round — leading to wins in some places that would’ve seemed unthinkable two years ago. Here are some of the ways Democrats gained ground across the country last night:
29 House seats flipped so far — with a good shot at flipping at least half a dozen more once all the results come in
Seven governors’ seats flipped
Six legislative chambers flipped — bringing the total number we’ve flipped up to seven this cycle
Four Republican state legislature supermajorities broken
In total, Democrats flipped over 290 individual state legislative races last night — bringing our total on the cycle up to over 330!
Four states voted to expand voting rights, including a constitutional amendment in Florida that will restore voting rights to more than 1 million people with felony records
Three state Supreme Court seats flipped
Three red states voted to expand Medicaid
Two states voted to raise their minimum wages
One U.S. Senate seat flipped — congrats to Jacky Rosen!
Here are some of the incredible candidates who won historic victories last night:
Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes became the first African American women elected to represent Massachusetts and Connecticut, respectively, in Congress
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women to be elected to the House
Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia are the first Latinas elected to represent Texas in the House
Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women to be elected to the House
Jared Polis became the first openly gay governor elected in the country
None of this happened by accident — it happened because grassroots donors like you invested in our party and rebuilt our infrastructure at the state and local levels. That improved infrastructure paid off big time last night, Michael — and we’re only getting started.
I am so proud of how far we’ve come in the past two years, and I can’t wait to see what else we accomplish together.
If you’re ready to elect Democrats in all 50 states, make a contribution today. This organization is powered by you, and we’d love to hear your ideas. Just reply to this email to send any comments, criticisms, or feedback. Our community management team reads every message from supporters like you. Thanks for supporting our party!
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not tax deductible. Paid for by the Democratic National Committee, www.Democrats.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
This victory was not a given. There were hills to climb and obstacles at almost every turn. It would have been easier to give up. But that’s not the America that you or I believe in.
We did it— Democrats took back the House!
Tonight we proved what I have believed for a long time: When Democrats stand united, we are unstoppable. I am so incredibly proud to be on this team.
This victory was not a given, not by a long shot. There were hills to climb and obstacles at almost every turn. It would have been easier to give up. But that’s not the America that you or I believe in. Those aren’t the values we stand for. That’s not the party we belong to.
Instead, we fought for every single vote, in every single state. We invested over $30 million directly into state parties and campaigns, rebuilt our ground game by hiring organizers across the country, and talked to each and every voter about what we believe this country can be.
It paid off: We didn’t just take back the House — we elected a historic slate of women, people of color, veterans, and members of the LGBTQ community. These leaders have changed the face of our party, and now they will change the face of our government. That’s progress in the truest sense of the word.
So tonight, let’s celebrate hard work and the promise that Democrats can win when we fight for our values.
Our work is far from done, but tonight I just want to say thank you. We did it.
All my best,
Tom
Tom Perez
Chair
Democratic National Committee
P.S. This election cycle, hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors took ownership of this party, and helped rebuild it the right way — from the grassroots up. We simply would not have made it this far without supporters like you.
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not tax deductible. Paid for by the Democratic National Committee, www.Democrats.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Happy Election Day! We’re hoping that you all can help us promote and protect the vote across the state. Millions of people all over California have already cast their ballots, and millions more are heading to the polls today. Amidst all this excitement, we have to be vigilant against attempts to suppress our votes or stifle enthusiasm for voting.
Can you help us make sure that all voters are able to participate in this historic election by sharing this graphic?
Voting is our most important right, and we must do everything we can to promote and protect it. Please report any suspicious activities to the above hotline, and have a great Election Day!
Finally, as California Democrats we have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote OUT Trump’s congressional clones here in California and elect Democrats here in our state who will continue fighting for our progressive values.
Together, we are going to take the House — and our country — back from Trump’s hateful, white nationalist agenda.
But only if we vote. Polls open at 7:00 a.m. across our state, and Californians will have until 8:00 p.m. to vote in person or drop off their mail-in ballots.
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