People's Action
For Immediate Release
December 19, 2019
Contact: Derrick Crowe

BREAKING: PEOPLE’S ACTION ENDORSES BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – People’s Action today announced that it endorses Bernie Sanders for president in 2020. People’s Action is one of the largest multiracial people’s organizations in the country made up of 40 member organizations in 30 states and representing more than a million grassroots leaders. The organization’s strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada makes its support a crucial factor for success in the early primary and caucus states. People’s Action today announced that it endorses Bernie Sanders for president in 2020. People’s Action is one of the largest multiracial people’s organizations in the country made up of 40 member organizations in 30 states and representing more than a million grassroots leaders. The organization’s strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada makes its support a crucial factor for success in the early primary and caucus states.

“Bernie Sanders cuts through the haze of corporate propaganda that clouds politics across the spectrum,” People’s Action National Director George Goehl said. “He is not catching up to a movement to restructure the relationship between everyday people and big monied interests. He has been there the whole time.”

“We know that Bernie will stand with the multiracial working class because he has always stood with us,” People’s Action National Board of Directors President Lizeth Chacon said. “He’s proven that he can listen and work with the grassroots when it’s time to be bolder. When we launched a call for safe, accessible, sustainable, permanently affordable homes for everyone, Sanders heard our blunt call for action. Now the vision of our Homes Guarantee is reflected in his housing policy. That’s just one example of him making movement politics mainstream.”

About the Process
People’s Action endorsed Sanders after a year-and-a-half-long democratic process that included a ground-breaking People’s Presidential Forum series in which everyday people joined candidates on stage to push them to put people and the planet first. The Nation called our Iowa forum the “most in-depth, people-powered forum” of the 2020 cycle. Sanders won the endorsement with 73.6 percent of votes cast by delegates from the People’s Action member groups.

People’s Action noted that there are three progressive candidates in the Democratic primary, which is historic. Secretary Castro and Senator Warren have significant support in the People’s Action network. We are excited to endorse Senator Sanders and will be working hard to elect him. Secretary Castro or Senator Warren would be strong second choices for president.

From Protest to Power
This endorsement is the latest step in People’s Action’s investment in moving from protest to power. In the 2018 cycle, our members were involved in winning campaigns in 23 House races, seven Senate races, 10 gubernatorial races, 115 down-ballot races and 10 ballot initiatives. Our grassroots presence on the ground was enormous: we had roughly 500,000 total conversations with voters, including 304,110 conversations at people’s front doors. This election cycle, People’s Action will build on this work, with our members committing to organizing 50,000 volunteers to reach out to 3 million voters.

About People’s Action
People’s Action is a national network of 40 state and local grassroots, power-building organizations united in fighting for justice. Our organization recently released a vision for a national Homes Guarantee that has already prompted major legislation from champions including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib. We operate the largest progressive rural organizing project in the country. Prior to endorsing a candidate for president, we completed a national forum series that included Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, and Andrew Yang. The Nation called our Iowa forum the “most in-depth, people-powered forum” of the 2020 cycle.