Update: I believe a critical part of both prioritizing and being true to the criteria of backing candidates who will count accurately is to support, or at least not contribute against, the Republicans who have put our Democracy first. For Secretary of State Brad Raffensperfer is a clear example of this.
I thought Pam Anderson in Colorado was another. However, she recently made it clear she's willing to play along with proponents of the big lie. And that means, once in office, she could well continue down that route. Colorado is blue-ish but electing a Republican state-wide is possible. So I am adding Jena Griswold to the please actively support list.
As I wrote yesterday, the most important races are the ones for Secretary of State. If this is held by an election denier, then they alone can wreck untold havoc on our democracy and potentially single handedly destroy the vote in their state. So let's take a look at the states:
- Arizona
- Georgia - Brad Raffensperger [R] has shown he will protect the vote.
- Michigan
- Nevada
- Pennsylvania - appointed by the Governor
- Wisconsin - The SoS has very little authority, because it's been held by Doug La Follette [D] forever.
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State is on top of this and is very focused on what is key. From them via an email conversation:
DASS's top target states are Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia; we will also be watching Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Colorado closely.
Among states with the characteristics you described [competitive race, election denier opponent], that would be Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and Minnesota. In all of these states, election-denying Republicans are running against our incumbents or candidates who are committed to protecting the right to vote. These candidates are extreme as can be — from Jim Marchant in Nevada serving as one of Trump's "alternate electors" who attempted to overturn the Nevada election, to Arizona's Mark Finchem, who recently sued to get rid of all voting machines in the state and has been subpoenaed by the January 6th committee for his role in spreading misinformation, attending the insurrection and putting together Arizona's slate of "alternate electors." We have set up a "Deny the Deniers" program in these states to support Sec. Steve Simon (MN), Sec. Jocelyn Benson (MI), Bee Nguyen (GA nominee) and Cisco Aguilar (NV nominee). I'd also be happy to share any more information on the specific races — that link should also give some information about the candidates running on both sides.
I disagree with DASS on Colorado [see update above], Georgia, Iowa, & Washington. We retain our democracy if the Republican candidate wins in Georgia & Colorado. Iowa is red. It used to be purple, but it's red now. And Washington is blue. The SoS candidate in Washington would have to do something unbelievably stupid to lose. I do agree with their view that Minnesota is not super blue and it's an awful Republican candidate there. And Wisconsin would be a problem if the Republican wins as they'll then give the office authority.
So, if you have money to donate, please before anything else max out on the following. And remember, money donated directly to the candidate has a lot more oomph.
- Arizona - Adrian Fontes
- Colorado - Jena Griswold
- Michigan - Jocelyn Benson
- Minnesota - Steve Simon
- Nevada - Cisco Aguilar
- Wisconsin - Doug La Follette
- Deny the Deniers
Donating to the above is the most powerful thing you can do in this election. These offices have more power over our remaining a democracy than anything else you can do. And at the same time these races are significantly underfunded so your money has an outsize impact.
