The Fresno County Democratic Central Committee has not endorsed any candidate in this race.
Last year’s presidential election result was shocking and disheartening to so many of us. It was difficult to try to explain to my kids how a man so filled with hate and disrespect for women, immigrants, and people of color could be elected to our nation’s highest office. But he was.
But since November 8, 2016, we’ve marched, we’ve protested, and we’ve fought relentlessly to defend the values we hold dear. Tuesday, resistance prevailed.
As your Secretary of State, I have defended California from Trump’s terrible policies and attacks, including his efforts to erode our right to vote.
Since last November, we have resisted Trump in order to defend the values we hold dear: from voting rights, to immigrants’ rights, to women’s rights, to LGBTQ rights, to the right to healthcare for every American, to fight climate change, and against tax policies that hurts working families.
Now let’s think about Tuesday. On the eve of the one-year milestone of Trump’s election — and the one year marker before next year’s midterm elections — voters in Virginia, New Jersey, and beyond showed that we reject Trump’s divisive agenda. We will fight back with the most powerful force our democracy offers, our votes, and we’ll keep standing up for what we believe in.
The results from Virginia are important, especially because of the massive amounts of fear-mongering Ed Gillespie used to try to win. But voters rejected his awful rhetoric and elected Ralph Northam instead. This is powerful. And it shows that Trump’s influence is shrinking.
Here’s a few more highlights to be inspired by from Tuesday’s Elections:
New Jersey:
- The Governor’s office flipped from red to blue because voters elected Phil Murphy
Virginia:
- Ralph Northam won the Governor’s race
- Justin Fairfax won the Lt. Governor’s race, he is the second African-American to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia
- Danica Roem (HD-13) is the first openly transgender person to be elected in a U.S. State Legislature
- Hala Ayala and Elizabeth Guzman also made history last night, as the first Latinas elected to the Virginia House of Delegates!
Thanks for everything you do,
Alex Padilla
California Secretary of State
