Reactions to the Nov. 5
Elections
DEMOCRATS
AND ALLIES
New Hampshire Democratic Party
from the chairman's desk
Nov. 6, 2024
Democrats,
Last night, the people of our state and our country chose to
bring us down a path that we did not believe was best for us.
Here in the Granite State, we lost some incredibly tough
races. We also sent Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander to
Congress and won the state for Kamala Harris. New Hampshire
was not immune to the national mood. Our ground game – you –
proved to stop much of the slide that overwhelmed other
states. Still, this was not the night we hoped and worked for,
but that day is coming.
While we may not have won yesterday, we will win again. Our
resolve to build a better future where everyone has the
opportunity to thrive is unchanged. We will stand up for
public education, reproductive rights, workers, the
environment and all those families that are disregarded or
left behind. We will not waiver, whether it is through our
elected Democrats or by us organizing in our
communities. We will never give up that fight.
The reality is that we now have an obligation to figure out
what went wrong both nationally and here in New Hampshire. We
must prepare for 2026 and that work starts today. I hope you
will participate in the examination and analysis to determine
what worked and what didn't. We will ask the tough questions
about what happened.
Your perspective will be important in that endeavor. Right
now, there are no factual answers, but seemingly, swing
voters across the entire country swung heavily to the right,
and nobody accurately predicted or expected it.
Let’s work together to find those answers.
We don’t know what these results will mean for us. We don’t
know what a second Trump Presidency will look like, though we
have an idea. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by Trump and
Ayotte’s wins and what they will mean for us. If you feel this
way, I want you to know that you are not alone. You might
not be ready to get back to work today. But maybe
tomorrow will be that day, or perhaps it’ll be the
one after that. Whenever it is that you
are ready, we will be
here for you, ready to get back in the fight.
I want to thank our candidates for stepping into the arena. I
want to thank our staff who worked tirelessly. I want to thank
our supporters, volunteers, donors, and everyone else who
contributed to our efforts. And I want to urge you all to stay
in the fight – we need you. Building for 2026 includes
creating robust local and county committees starting in
January. The work of winning majorities here and across the
country will not be easy and it will not be immediate. It will
take time, discipline, and patience – let us begin.
Onward,
Raymond Buckley
Chairman, New Hampshire Democratic Party
Barack
Obama
Nov. 6, 2024
Our Statement on the 2024 Presidential
Election
Over the last few weeks and through Election Day, millions of
Americans cast their votes — not just for president, but for
leaders at every level. Now the results are in, and we want to
congratulate President Trump and Senator Vance on their
victory.
This is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our
profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole
host of issues. But living in a democracy is about recognizing
that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing
to accept the peaceful transfer of power.
Michelle and I could not be prouder of Vice President Harris
and Governor Walz — two extraordinary public servants who ran
a remarkable campaign. And we will always be grateful to the
staff and volunteers who poured their heart and soul into
electing public servants they truly believed in.
As I said on the campaign trail, America has been through a
lot over the last few years — from a historic pandemic and
price hikes resulting from the pandemic, to rapid change and
the feeling a lot of folks have that, no matter how hard they
work, treading water is the best they can do. Those conditions
have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the
world, and last night showed that America is not immune.
The good news is that these problems are solvable — but only
if we listen to each other, and only if we abide by the core
constitutional principles and democratic norms that made this
country great.
In a country as big and diverse as ours, we won’t always see
eye-to-eye on everything. But progress requires us to extend
good faith and grace — even to people with whom we deeply
disagree. That’s how we’ve come this far, and it’s how we’ll
keep building a country that is more fair and more just, more
equal and more free.
Friends of Bernie Sanders
Nov. 6, 2024
NEWS: Sanders Statement on the Results of the 2024
Presidential Election
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today released
the following statement in response to the outcome of the 2024
presidential election:
It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party
which has abandoned working class people would find that the
working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white
working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well.
While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the
American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.
Today, while the very rich are doing phenomenally well, 60% of
Americans live paycheck to paycheck and we have more income
and wealth inequality than ever before. Unbelievably, real,
inflation-accounted-for weekly wages for the average American
worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years
ago.
Today, despite an explosion in technology and worker
productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of
living than their parents. And many of them worry that
Artificial Intelligence and robotics will make a bad situation
even worse.
Today, despite spending far more per capita than other
countries, we remain the only wealthy nation not to guarantee
health care to all as a human right and we pay, by far, the
highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. We, alone
among major countries, cannot even guarantee paid family and
medical leave.
Today, despite strong opposition from a majority of Americans,
we continue to spend billions funding the extremist Netanyahu
government’s all out war against the Palestinian people which
has led to the horrific humanitarian disaster of mass
malnutrition and the starvation of thousands of children.
Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who
control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this
disastrous campaign? Will they understand the pain and
political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are
experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on
the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much economic
and political power? Probably not.
In the coming weeks and months those of us concerned about
grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some
very serious political discussions.
Stay tuned.
AFL-CIO
Nov. 6, 2024
AFL-CIO
President on the 2024 Election Results
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on
the 2024 election:
Presidential administrations change, but the labor movement’s
values do not. We stand for the freedom to organize and for
the right to collectively bargain. We stand for solidarity—the
kind that is built when working people stand together to take
on the biggest, richest bosses and the most powerful extremist
politicians. Most importantly, we know how to fight back when
anyone comes after our freedoms.
This result is a blow for every worker who depends on our
elected leaders to fight for our jobs, our unions and our
contracts. We organized for months to produce a nearly
17-point advantage for Vice President Kamala Harris with union
members. But it is clear that the economic struggle
working-class people are facing is causing real pain and
neither party has sufficiently addressed it.
Now we are faced with the reality of a second Donald Trump
term. The Project 2025 agenda promises to dismantle labor
unions because we are a pillar of democracy and a check on
power. We’ve seen assaults on our fundamental rights before.
In the days, months, and years ahead, labor’s task will be to
defend working people when it happens again. The labor
movement gives voice and clarity to the struggles of working
people—that’s what we do, and what we’ve always done.
Every workplace we organize is a victory for democracy. Every
contract we bargain for is a step toward a fairer economy.
Every strike is a lesson for rich bosses that they can’t keep
the working class down. No one—not Donald Trump or JD Vance,
nor any one CEO—can stop solidarity.
Organized labor is the path forward. In unions, people have
power to build a stable foundation for themselves and their
families. To say, “It’s Better in a Union,” is not simply a
slogan—it’s the way to level the playing field and create a
path to economic security for every working person. The nearly
13 million union members of the AFL-CIO won’t be divided and
we won’t back down. We will be there for each other and we
will fight every step of the way for every worker in this
country, no matter who sits in the Oval Office.
SEIU
Nov. 6, 2024
SEIU’s Verrett: We Won’t Back Down
“We are not defeated, we are
determined. We won’t back down.”
Washington, D.C. - Service Employees International Union
(SEIU) President April Verrett released the following
statement on the outcome of the presidential election:
"We are not defeated, we are determined. And we won’t back
down. We remain united to each other and to our vision for a
healthy, joyful, and prosperous future. And we’re not going to
let anyone divide us based on racism, sexism, or fear.
SEIU’s 2 million members did monumental work in this election,
reaching more than 7 million voters in 12 languages. Those
conversations weren’t just about one vote, they’re about the
world we’re determined to build together. Our shared future is
one rooted in joy and optimism, where we have Unions for All
so that workers can share in the nation’s prosperity.
We are putting corporations, billionaires, and extremist
politicians on notice – we see you, we know just what you’re
trying to do, and we won’t back down. We know what it’s like
to face down bullies. We know how to keep going, to care for
each other, to face down systems built to keep us out of power
and divided. We will fight back by organizing, mobilizing, and
winning worker power. We will not allow anyone to take away
our fundamental rights and freedoms. Hear us: when you attack
just one of us, you’re attacking every worker who makes our
communities, our economy, and our nation strong."
UAW
Nov. 6, 2024
STATEMENT FROM UAW PRESIDENT SHAWN FAIN ON 2024
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Photo of UAW President Shawn Fain in his office at Solidarity
House. Photo by the Detroit Free Press.
UAW members around the country clocked in today under the same
threat they faced yesterday: unchecked corporate greed
destroying our lives, our families, and our communities. It’s
the threat of companies like Stellantis, Mack Truck, and John
Deere shipping jobs overseas to boost shareholder profits.
It’s the threat of corporate America telling the working class
to sit down and shut up.
We’ve said all along that no matter who is in the White House,
our fight remains the same. The fight to fix our broken trade
laws like the USMCA continues. The fight for good union jobs
and U.S. leadership in the emerging battery industry
continues. The fight for a secure retirement for everyone in
this country continues. The fight for a living wage,
affordable health care, and time for our families continues.
It’s time for Washington, DC to put up or shut up, no matter
the party, no matter the candidate. Will our government stand
with the working class, or keep doing the bidding of the
billionaires? That’s the question we face today. And that’s
the question we’ll face tomorrow. The answer lies with us. No
matter who’s in office.
If that’s the question you’re asking today, no matter who you
voted for, sign up and join us at solidarity.uaw.org.
Sierra
Club
Nov. 6, 2024
Sierra
Club Statement: We Will Be A Force Of Nature
Defending Our Communities and Our Planet From
Trump
Washington,
DC – Donald Trump has been declared the winner of
the US presidential election.
During Trump’s first term, the Sierra Club played
a critical role in defending against his
administration’s attacks on climate progress and
clean air and water. The Sierra Club legal team
filed more than 300 lawsuits against his
administration, holding off the worst of his
attempts to gut bedrock environmental protections,
as well as watch-dogging Trump’s political
appointees and bringing to light their ties to
polluting industries through FOIA requests and
litigation. The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign
also continued to be successful in driving the
transition from coal to clean energy in spite of
Trump, retiring coal plants at an even faster pace
than under the Obama administration.
Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous
released the following statement:
“Donald Trump was a disaster for climate progress
during his first term, and everything he’s said
and done since suggests he’s eager to do even more
damage this time. Trump has put profits over
people time and again, prioritizing the bottom
line of the Big Oil CEOs who bought and paid for
his campaign above communities across the country
who face the threat of pollution and the
devastating impacts of the climate crisis, and
seeking to keep us hooked on fossil fuels rather
than investing in a clean energy economy.
“During Trump’s first term, we fought relentlessly
to defend against his administration’s attacks on
climate progress and clean air and water, and we
are ready to fight again. We will challenge
Trump’s dangerous proposals in court, keep the
pressure on banks and big corporations to clean up
their act, and mobilize our 64 chapters and
millions of members and volunteers nationwide to
continue to make progress at the state and local
levels.
“This is a dark day, but despite this election
result, momentum is on our side. The transition
away from dirty fossil fuels to affordable clean
energy is already underway. Trump can’t change the
reality that an overwhelming majority of Americans
want more clean energy, not more fossil fuels.
Through investments in the Inflation Reduction Act
we are creating millions of new clean energy jobs.
Clean energy is already cheaper in most cases than
dirty fossil fuels, and wind and solar now
generate more power in the US than coal.
“When we come together, we are stronger than
Donald Trump, and we will not let one climate
denier in the White House erase all the progress
we have made. Our movement is bigger, bolder, and
more diverse than it’s ever been. We will be a
force of nature and use every tool at our disposal
to defend our democracy and critical environmental
protections, and continue to build toward the
clean energy economy and future we need.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most
influential grassroots environmental organization,
with millions of members and supporters. In
addition to protecting every person's right to get
outdoors and access the healing power of nature,
the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy,
safeguard the health of our communities, protect
wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places
through grassroots activism, public education,
lobbying, and legal action. For more information,
visit www.sierraclub.org.
Planned
Parenthood Action Fund
Nov. 6, 2024
Statement
from Planned Parenthood Action Fund on
Presidential Election Results
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Planned
Parenthood Action Fund released the following
statement following Vice President Kamala Harris’s
loss in the presidential election:
Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson,
president & CEO, Planned Parenthood Action
Fund:
“At
nearly 600 Planned Parenthood health centers
around the country, clinicians and providers went
to work and opened their doors this morning to
provide the reproductive health care Planned
Parenthood patients and our communities rely on.
When we say care no matter what, we mean it.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund will never stop
working to build a world where all people can get
the care they need — no election result can change
that. Every day we live under Trump’s abortion
bans, more people will suffer and die.
“We know the names, we know their stories, and we
know that the women who died are just the
first.
“Abortion is powerful and popular. The American
people do not want politicians making their health
care decisions. In poll after poll, voters said
abortion mattered to them — mattered in their
lives and mattered in the voting booth. In
Missouri, Colorado, New York, Maryland, Arizona,
Montana, Nevada, and Florida — the majority of
voters were clear and unequivocal: people are
dying. People are suffering. Fix this.
“Donald Trump ran from his record and said he
would not ban abortion nationwide. Planned
Parenthood Action Fund is going to hold him to
that every day for the next four years. This is
not over. We have never backed down from a fight —
and we won’t, ever. We are going to win our rights
back — state by state, ballot by ballot. We’re not
done.”
Despite Donald Trump’s victory and a new
anti-reproductive rights majority in the U.S.
Senate, abortion rights champions won several
important victories across the country. For the
first time in history, two Black women will be
serving in the U.S. Senate with the election of
Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware and Angela
Alsobrooks in Maryland, and Delaware’s Sarah
McBride will serve as the first openly trans
member in the U.S. House. Josh Stein is the next
governor of North Carolina, and several
reproductive rights champions flipped seats in the
U.S. House. Abortion was a defining issue of the
2024 election with reproductive freedom ballot
measures winning in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland,
Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York, where
voters enshrined abortion rights in their state
constitutions.
Planned Parenthood advocacy and political
organizations made a record-breaking $69.5 million
investment during the 2024 election cycle. This
included work the organizations collectively did
to engage voters to show up on Election Day;
support ballot measures to expand, restore, and
protect abortion access; and elect reproductive
rights champions up and down the ballot. Planned
Parenthood advocacy and political organizations
reached out to nearly 20 million voters through
campaign tactics including field, phones, mail,
digital, TV, and radio — turning the dedication of
19 million Planned Parenthood supporters,
organizers, and volunteers into action, and
empowering them to vote with their reproductive
freedoms in mind. In addition, Planned Parenthood
Action Fund supported ballot initiative campaigns
that mobilized tens of millions of voters across
nine states.
###
Planned
Parenthood Action Fund is an independent,
nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership
organization formed as the advocacy and political
arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy
and electoral activity, including grassroots
organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter
education.
Reproductive
Freedom for All
Nov. 6, 2024
Reproductive Freedom for
All Responds to Results of Presidential Race and
Thanks VP Harris for Her Commitment to
Reproductive Freedom
Washington, DC — Today, Vice
President Kamala Harris conceded the race for the
presidency. Trump’s election comes against
the backdrop of an urgent abortion access crisis
as Republicans’ abortion bans continue to endanger
lives and families in more than 20 states—even as
horrific accounts of the dangerous ramifications
continue to come to light. Not only have countless
women spoken of the horrific life-threatening
situations they were forced to endure because of
bans, but some like Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi
Miller lost their lives.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO
Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“This result is devastating. There has been no
greater champion for reproductive freedom than
Vice President Kamala Harris, and we are grateful
for her leadership and partnership in our fight.
The fight for reproductive freedom was never going
to be won or lost in one race, and our work to
protect our fundamental rights and democracy is
more important than ever. We know the American
people are with us, and they showed us that when
they passed ballot measures and elected candidates
in key states to protect their rights. We’ll be
mobilizing the full force of our more than 4
million members nationwide to stop Trump and MAGA
Republicans from banning all abortion and further
eviscerating our rights.
Vice President Harris has been an unequivocal
champion for abortion rights and access throughout
her career. From serving as vice president in the
most pro-reproductive freedom administration in
U.S. history to cosponsoring legislation in
Congress as a U.S. senator to protect and expand
abortion rights and access to traveling the
country to shine a light on the impact of Trump’s
abortion bans, Vice President Harris has always
put the fight for reproductive freedom front and
center.
###
For over 50 years, Reproductive Freedom for All
(formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to
protect and advance reproductive freedom at the
federal and state levels—including access to
abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and
post-partum care, and paid family leave—for
everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered
by its more than 4 million members from every
state and congressional district in the country,
representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support
legal abortion.
MoveOn Political Action
Nov. 6, 2024
BREAKING: MoveOn Statement
on Election Results
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – MoveOn Political Action Executive Director
Rahna Epting issued the following statement:
“Despite the deeply disappointing results of the
election yesterday, our work to build a better
future for our families and our nation does not
end here. Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans will
continue to try and divide us in hopes we give up
and clear the path for them to dismantle our
democracy and take away our freedoms.
“As we process the outcome of the election, our
MoveOn community is thinking about our friends,
family, and neighbors who will be most impacted by
a second Trump term, and those who do not have the
luxury of succumbing to despair because their
rights and lives are on the line.
“As exhausted and defeated as we all may feel
right now, giving up is not an option. The
organizers, change-makers, and heroes before us
have sacrificed far too much for us to drop the
baton and surrender now. Our story does not end
with this election result; we have a lot of work
ahead of us. The future we are dreaming of is
worth fighting for.
“The tens of millions of voters who chose a
different future under Kamala Harris and a
Democratic Congress are not going anywhere.
Together, we can defeat the far right by staying
engaged, mobilizing our communities, and remaining
defiant guardrails against their fascist vision
for our country.”
###
MoveOn is celebrating 25 years of people-powered
progress this year. For more than a generation,
MoveOn has built independent political power and
mobilized the left to elect Democrats and enact
progressive change. MoveOn is a bulwark against
the radical right, channeling our collective
voices to drive progressive foreign policy,
protect democracy, and advance justice for all.
###
Youth
Vote Coalition
Nov. 6, 2024
Youth Vote Coalition Responds to Election Results
NextGen America, Voters of Tomorrow,
Alliance for Youth Action, For Michigan, Rally NC, Project
26 Pennsylvania, the Wisco Project, and NAACP Youth and
College release coalition statement
Washington, D.C. — Young people make up nearly one-fifth of
the electorate and are a critical section of our democracy. At
this moment, youth coalition partners are standing together
and acknowledging our collective power. We are proud of our
work this cycle to mobilize young people, and we know the work
of educating and empowering young people to engage in the
civic process will continue. As we build our progressive
movement for change, we remain united in our efforts and in
our work to build our future.
Together, youth organizing leaders NextGen America, Voters of
Tomorrow, Alliance for Youth Action, For Michigan, Rally NC,
Project 26 Pennsylvania, the Wisco Project, and NAACP Youth
and College release the following statement:
“Our work to educate, empower, and mobilize young people has
always been about building a progressive movement that is
larger than any single candidate or election year. Young
people turned out this year, and we know our generation will
continue to be a force for freedom, equity, and hope.
“We are proud to stand together with our youth coalition
partners in our movement for change, and we are committed to
continuing this work. Together, our youth movement directly
contacted millions of young people this election cycle across
the country. There is strength in our collective power, and
the work we do day in and day out remains essential. We are
here, we stand together, and we are not backing down.”
###
About NextGen America
NextGen America is the leading national organization for
engaging young people through voter education, registration
and mobilization. We invite 18-to-35 year olds — the largest
and most diverse generation in American history — into our
democracy to ensure our government works for them and to find
new solutions to the dire challenges facing our society and
the world. Since 2013, NextGen America has registered over 1.6
million young voters, empowering the next generation to lead
and drive lasting change.
About Alliance for Youth Action
The Alliance for Youth Action grows progressive people power
across America by empowering local young people’s
organizations to strengthen our democracy, fix our economy,
and correct injustices through on-the-ground organizing.
About Voters of Tomorrow
Voters of Tomorrow is the largest Gen Z-led voter outreach
organization in the country. The group has chapters in 25
states and a volunteer presence in all 50, and made more than
31 million calls and texts to young people in 2024.
About For Michigan
For Michigan empowers students to take leadership in their
community to increase youth civic engagement in the democratic
process. By organizing college students across the state on
campuses large and small, we are ensuring progressive students
are brought into our youth power building movement.
About Rally NC
Rally NC is an entrepreneurial and innovative operation to
protect and expand democracy by elevating youth leadership
across the state in order to empower thousands of college
students to take control of their futures, get organized, and
vote in the 2024 elections.
About Project 26 Pennsylvania
Named after the 26th Amendment, which gave 18 year olds the
right to vote, Project 26 Pennsylvania works to promote and
expand democracy in Pennsylvania by elevating youth leadership
in order to get organized, vote in key elections, and exercise
our power to take control of our lives through civic
engagement.
About the Wisco Project
Wisconsin has a super power: it’s young voters. Over 300,000
college students call Wisconsin home – when we organize on
campuses, students vote. Building on work started during the
April 2023 Supreme Court Election, when young people showed up
in record numbers, the Wisco Project is building an even
bigger and scrappier movement to make sure we have another
record breaking year in 2024 across campuses all throughout
our state.
NAACP Youth & College
The NAACP Youth & College Division encompasses 700 College
Chapters & Youth Councils, representing 28,000+ young,
Black Americans across the nation. Over the last decade, their
leaders and members have led nationwide efforts to advance
police reform, cultivate safe school campuses, mobilizing
Black youth voters to the polls, and create pathways to
success for the next generation of leaders. Most recently, the
NAACP Youth & College Division led the collective effort
to cancel more than $160 billion of student debt, promoting
economic equity as essential to racial equity.
NAACP
Nov. 6, 2024
NAACP Reacts to News of President Elect Donald Trump’s Win
in the 2024 Presidential Election
"Millions of Americans cast their ballots in one of the most
consequential elections of our time. From congressional seats
to judicial appointments, and ballot propositions, America
decided.
No matter who occupies the Oval Office, our mission remains
clear. For over a century, the NAACP has, and will continue
to champion justice and equity. We are determined to protect
and uplift Black and underserved communities. This election
cycle we made a historic $20 million investment in efforts
to get out the vote and mobilize over 14.5 million Black
voters. We're not stopping there. Our resolve remains
stronger than ever as we advocate for policies that
dismantle systemic injustices and support the American
dream. This new chapter presents an opportunity to chart a
course that unites Americans through integrity,
understanding, and inclusion. As we move forward, it is
crucial that the President-elect and Vice President-elect
are guided by the founding ideals of our nation, acting in
the service of all Americans and upholding civil rights
protections that strengthen our country.
We have seen an unprecedented number of Black voters head to
the ballot box, exercising their rights and seeking to have
their voices heard. We will not allow them to be silenced.
During such a momentous occasion, it is paramount that we
acknowledge every individual's entitlement to their
respective thoughts and emotions. It is our hope that those
emotions are able to be channeled into the action necessary
to fuel meaningful change. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow,
the NAACP will work to hold those in power accountable,
pushing our country toward progress, prosperity, and
humanity — and to remind our leaders that democracy and
freedom are the cornerstone values of the United States. We
encourage all who share the same goals to join us. Where
there is common ground, we will strive to collaborate with
the President-elect and his administration. The NAACP is
loyal not to politicians, but to policies that allow us to
keep advancing, no matter what."
###
ABOUT NAACP
The NAACP advocates, agitates, and litigates for the civil
rights due to Black America. Our legacy is built on the
foundation of grassroots activism by the biggest civil
rights pioneers of the 20th century and is sustained by 21st
century activists. From classrooms and courtrooms to city
halls and Congress, our network of members across the
country works to secure the social and political power that
will end race-based discrimination. That work is rooted in
racial equity, civic engagement, and supportive policies and
institutions for all marginalized people. We are committed
to a world without racism where Black people enjoy equitable
opportunities in thriving communities. NOTE: The Legal
Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF - was
founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but now operates as
a completely separate entity.
About NAACP's 2024 Election Work:
The NAACP invested over $20 million in the 2024 election
cycle to mobilize more than 14.5 million Black voters,
creating the largest civic engagement program ever run by a
civil rights organization in U.S. history. We recruited and
trained over 100,000 volunteers in 12 battleground states,
targeting 15 key congressional districts in six states where
Black voters can influence election outcomes and drive Black
political power. As the nation's leading civil rights
organization, our focus remains dedicated to combating
rampant disinformation and providing our electorate with
critical and accurate information. To learn more about the
NAACP's commitment to civic engagement in the 2024 election,
click here.
The Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Nov. 7, 2024
The Leadership Conference
Statement on the 2024 Election
WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley,
president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil
and Human Rights, released the following statement:
“Voters decided who will represent the people in the White
House and in
the Senate, and we are still awaiting final results for the
House of Representatives. We praise the president for
affirming his commitment to the peaceful transfer of power, and we
congratulate election administrators, poll workers, poll
monitors, and all who ensured that our elections continue to
be trustworthy. At the same time, as the nation’s oldest and
largest civil rights coalition that fought for and won
passage of every major piece of civil rights legislation in
this country since our founding in 1950, we are also clear
that the consequences of this election cycle represent a
clear and present danger to democracy, both in process and
in substance. The process of voting is a civil right,
and civil rights include the right for workers to organize,
for families to see a doctor when they are sick, for women
to get full health care, and so much more. Civil rights make up the foundation of
our very democracy and form the policies of problem-solving
and opportunity-building.
“There will be much analysis, punditry, and pugilism about
this election cycle. We know we are not in a routine cycle of politics but in an era that
mirrors the lash that struck the backs of Reconstructionists
after slavery and that produced assassinations after the
victories of the Second Reconstruction. We are committed to
laying the foundation for a Third Reconstruction. We will
start where we must — with the firm recognition that the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is the
incoming plan, and that action begins now.
“With nearly 75 years of
building bonds that bind beyond politics, we will not fall
prey to the distractions of division but will take up the
action of accountability and the hard work of repairing the
fabric of multiracial coalition-building to save and expand
a rights-rich democracy that solves our collective problems
rather than inciting hate, violence, and exclusion.
“The Leadership Conference has always been central to the
fight for democracy — we have never backed down from a
fight, and we will not back down now. We will continue to
expand the base of support across communities and
experiences for our right to vote and inspire engagement on
the issues central to this fight — from work that works for
people, to a care economy that ensures care workers can also
care for their families. We will continue to work to ensure
that education is for all of us, and that from books to
curriculum, it binds us rather than blinds us. We will
continue to fight for a federal judiciary that is fair and
accountable. We will continue to use our considerable
platform to convene, communicate, coordinate, and educate
the foot soldiers for freedom with the clear recognition
that the roots of white supremacy have spread and are no
longer underground runners — but the poisonous thorns have
sprouted across this great land in full view and with
significant permission.
“From convening to coalition-building to constructive
confrontation and mobilization, we march on for an America
that lives up to its ideals.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a
coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than
240 national organizations to promote and protect the
rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership
Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals.
For more information on The Leadership Conference and its
member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
###
America's Voice
Nov. 6, 2024
America’s Voice on the
2024 Elections and Implications
Washington,
DC — The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas,
Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“As immigration advocates, there's a lot to reckon with in
the election results and as we prepare for a second Trump
term.
We know we're going to continue to stand up, speak out and
fight for the millions of undocumented immigrants who have
lived and worked in our nation for years. These are our
immigrant friends, neighbors, and family members, many of
whom are now worried about what Donald Trump's election
means for their families and futures in America.
We know that the American public, even amidst last night's
results, opposes the Trump agenda of mass deportation,
separation of families, and his promises to ‘un-document’
and deport some with current legal status. American voters
still support legal status for long-settled immigrants
(see exit poll questions below for latest reminders).
So let’s be clear: Trump does not have a mandate for mass
deportations or sending in the military to round up our
immigrant neighbors.
And here is the stubborn truth – immigrants are essential
to America's past, present, and future. Immigration is a
key ingredient for our economic growth and prosperity, no
matter who sits in the Oval Office.”
While observers try to understand the takeaways and
implications of the election, one underappreciated point
is that while Trump undoubtedly centered his campaign and
closing argument on ugly immigration themes, including the
promised largest deportation operation in history, the
American public nonetheless prefers legalization for
undocumented immigrants instead of mass deportation. Note
that in the national Edison exit poll (relied on by CNN
and others) and in the AP VoteCast massive election poll
(relied on by AP and Fox News), legalization of
undocumented immigrants was more popular than mass
deportation in a head-to-head choice:
National Edison exit poll (via CNN): By 56-40% margin,
“most undocumented immigrants in the U.S. should be
offered a chance at legal status” instead of “deported.”
AP VoteCast election poll (via Fox News): By 55-44%
margin, “most immigrants who are living in the United
States illegally should be offered a chance to apply for
legal status” instead of “deported to the country they
came from.”
Working
Families Party
Nov. 6, 2024
Working Families Party Statement on the Presidential
Election Results
In response to the results of last night’s presidential
election, Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working
Families Party, has issued the following statement:
“It may not seem like it, but today is the beginning of the
end for the Trump era and the MAGA movement. Donald Trump has
no solutions to address the needs of working-class people in
this country. And we know that when he tries to implement his
agenda of more tax cuts for billionaires, gutting health care,
deporting millions, and supporting war crimes with public
dollars, people will rise up.
“Make no mistake, we have a lot of urgent work to do. Not just
to protect each other in the face of a right-wing
authoritarian government, though we must do that. It’s clear
from last night’s results that we’ll only get to victory by
building a coalition of working-class people of all races.
“The exit of working-class voters from the Democratic Party
didn’t start this election cycle. It’s been going on for
years. Now, that realignment has put the authoritarian right
in power.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. We need to join together
to build the largest pro-democracy coalition in history and
block Trump at every turn. The solution to Trump’s politics of
division is a politics of solidarity. We also need to build
independent political power, because both major parties have
failed to prioritize working people. It’s time to get to
work.”
The
White House
Nov. 7, 2024
Remarks by President Biden in Address to the Nation
Rose Garden
November 7, 2024
11:24 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. (Applause.)
Good morning, good morning. (Applause.)
Thank you. Please. (Applause.) Thank you.
Good to see this Cabinet and staff together here.
(Applause.)
Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please.
(Applause.)
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It’s good to see you all. Particularly good to see my
granddaughter sitting in the front row here. Hi,
Finn. How are you, honey?
For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest
experiment in self-government in the history of the world —
and that’s not hyperbole; that’s a fact — where the people —
the people vote and choose their own leaders and they do it
peacefully and where, in a democracy, the will of the people
always prevails.
Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate
him on his victory. And I assured him that I would
direct my entire administration to work with his team to
ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That’s what
the American people deserve.
Yesterday, I also spoke with Vice President Harris.
She’s been a partner and a public servant. She ran an
inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I
learned early on to respect so much: her character. She
has a backbone like a ramrod. She has great character,
true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and
she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they
ran.
You know, the struggle for the soul of America since our very
founding has always been an ongoing debate and still vital
today. I know, for some people, it’s a time for victory,
to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss.
Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country
chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the
country made. I’ve said many times you can’t love your
country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor
only when you agree.
Something I hope we can do no matter who you voted for is see
each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans, bring
down the temperature.
I also hope we can lay to rest the question about the
integrity of the American electoral system. It is
honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be
trusted, win or lose.
I also hope we can restore the respect for all our election
workers, who busted their necks and took risks at the
outset. We should thank them — thank them for staffing
voting sites, counting the votes, protecting the very
integrity of the election. Many of them are volunteers
who do it simply out of love for their country.
And as they did — as they did their duty as citizens, I will
do my duty as president. I will fulfill my oath, and I
will honor the Constitution. On January 20th, we will
have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.
To all our incredible staff, supporters, Cabinet members, all
the people who have been hanging out with me for the last four
years — “God love you,” as my mother would say — thank you so
much.
You put so much into the past four years. I know it’s a
difficult time. You’re hurting. I hear you, and I
see you. But don’t forget — don’t forget all that we
accomplished.
It’s been a historic presidency — not because I’m president —
because what we’ve done, what you’ve done — a presidency for
all Americans.
Much of the work we’ve done is already being felt by the
American people. The vast majority of it will not be
felt — be felt over the next 10 years. We have a — we
have legislation we passed that’s just — only now just really
kicking in.
We’re going to see over a trillion dollars’ worth of
infrastructure work done, changing people’s lives in rural
communities and communities that are in real difficulty,
because it takes time to get it done, and so much more that’s
going to take time. But it’s there.
The road ahead is clear, assuming we sustain it. There’s
so much — so much we can get done and will get done based the
way the legislation was passed. And it’s truly historic.
You know, we’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the
world. I know people are still hurting. But things
are changing rapidly. Together, we’ve changed America
for the better.
Now we have 74 days to finish the term — our term. Let’s
make every day count. That’s the responsibility we have
to the American people.
Look, folks, you all know it in your lives: Setbacks are
unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. Setbacks are
unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. We all get
knocked down, but the measure of our character, as my dad
would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, a
defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this
battle.
The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back
up. That’s the story of America for over 240 years and
counting. It’s a story for all of us, not just some of
us.
The American experiment endures, and we’re going to be okay,
but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep
going. And above all, we need to keep the faith.
I’m so proud to have worked with all of you. I really
mean it. I sincerely mean it.
God bless you all. God bless America. And may God
protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank
you. (Applause.)
Thanks. Thank you. (Applause.)
11:30 A.M. EST
Ben Wikler,
Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin
November 8, 2024
Dear friends and allies,
On Election Day, I thought we
were winning the presidential race.
We came up short.
Losing was a gut punch. Enormous
peril lies ahead.
As we prepare for what’s next, we
also have to find space for curiosity about what just
happened.
We’re beginning to see the
outlines: a red wave. A nationwide shift toward Trump
of 6%. But in Wisconsin, we nearly defeated that
wave.
The shift here was just one
quarter the size: a 1.5% swing from 2020. Not because
Trump was weaker here than elsewhere, but because we
were stronger. Thanks to tens of thousands of
heroes—our candidates, the campaign, party
infrastructure, allies, and volunteers—we persuaded
and turned out even more voters for Harris than we did
for Biden in 2020. We lost Wisconsin by just 0.9%—the
smallest margin of any state in America.
2024 was a high turnout year,
second only to 2020 nationwide. But in most states,
turnout went down slightly. In Wisconsin, overall
turnout went up—by 1.3%, the most in the
country.
All of your work had a critical
impact. You helped Tammy Baldwin win re-election. You
flipped four state Senate and ten state Assembly seats
on our new fair maps, setting the stage for majorities
in 2026.
That reality doesn’t lessen the
blow of knowing what Trump is poised to inflict on the
country. But it fills me with profound gratitude for
your work. To everyone involved in this fight, thank
you.
Here’s my first-pass analysis of
what just happened, and a note of appreciation.
* * *
In 2024, voters
nationwide—across, from what we can tell, geography,
gender, generation, race, and ethnicity—shifted
towards Trump. This wasn’t any particular group’s
“fault.” Don’t fall for that trap.
We’re just at the beginning of
figuring out what happened. Be wary of anyone who
tells you that X, Y, or Z thing would have changed the
outcome.
But two things are very clear
from the big picture.
The first key thing is that the post-COVID inflation era
has marked a
global wave against incumbent parties. In
2024, for the first year on record (with 120 years of
data),
every wealthy-country ruling party has lost
ground, regardless of whether it was left or right
of center. Across Belgium, France, Japan, Austria,
Portugal, the US, and the UK, the average swing was 20
points.
![Every governing party facing election in a
developed country this year lost - 09.49.54@2x.jpg]()
Worldwide,
political scientists are arguing, this is
a reaction to high prices. Inflation leads voters to
punish whoever’s in power, even if they didn’t have
control over it. The fact that US voters
swung less hard against Democrats may be due
to the greater success in the US, relative to other
countries, in bringing inflation down.
This tracks with what we’ve heard consistently for the
last two years—in polls,
in exit polls, and on doors. Many voters
have been furious about high prices. The question was
whether we could win the presidential race despite that
headwind, given everything else (and yes, there
was so much else). Like other parties worldwide, we
didn’t.
![Inflation hardship moves voters to
Trump.jpg]()
The second thing that jumps out
is that, in the states where Harris and Trump
campaigned the hardest, Harris overperformed. And she
overperformed in Wisconsin most of all.
Trump and his allies poured
hundreds of millions of dollars into vicious attack
ads in the seven battleground states. They did all
they could to drive up their vote share, knowing that
these states would determine the Electoral
College.
Harris and her allies—including
all of us—poured our hearts and souls into the battle
here as well.
If Trump’s campaign had been more
effective than Harris’s, he would have swung the vote
in the battleground states by more than the
nationwide shift.
Instead, it was the exact
opposite. Harris’s campaign had a bigger effect than
Trump’s.
As Dave Wasserman of the Cook
Political Report, one of the nation’s most clear-eyed
analysts, puts it:
Latest numbers:
across the seven battleground states, the '20-'24
swing towards Trump was ~3.1 pts. Across the other 43
states (+DC), it was ~6.7 pts.
Bottom line: the
Harris campaign swam impressively against some very
strong underlying currents.
You can see the same thing in
turnout numbers.
But, as with the swing in
margins, this is a tale of two elections—because while
turnout dropped slightly in non-battleground states,
it actually
went up, very slightly, in the seven
battlegrounds.
And it rose most of all in
Wisconsin: turnout here rose 1.3%, the highest in the
nation.
In other words, that feeling so
many of us had—that energy on the ground was
explosive, that the campaign was soaring, that we were
finding new Harris voters all over the state—that was
real.
Harris earned more than 30,000
more raw votes than Biden. She earned more votes than
Obama in 2012, and almost as many as Obama in
2008—when he won a 14-point landslide victory. She
added votes in 46 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties—rural,
urban, suburban, and small-town alike.
It’s just that there was an even
larger group of voters, a quieter group, that turned
out and voted for Trump.
The Washington Post
analyzed county by county results to
look at what happened in different types of
geographies nationally and in the swing states. This
year, unlike past years, was not a situation where the
blue got bluer and the red got redder.
Everywhere got redder, and
once-blue cities and suburbs swung more towards Trump
than rural areas:
![County swing geographies - national
2024-11-08 at 10.15.45@2x.jpg]()
But in Wisconsin, the shift was
far smaller than the national picture—across types of
geographies:
![County swing geographies - Wisconsin
2024-11-08 at 10.16.15@2x.jpg]()
“Urban core” counties moved 8%
towards Trump nationally—but Milwaukee only moved
1%.
Milwaukee County actually
delivered more net votes (Dem votes minus
Republican votes) for Harris than it did for Obama in
2008 or 2012.
“Major suburbs” moved 5.7%
towards Trump nationally—but in Wisconsin, they moved
0.1% to Harris. Her margin grew, slightly, in
each of the WOW counties.
“Medium metros”—counties with
mid-sized cities—moved 4.9% towards Trump nationally,
but in Wisconsin, just shifted 1% towards Trump. Dane
County, the fastest-growing in the state, for the
first time delivered the most net votes for Harris of
any Wisconsin county.
And “Rural counties and small
cities” nationally moved towards Trump by 4%. In
Wisconsin, these 57 counties accounted for 36% of the
overall vote, and 29% of the vote for Harris. But the
Trumpward shift in rural Wisconsin counties—2%—was
only half the national shift. And Harris racked up
more raw votes than Biden in 35 of those counties,
even though Trump added more.
This is why we organize in every
corner and every community in Wisconsin,
year-round.
Does this mean that there was no
way we could have done better? Of course not.
There will be an enormous amount
to learn, and the debates have, rightfully, already
begun.
If about 125,000 Trump voters had
instead chosen Harris across Wisconsin, Michigan, and
Pennsylvania, then Harris would have won the Electoral
College while losing the popular vote. Same outcome if
250,000 more people had voted for Harris instead of
voting third party or not voting at all.
We can, should, and must do all
we can to think through, what, in small ways and big,
we could have done better. And there is much to learn,
perhaps painful lessons, about what led to this
outcome.
But we can be rightly proud of
what we achieved in Wisconsin.
It all mattered.
It mattered because Tammy Baldwin
won her Senate race. This was another classic
Wisconsin photo finish: a 0.9%, 28,958-vote margin,
overcoming an absolutely horrendous $100 million flood
of attack ads. Baldwin ran a dynamite campaign. And
all of our work to lift up Democrats up and down the
ballot played a critical role in her race. You helped
make that happen.
It mattered because, in the state
legislature, Democrats flipped all four of our
targeted state Senate seats, shattering the GOP’s
supermajority and putting Democrats on track for a
majority in 2026. Two seats to go.
Meanwhile, Dems picked up 10
Assembly districts—ending the massive Republican
margin created by gerrymandered maps. If we flip five
more seats, we’ll win an Assembly majority in 2026 as
well.
And it mattered because of
the way we won—by staying true to our
values, by organizing, by building community and
working together and taking nobody for granted and
counting nobody out.
So: some thanks are in
order.
First, to our candidates.
Thanks first and foremost to Vice
President Harris and Governor Walz—for running with
heart and soul in extraordinarily challenging
circumstances. To President Biden. And to Tammy
Baldwin, Wisconsin’s triumphant Senate champion.
Thanks to Governor Tony Evers,
who fought for and won fair maps, has consistently
championed the WisDems, raised resources for state
legislative candidates, and campaigned all over the
state in support of other Democrats. We owe him an
enormous debt of gratitude.
Huge thanks for their enormous
efforts, and congratulations on their reelection, to
Rep. Mark Pocan and Rep. Gwen Moore. And thanks to
Rebecca Cooke, Peter Barca, Kristin Lyerly, Kyle
Kilbourn, John Zarbano, and Ben Steinhoff for pouring
themselves into dynamite House campaigns.
The statewide elected officials
who weren’t on the ballot this year nonetheless worked
their hearts out to lift up other candidates. Huge
thanks to Lieutenant Governor Rodriguez, Attorney
General Kaul, and Secretary of State Godlewski.
In the legislature, we’re
spectacularly blessed to have the leadership of Senate
Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein and Assembly
leader Greta Neubauer, and their phenomenal
leadership. And to all of the Assembly incumbents and
candidates who ran this year, win or lose, thank
you—you helped drive out votes that ensured Tammy
Baldwin could win her Senate race; you sharply
narrowed the GOP’s majorities—either by flipping a
seat or by ensuring that Republicans had to focus on
their own districts—and you laid the groundwork for
huge gains next cycle. This took a lot. We see it.
We’re grateful.
To all the county and municipal
leaders who helped out this year, going the extra mile
to advance democracy, thank you. This includes
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, outgoing
Dane County Executive Jamie Kuhn (and congratulations,
Executive-Elect Melissa Agard!), Outagamie County
Executive Tom Nelson, and mayors including Milwaukee’s
Cavalier Johnson, Madison’s Satya Rhodes-Conway, Green
Bay’s Eric Genrich, Racine’s Cory Mason, Sheboygan’s
Ryan Sorenson, Superior’s Jim Paine, Waukesha’s Shawn
Reilly, and La Crosse’s Mitch Reynolds—and so many
more.
It would be impossible to list
all the elected officials from other states who came
to Wisconsin and relentlessly worked to help us win
here up and down the ballot—so I’ll just mention the
Governors. JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, Josh
Shapiro, Wes Moore, and of course Tim Walz—thank you!
To all the Senators, members of Congress (including
Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Leader Jeffries), and
others who lent your time and talents to Wisconsin’s
cause, we’re in your debt.
To all of those who worked
intensively to pass school funding, municipal funding,
and other referenda—often making up for shortfalls
caused by Republican legislators in Madison—thank you.
And congratulations to the many who succeeded in
securing critical resources.
Second, thank you to the campaign
and party staff that worked themselves to the bone on
this election. None of this would have been possible
without you.
The Democratic Party of
Wisconsin’s Executive Director this year has been
Cassi Fenili, one of the most effective political
professionals on Planet Earth. I’m so grateful for her
relentless focus, drive, realism, strategic judgment,
managerial skills, and partnership. We’ve also been so
lucky to have the help of Deputy Executive Director
Sarah Abel, who resolved impossible challenges on a
daily basis and helped so many colleagues step up
their game, and Senior Advisor Devin Remiker, an
operative’s operative who level-headedly spotted and
seized untold opportunities and defused untold
problems.
WisDems benefited enormously from
a superb executive leadership team: Senior Advisor and
legislative program lead Hannah Mullen, Finance
Director Tina Ignasiak, Operations Director Sal
Cornacchione, Communications Director Joe Oslund,
People Operations Director Leah Zine, Digital Director
Chuck Engel, and Political Director Chandler Denhart.
Each of these leaders oversaw teams of outstanding
colleagues who moved mountains. To all of the WisDems
team members at every level: thank you.
And special thanks to Chief of
Staff Andrea Berkeland, who spun an impossible number
of plates while making my work possible. As I tell
people, she’s the chief, I’m the staff.
The Harris-Walz campaign in
Wisconsin was managed by the extraordinary Garren
Randolph, a stellar leader and strategist who
navigated a world-class team at the center of the
political universe. We’re so lucky to have had him on
the case. His leadership team in Wisconsin was
phenomenal, including senior Advisor Tanya Bjork,
senior Advisor Devin Remiker (doing double duty with
the party), and Deputy Campaign Manager Iris
Riis.
They worked with a crew of
rock-star leaders: Senior Advisor Shirley Ellis,
Coalitions Director Darrol Gibson, COO Bethany
Sorensen, Communications Director Brianna Johnson,
Trips Advisor Jorna Taylor, Digital Director Sean
McFeely, and Political Director Nick Truog. To each of
them, and all of the great folks who worked on their
teams—thank you, thank you, thank you.
The presidential campaign in
Wisconsin and the WisDems core team worked together,
hand in glove, on a constant basis. That integration
was the product of years of work, relationships, and
strategy. It was also made possible by the powerhouse
Coordinated Campaign.
The legend of Coordinated
Campaign Director Anna Surrey has been growing ever
since her first cycle as a Regional Organizing
Director in Brookfield in 2016. Year over year, she’s
risen in responsibility—and at every step, knocked it
out of the park.
Her coordinated leadership team
is similarly amazing: Organizing Director Gabbie
Stasson, Voter Protection Director Caroline Hutton,
Director Ari Ghasemian, and GOTV Director Marquise
Roberson-Bester, as well as our Training and
Leadership Directors Breanna Flowers and John Mayo,
all blew their goals out of the water. This group led
a team of hundreds of people with dozens of job titles
in every part of Wisconsin who exceeded what anyone
thought would be possible this year. They set a new
standard for coordinated campaigns in the Badger
State. I can’t thank you enough.
The staffers on each of the
campaigns did amazing work.
Tammy Baldwin’s campaign, led by
Scott Spector, won a staggeringly tough race by being
the best at what they do.
The legislative caucuses—led by
Assembly Democratic Campaign Comittee’s Executive
Director Morgan Hess and the State Senate Democratic
Committee’s Andrew Whitley—fielded bigger teams,
bigger budgets, and better campaigns than our state
has ever seen, and delivered amazing results.
And every person who worked on
the Senate campaign, the eight House races, the 112
state legislative races, and the other referendum and
local elections this fall deserves our gratitude. You
contributed to change that will echo through this
state for years to come.
Thanks also to our national
counterparts at the DNC, starting with Chair Jaime
Harrison, who has been unstoppable in his support for
work in Wisconsin. Thanks to Executive Director (and
Sconnie!) Sam Cornale, Deputy Executive Director Roger
Lau, our great regional desk Mikayla Lee, and the
whole team. Thanks also to Association of Democratic
State Committees Chair Ken Martin, ASDC ED Maureen
Garde, and ASDC regional Karyn Bradford Coleman. And
thanks to my predecessor chairs, especially Martha
Laning (now leading SPAN) and Mike Tate (involved in
many ways)—for all you’ve done and continue to
do.
I’ve also been lucky to work
closely with fellow state chairs around the country,
most of all Michigan’s Lavora Barnes, North Carolina’s
Anderson Clayton, Arizona’s Yoli Bejarano, Ohio’s Liz
Walters, Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb, Illinois’s Lisa
Hernandez, and Georgia’s Nikema Williams—among many
others. Thanks to each for your dedication and mutual
support.
There are candidates, there are
staffers—and then there are the volunteers who make
everything possible for the party and for
campaigns.
Roughly 100,000 volunteers this
year took part in the fight in Wisconsin.
Let’s thank them all—a few of
them by name.
As chair, I’m the only elected
leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for whom
party work is a full-time job. The other leaders
volunteer their time out of sheer patriotism and
commitment to change. At the Democratic Party of
Wisconsin, thanks first to Vice Chair Felesia Martin,
Second Vice Chair Tricia Zunker, Secretary Kim Butler,
and Treasurer Randy Udell—who was just elected to the
State Assembly. Congratulations, Randy! And thanks to
all.
Thanks also to our Democratic
National Committee members: Andrew Werthmann, Alex
Lasry, Tomika Vukovic, Arvina Margin, Mahlon Mitchell,
and DNC Secretary Jason Rae, who oversaw the best roll
call in American history during the national
Convention. And thanks so much to departing DNC
members Martha Love, Janet Bewley, and Henry
Pahlow—and to all of the dedicated Democrats who made
up our delegation and served on standing committees at
the Democratic National Convention.
Huge thanks to all the standing
committees, caucuses, Congressional District parties,
youth wings, county chairs and leadership teams, and
other bodies that make the Democratic Party of
Wisconsin work. Special thanks to Green County Chair
Sandy Rindy, chair of the County Chair Association and
all of the CCA officers. Thanks also to the
neighborhood team leaders and members, the leaders of
the signage distribution network run by the Rural
Caucus (no yard left unsigned!), and the many out of
state volunteers who traveled to knock doors in
Wisconsin.
Every one of the 100,000 people
who volunteered, including tens of thousands who
knocked on doors and made phone calls in Wisconsin
this year, helped Tammy Baldwin win Wisconsin, helped
make huge gains downballot, and helped ensure that
Harris came closer to winning here than any other
battleground state.
Elections rely on a three-legged
stool: the candidate campaigns, the party and
volunteers—and allied groups. So many organizations
played a huge role in Wisconsin’s outcomes this
year.
The middle class built America,
and unions built the middle class. They also built our
democracy, they’re the essential and eternal partner
of the Democratic Party. Huge thanks to the AFL-CIO,
WEAC and the NEA, SEIU, IBEW, CWG, AFSCME, AFT, LiUNA,
Wisconsin Teamsters, the Operating Engineers, UFCW,
the United Association of Pipe Trades, Plumbers Local
75, the Painters, the Transport Workers Union, the
International Association of Fire Fighters, UAW, and
all the unions who fight for working people and for a
government that serves them. Thanks also to the
stunning array of labor leaders who visited Wisconsin
this year to campaign for Democrats.
Enormous thanks to all the groups
involved in mounting an absolutely blockbuster field
and communications operation in Wisconsin. Particular
thanks to the League of Conservation Voters and
Wisconsin Conservation Voters, Power to the Polls, the
Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, For Our
Future, Working America, Leaders Igniting
Transformation, the Wisconsin Working Families Party,
Voces de la Frontera, Somos Votantes, and
WISDOM.
Thanks also to the Center for
Racial and Gender Equity, Planned Parenthood Action
Fund, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin,
Standing Up for Racial Justice, the Wisconsin
Education Association, Citizen Action of Wisconsin,
Progress North, Black Leaders Organizing for
Communities,350 WI Action, Indivisible, and Southeast
Asian Action.
So many groups did critical
work—organizing, coordinating, communicating,
analyzing, and activating networks. Thanks to America
Votes, A Better Wisconsin Together and the ABWT
Political Fund, the Empower Project, the Center for
Voter Information/Voter Participation Center, the
NAACP, Community Change Action, and the Committee to
Protect Health Care.
Enormous gratitude to the States
Project, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
(DLCC), Forward Majority, EMILY's List, the Wisconsin
Initiative, Main Street Alliance / Main Street Action,
SEIU Blue, the Freedom Action Network, Collective PAC,
Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action
(COPAL), Blue Sky Waukesha, the Wisconsin Muslim Civic
Alliance, Color of Change PAC, Black Voters Matter
(BVM), the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Stand
Up America, the Human Rights Campaign, the American
Civil Liberties Union, MAP USA, and Schools Make
Madison.
Thanks to Future Forward, Senate
Majority PAC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee, Women Vote, Project 72, the House Majority
PAC, Galvanize, Priorities USA, American Bridge, Party
to the Polls, Fight for Our Rights PAC, the Wisco
Project and SVF Student Turnout Project.
Thanks also to the Democracy
Alliance, the Committee on States, Solidaire, Way to
Win AF, and the Movement Voter Project. Thanks to the
Wisconsin Donor Table for pulling it all together, and
the Strategic Victory Fund for your years-long
dedication to Wisconsin. And thanks to the many
people, especially John Stocks and Teresa Vilmain,
who’ve taken time to mentor me and many other people
who’ve been working on this election.
Thanks also to the team at
Crooked Media and Vote Save America; to Bradley
Whitford and the teams from VEEP and The West Wing,
and to so many other cultural leaders who helped us
energize voters to get involved.
So many other groups contributed
their efforts. All of it is deeply appreciated.
This work takes resources. In the
time between Wisconsin’s 2023 state Supreme Court race
and now, more than 100,000 people have contributed to
the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Thank you to all of
them.
I will also say, on a personal
note: my deepest joy, pride, and gratitude is for my
family. My kids, Mac, Suzy, and Jack, have grown up so
much this year, I’ve missed them so much during long
nights on the road, and I relish every moment we spend
together. My wife Beth Wikler is my hero, my best
friend, and the love of my life. I’m grateful to my
mom, stepdad, dad, and stepmom for their constant
support this year and always. So many friends dropped
off food, texted to check in, and otherwise took care
of my family and me when our heads were spinning. And
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Pumpkin, our giant
dog, even if she’s a rascal and even though she can’t
read this.
Everyone who worked on this
election has done so at personal cost. To all the
family members of all the folks mentioned above: thank
you.
There is so much to do in the
months to come. We have to do all we can to stand in
solidarity with communities now endangered by Trump’s
presidency. We have to learn from what took place, and
plan how to prevail next time. And in Wisconsin, we
have a state Supreme Court race—and a slew of other
elections—coming up next April.
But before all that happens—and
especially as we process the shock of a rough
election—it’s important to thank the people we love,
the people we’ve worked with, and all the people who
did everything they could to advance the cause of
progress and democracy this year.
We didn’t win all that we wanted
to win. But the values that lead us to do this work
will endure. We will keep striving to learn and
improve. And together, in times to come, we will bend
the moral arc of the universe towards justice.
In solidarity,
Ben
--
Ben Wikler
Chair, Democratic Party of
Wisconsin
REPUBLICANS
AND ALLIES
Republican Jewish Coalition
Nov. 6, 2024
RJC Congratulates President Donald J. Trump on Greatest
Political Comeback in US History
Washington, DC - The Republican Jewish Coalition is thrilled
to congratulate President Donald J. Trump on his decisive
victory for President of the United States. RJC National
Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and CEO Matt Brooks said:
President Donald J. Trump’s decisive victory tonight is a
victory for American Strength, American Leadership, American
Prosperity, and the American Dream.
This is the greatest political comeback in US history.
For four years, the American people have suffered under the
failed policies of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the
Democrats. That all changes starting on Day One of the Trump
Administration.
The RJC is gratified to be part of this winning coalition,
having played a significant role in support of President
Trump's victory, particularly in the key battleground states.
RJC raised and spent over $15MM in support of President Trump,
turning out Jewish voters with an unprecedented paid media
campaign and grassroots engagement deploying thousands of
volunteers on the ground in key Jewish communities.
As we’ve said from the beginning: the Jewish vote matters, and
it played a major role in delivering the Presidency for
President Trump. Jewish voters from coast to coast rejected
Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party due to their failure to
keep the Jewish community safe, and for undermining our ally
Israel as it continues to fight an existential war against
Iran and its terrorist proxies.
Now is the time to come together as Americans - Republicans,
Democrats, and Independents - to fix the many problems facing
our country.
We are excited to work with President Trump and Vice
President-Elect JD Vance and their administration to usher in
a new Golden Age of peace and prosperity in these United
States.
Faith
& Freedom Coalition
Statement: Ralph Reed on President-Elect Donald J.
Trump’s Re-election
Statement from Ralph Reed, Founder and Chairman of Faith
& Freedom Coalition, on President-elect Donald J.
Trump’s historic victory:
“Donald J. Trump has won an historic and impressive victory,
and a clear mandate for his agenda to secure our border,
strengthen our economy, make America the world’s leading
energy producer, stand with Israel, and allow families to
flourish. His victory was fueled in part by support from
evangelical Christian and faithful Roman Catholic voters,
who turned out in record numbers after Faith & Freedom
undertook the largest ground game operation outside the
Republican Party in modern political history. Nor was this
merely a personal victory. The U.S. Senate and Congressional
candidates who ran as unapologetic defenders of the Trump
agenda won their races. I am honored to count the 47th
President-elect as a friend and a steadfast champion of
faith & freedom.”
________________
Ralph Reed Press Conference
National Press Club
November 6, 2024
[DEMOCRACY IN ACTION PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT
|
video]
RALPH REED: ...My name is Ralph Reed.
I'm the founder and chairman of Faith & Freedom
Coalition, which is a public policy organization that
works on behalf of stronger families, protecting
innocent human life, limiting government, reducing the
crushing tax burden on families, and defending the State
of Israel, as well as a whole host of other public
policy issues. We have 3 million members and supporters,
and in the last election cycle, we undertook the largest
ground game operation by a conservative or Christian
public policy organization outside the Republican Party
in the history of modern American politics.
We knocked on approximately 9.7 million doors in the
battleground states.
We sent out 28 million, AI-driven get out the vote text
messages, which actually engaged faith-based voters in a
conversation about developing a plan to vote and
encouraging them to vote early, with historic results,
which I'll get to in a minute.
And we also conducted millions of get out the vote calls
and distributed 30 million voter guides in approximately
130,000 churches nationwide.
We tracked the votes of these voters as they took place
during the early vote. And while we're not going to give
out all of the information, because it's clearly
proprietary, I can tell you that a majority, and in some
battleground states, approaching 60% of all the
registered evangelical Christians in that state—in four
of the seven battleground states—voted before Election
Day. That has never happened in any of our lifetimes,
with one exception, and that is in the state of Florida,
which has a long and cherished history of early voting.
Those voters are used to voting early. But we've never
seen these kinds of numbers. Between 55 and 60% of all
the modelled registered evangelical Christians in four
of the seven battleground states voted before Election
Day.
We were absolutely—and, and by the way, I should also
mention as a subgroup of those voters. There were
hundreds of thousands of evangelical voters in every one
of these battleground states who voted in '16, did not
even show up in 2020, and voted early. We don't even
have the total yet for how many voted yesterday. We're
not going to give out the specific numbers. It's
hundreds of thousands of faith-based voters. We're
talking about a number that in the state of Georgia
would be 20 to 30 times Biden's margin of victory in
2020; in Arizona it would be 20 to 30 times Biden's
margin. And this happened everywhere. And we know it
happened because of multiple door knocks, multiple text
messages. That was our push.
And then we had the pull of Donald J. Trump, superior
U.S. Senate candidates where they were on the ballot,
superior congressional candidates, where those voters
lived in a battleground congressional district, and an
issue mix that greatly benefited our turnout operation.
You don't need me to tell you you've been looking at it
either on TV or you've looked at the exit polls
yourself. Glen [Bolger] will talk about it in a minute,
that the issue mix was a combustible and lethal
combination for the Harris-Walz campaign. These voters
were overwhelmingly voting on the economy, on inflation,
on the border, on crime and on foreign policy. Abortion,
and Glen, maybe you'll talk about this. I'd be curious
to have your view. Glen and I have not even talked about
this.
But I think it's pretty clear that they thought that
they could just take the playbook from 2022—abortion,
abortion, abortion, abortion—and, you know, just run
with it. And it got to a point that was candidly
comical, where you would see a Democratic Senate
candidate or a Harris-Walz surrogate being interviewed,
and they would be asked about the border, or they would
be asked about inflation, and they would say, "Well, let
me tell you why that's likely to be impacted by Trump
bringing about a national abortion ban." The voters
didn't buy it. We believe that the only voters who were
motivated by that issue were voters she already had.
So you know, it's up to them as to whether or not they
want to continue with that playbook, but we're confident
that we're going to be able to go to both the
strategists and the candidates on the Republican side of
the aisle going forward. And to paraphrase Winston
Churchill, there is nothing quite as exhilarating as
being shot at to no effect, and they shot at these
candidates, and they dropped a half a billion dollars in
abortion ads on their heads, and every other sentence
out of Kamala Harris's mouth at every rally in her
closing argument was that Trump was against women's
health, and she lost by a landslide; she's losing every
single battleground state.
I would also like to underscore that approximately 20%
of these nearly 10 million doors that we knocked on in
the battleground states were minority households, and
those, by the way, were overwhelmingly Hispanic. In
states where the African American vote plays a critical
strategic role, like, for example, Georgia, we had a
strong ground game in the black community, but in
general, it was Hispanic. And we had Hispanic teams that
were organized by our Hispanic Division, working very
closely and collaborating with John Harbison, our
director of voter education—in Arizona, in Nevada, in
Georgia, in Florida, where we were involved in trying to
defeat Amendments 3 and 4.
You know, Rick Scott, that Senate race closed to about
two points at a certain point; we wanted to make sure we
were there for him, but we were primarily there to
defeat Amendments 3 and 4. And we're absolutely
thrilled that we were successful with that.
And you guys saw how the Hispanic vote turned out, not
only nationally, but in Florida, and that was driven not
exclusively, but primarily by Trump's over-performance
among faith based Hispanic voters. We were in Hispanic
churches registering Hispanic voters to vote, going all
the way back to January. We had Hispanic door knocking
teams in Pennsylvania, I believe in Wisconsin and John,
I don't know if you want to come up and talk about that
aspect, or any other aspect of the ground game that you
think people would find interesting.
JOHN HARBISON: Thank you Ralph. As Ralph said John
Harbison, director of voter education. One you know,
this year we've we changed our focus a little bit, as
Ralph talked about, with the lower propensity voters,
and really made a concerted effort to really motivate
those voters. And quite frankly, we were going to annoy
them. You know, once they early voted, that was part of
our scripts. Once you early vote, we're going to leave
you alone. So we're going to send you text messages,
we're going to continue knocking on your door. And we
were able to do that with with great results. You know,
we didn't know how those voters were going to break, but
we knew that they were voting early. When we would run
our—nightly we we deduct our early vote from our
database, so we're not, you know, expending resources on
people that have already voted, and that those universes
just kept shrinking every night.
So, you know, as we went out across the country, across
the swing states and continued on to hit these low
propensity voters, and then engaging with our Hispanic
groups and Hispanic pockets across the rust belt as
well. You know, of course, Nevada and Arizona, but, and
North Carolina as well. We had really great output with
our teams there. So thank you.
RALPH REED: Great. Thanks, John. John, you did an
extraordinary job. All we asked him to do was knock on
10 million doors. Yeah, we had a we had a few hurricanes
that slowed us down a little bit. But anyway, I want to
give credit to Tim Head, our very able executive
director, John Harbison, just an unbelievable team.
I mean, we had almost as many paid staff on the ground
in Pennsylvania as the Harris-Walz campaign had. And in
states where we didn't have as many paid staff, or we
might have not have had 200, 250, 300 paid staff in
Georgia, I think we had about 185 but then we had 600
volunteers that were knocking on doors for free. So we
were knocking on doors. We're not going to give that
number out publicly, but our our cost per home reached
was about 30% of the industry standard. And there were
some organizations out there that were paying three,
four and five times more for a door knock than we were
because of the volunteer infrastructure that has been
built in the last 15 years.
And I think the results really speak for themselves.
Donald Trump, Glen will talk about this, he carried the
evangelical vote 81 to 16% which is within the margin of
error of the 84% that he got four years ago. Pew
Research will come out with data later, with a much
larger universe of surveyed respondents that may give us
another look at that picture, but we think we can say
Trump roughly matched where he was four years ago
But that really understates the effect of this ground
game. Okay? Because if you look at the states where we
were actually knocking on doors and distributing voter
guides in churches and sending text messages, the
numbers were historic. They were without precedent. Let
me just give you two examples.
In Georgia, Donald Trump carried the evangelical vote,
92 to 6%. It's about a third of the entire vote. And
that means that he won, he did, he performed better
among evangelical voters than an African American
presidential candidate did among black voters. That's
extraordinary. And by the way, that's the largest number
ever recorded in an exit poll by any candidate,
statewide, congressional or presidential. The previous
high was 91% which was what Brian Kemp got in 2022
against Stacey Abrams, and the next one below that was
the 89% that Glenn Youngkin got in Virginia. In North
Carolina, Donald Trump won 86% of the evangelical vote
to Harris's 13%.
So you know, we would argue, particularly the way both
we and the Republican Party have put such a priority and
such an emphasis on building a movement that looks more
like America with more young people, more Hispanics,
more African Americans, more Asians—while we have done
that, they have a serious faith problem.
They have a faith problem, and they have an intact
family problem, and if they don't do something to
address this, and it isn't just evangelicals. Look at
the Catholic vote. Donald Trump after losing the
Catholic vote, I believe by 8%, I think it was by 8%,
four years ago, winning it by 6% eight years ago
yesterday, Donald Trump won the Catholic vote by 15%,
and among Catholics who frequently attend Mass, maybe
you've got a slide on this, yeah, but I, but I think
it's, it's over two to one. Okay.
So I just don't see arithmetically. We don't know what's
going to happen in '26 or '28 you know, this is Donald
Trump's last time on the ballot. There's no guarantee
that future presidential candidates are going to be able
to have the kind of appeal with these voters of color
that Donald Trump has had, but if the Republican Party's
candidates continue to make a real effort to get those
minority votes, and if organizer and if organizations
like ours, to whom I would argue, in the future, it is
highly likely the ground game will be outsourced to
because it clearly worked, and you can use so called
soft money.
So why would you use the hard money, the much more
precious hard money of a federal campaign to knock on
doors, canvass voters and chase ballots and where it is
legal, harvest ballots. Why would you ever use hard
money again of a federal campaign when organizations
like Faith and Freedom, what Elon Musk was doing, what
Charlie Kirk was doing and others. So I think this is
the future.
And if we're out there seriously going into Hispanic and
Black and Asian neighborhoods and knocking on doors and
circulating voter guides that are bilingual and
trilingual, and where it's legal, harvesting ballots in
Hispanic and Asian churches. I didn't get the final
count, John, but I believe we harvested between 40 and
50,000 ballots in Asian churches in Orange County. And
if we end up picking up those congressional districts
out there, you know, 47 and the others, that will be the
margin. If we're out there doing that, and they're
underperforming among those minorities, while they're
losing the evangelical vote eight to two or worse, and
while they're losing the Catholic vote by 15 or 20
points, the math doesn't add up.
So we know that many news organizations were reporting
that the Trump campaign had engaged in political
malpractice by outsourcing its ground game. I can tell
you that I think the evidence is in. We thought the
evidence was in in the early vote, if they had such a
superior ground game, why were we ahead of the 2020
baseline in every battleground state in the early vote,
and why were we leading the early vote in three of the
seven battlegrounds, which had never happened before in
any of those states? But we were being told their ground
game was better than ours.
So we're going to continue to work on this. We're going
to continue to innovate. We've got a very good team. If
you could see some of the technology that these
canvassers are using, you wouldn't believe it. They not
only can track every house and every voter as they're
walking through a neighborhood based on their
ideological score, their partisan score, and their
propensity score, but they can also watch other
canvassers on the block next to them and which doors
they are knocking to, and which ones they're leaving
door hangers with, versus engaging in a conversation. So
they know, oh, well, that guy's got that block. I don't
need to go over there. I can leave this gated community
and go to the one on the other side. Wwe think this is
the future of American politics.
I would like to call Penny Nance up, my very good friend
at Concerned Women for America, who partnered with us on
this exit poll, and who has had CWA activist partner
with us on the ground game for multiple cycles. She's
also a dear friend of mine. So Penny talk a little bit
about what you guys did and how you saw —
PENNY NANCE: Ralph, thank you so much. And in case we
didn't remember, Ralph Reed is a political genius, just
for the record, and thank you for allowing us to be part
of what you're doing. We have Concerned Women for
America as the nation's largest public policy women's
organization. We have about a half a million members. We
have over 300 Young Women for America chapters and
leaders around the country on college campuses who have
been very involved this cycle. And I'll just want to say
we're very grateful to partner with you, Ralph and our
volunteers, door knocking alongside with the great
technology that you were able to share and provide.
We're really grateful for that.
In addition to that, we did 10,000 miles on a bright
pink "She prays, She votes" bus in eight battleground
states with $17.5 million of earned media, we recruited
5,000 poll watchers and poll workers, again, additive to
what Ralph and others have did. We're very proud of the
fact that we did 110 billboards in Pennsylvania in the
last three weeks before the election, saying—and we
placed these specifically by churches, so that when
church people, evangelicals come in to church on a
Sunday, they saw for three Sundays, "God created male
and female. Stand up for your daughters and vote." We
did 32.5 million voter contacts, and in the very last
again month, contacted 68,000 women in the, in eight
battleground states, in 18 counties, seven touches.And
what I wanted to really share is that we were part of
Ralph's exit poll, and specifically asking about the
question of men and women's sports, men and women's safe
spaces, the unique dignity of women.
And what we knew would happen happened, and that is 70%
of voters said that this was a very, a very important or
important issue for them. I was last night on the set of
Fox News, sitting with some Democrat friends, and they
were completely stunned by the enthusiasm on this issue,
how many people came out to vote on this issue.
We weren't surprised at all. They weren't paying
attention. We were telling them in every way that we
possibly could, that women's sports are for women, that
women deserve our safe spaces, that Title 9 still
matters, and that the women who now have passed on,
people women like Patsy Mink, who is a Democrat woman
member of Congress, she's turning over in her grave now
that she sees what's happened to Title Nine. And so we
will keep that message going on, strong. President Trump
was the first to sign our presidential pledge to
American women— you can find that on our website. And
that will be a top issue for us in this next next year.
So thank you all so much. Thank you all for allowing me
to be part of your event.
CONTINUES with Glen Bolger...
Heritage Action for America
Nov. 6, 2024
Heritage Action Congratulates President Trump's Victor
for the Conservative Movement
WASHINGTON—Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots
organization with 2.5 million activists nationwide, commends
President Donald J. Trump for his victory in the 2024
election to become the 47th President of the United States
and Republicans taking control of the United States Senate.
Heritage Action Executive Vice President Ryan Walker
released the following statement:
“On behalf of the millions of grassroots
conservatives who work tirelessly to defend American
values, we congratulate President Trump on his decisive,
historic victory. This pivotal election has secured a
long-overdue win for the conservative movement and all
Americans who believe in the greatness of our nation.
"Heritage Action’s grassroots efforts to pass dozens of
election integrity bills, register and encourage turnout
of over 80,000 voters in key battleground states across
the country built the framework for success in this
monumental win for the conservative movement.
"Our work has only just begun. Over the next four years,
we will continue the fight to reverse the Left’s
disastrous immigration policies and secure the border, cut
taxes for hard-working Americans, and reduce the
skyrocketing inflation that has crippled the economy.
Conservatives in Congress must stand united to act in the
first 100 days to undo the harm the Biden–Harris
administration has caused and restore freedom and
opportunity for the American people.
"We look forward to continuing our work together advancing
conservative policies nationwide to secure a prosperous
future for all Americans.”
Since 2021, Heritage Action has worked to enact over 50
stronger election laws in 21 states. In 2021, Heritage
Action launched its first-ever state advocacy campaign to
secure and strengthen state election systems, with an
initial investment of $10 million in eight states and a
commitment to devote whatever funding it takes to accomplish
its goals. It included an issue advocacy campaign, “Save Our
Elections,” to activate Heritage Action’s network of two
million grassroots volunteers around strengthening election
laws.
Earlier this year, Heritage Action issued a Key Vote in
support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE)
Act. The SAVE Act passed in the House of Representatives
218-97.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Nov. 6, 2024
U.S. Chamber Congratulates President-Elect Trump,
Vows to Partner on Policies to Grow the U.S. Economy,
Benefiting All Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and
CEO Suzanne P. Clark issued the following statement on the
2024 election:
“We congratulate President-elect Donald Trump and Vice
President-elect JD Vance, along with the members of the
incoming 119th Congress and state and local elected
officials across America.
"With the election behind us, it is time to focus on the
important work of advancing an economic growth agenda that
creates opportunities for businesses, families, and
individuals to achieve the American dream. We look forward
to working with the Trump-Vance administration and
Republicans and Democrats in Congress to preserve pro-growth
tax policies, bring regulatory relief to business, harness
the power of AI to drive American innovation, and expand an
all-of-the-above energy production policy.”
##
American
Petroleum Institute
Nov. 6, 2024
API Statement on 2024 Election
WASHINGTON, November 6, 2024 – American Petroleum Institute
(API) President and CEO Mike Sommers issued the following
statement on the results of the 2024 presidential election.
“We congratulate President Trump on his election victory.
Energy was on the ballot, and voters sent a clear signal
that they want choices, not mandates, and an
all-of-the-above approach that harnesses our nation’s
resources and builds on the successes of his first term. We
look forward to working with the incoming administration and
leaders in both parties to advance bipartisan solutions that
unleash American energy as a driver of economic prosperity,
environmental progress and stability around the world.”
API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil
industry, which supports nearly 11 million U.S. jobs and is
backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of
Americans. Our approximately 600 members produce, process
and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and
participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating
environmental and safety progress by fostering new
technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in
1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed
more than 800 standards to enhance operational and
environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.
###
SBA Pro-Life
America
Nov. 6, 2024
Americans Reject Harris & Democrats’
No-Limits Abortion Agenda, Elect Trump
Largest Ever Pro-Life Voter
Contact Effort Reached 10M, Including 4M Visits to
Homes in Battleground States
Washington, D.C. – Voters rejected the most
pro-abortion ticket in history of Kamala Harris and Tim
Walz and elected President Trump to serve another term.
During the campaign, Harris and Walz repeatedly refused
to name any limits on abortion they would support – even
in the seventh, eighth or ninth month of pregnancy – and
denied that babies survive abortions and are left to die
without life-saving medical care in America, while
President Trump called out Harris for her extreme
position.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie
Dannenfelser made the following statement on the
election results:
“In the first presidential election
since Dobbs, Americans have rejected the Democrats’
no-limits abortion agenda. Democrats led by Kamala
Harris and Tim Walz went ‘all in’ on abortion as their
number one issue. In the general election alone, they
spent over half a billion dollars on ads attacking
pro-life Republicans and claiming limits on abortion
kill women. Their lies failed. Millions of Americans
heard President Trump and others challenge Harris and
Walz to name their limits, even for painful late-term
abortions of healthy babies, and get no answers.
Millions learned the truth that the Democrats would
force Americans to pay for and participate in abortions
against their will, with no exceptions, and even leave
babies who survive failed abortions to die.
“SBA Pro-Life America’s paramount
goal for this cycle was to deny Democrats the chance to
pass a national all-trimester abortion mandate and wipe
out protections for babies and women in all 50 states.
While the abortion lobby flooded airwaves with
misinformation, our team hit the ground – making 4
million visits to persuadable and low-turnout voters in
eight battleground states and reaching 10 million voters
overall to expose the Democrats’ extremism. Time after
time, these crucial conversations change minds and
change votes that make the difference in close
elections. We succeeded.
“Now the work begins to dismantle the
pro-abortion policies of the Biden-Harris
administration. President Trump’s first-term pro-life
accomplishments are the baseline for his second term. In
the long term, GOP pro-life resolve must be strengthened
and centered on the unalienable right to life for unborn
children that exists under the 14th Amendment. In
America, where you live should never determine whether
you live. Across the nation there are still hundreds of
thousands of babies to save and moms to serve and we
can’t stop fighting for them now.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more
than one million pro-life Americans nationwide,
dedicated to ending abortion by electing national
leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a
special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
###
National Right to Life Committee
Nov. 6, 2024
National Right to Life Congratulates President-elect
Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance
WASHINGTON—National Right to Life Committee, the
federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates,
congratulates pro-life President-elect Donald Trump and
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on their win against
pro-abortion candidates Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
The following is a statement from Carol Tobias,
president of National Right to Life:
Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and the
Democratic Party have taken the most extreme abortion
position possible, including support for unlimited
abortions throughout pregnancy. Kamala Harris and Tim
Walz support abortion anytime, anywhere, and under any
circumstances. Supported by the abortion industry and
its allies, Harris and Walz campaigned with fanatical
fervor on abortion — and the voters rejected them.
National Right to Life looks forward
to working with President-elect Trump, Vice
President-elect Vance, and the newly-elected pro-life
Congress on policy initiatives to protect the lives of
unborn children and provide resources for moms and young
parents.
Checking the Fact-checkers: “After-Birth” Abortions or
Modern Infanticide: Abandoning Babies to Die can be
found here.
The Democratic Party’s extensive support of unlimited
abortion can be found here.
Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee
(NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life
affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest
grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through
legislation and education to protect innocent human life
from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and
euthanasia.
North Carolina Republican Party
Nov. 5, 2024
North Carolina Republican Party celebrates President
Donald Trump’s third victory in North Carolina
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Republican
Party congratulates President Donald J. Trump on his third
victory in the Tar Heel State, defeating Kamala Harris in
the 2024 General Election.
“President Trump has built one of the greatest
political movements in American history. This is a
historic win for the Republican Party but most
importantly, a win for the families of North Carolina who
have suffered from the failures of the Harris-Biden
administration over the past four years. North Carolina
voters have spoken, and they want President Trump back in
the White House,” said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons.
______________
Pennsylvania Republican Party
Nov. 6, 2024
Team Trump Statement on Pennsylvania Victory
"Congratulations to Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance on
their victory. After four years under Kamala Harris,
Keystone State voters are eager for President Trump to fix
what Kamala Harris broke. Starting on Day 1, President Trump
and Vice President JD Vance will help to ease costs, secure
the border — and Make America Great Again. -- Pennsylvania
Communications Director Kush Desai
Kush Desai
Pennsylvania Communications Director, Team Trump
______________
Wisconsin Republican Party
Nov. 6, 2024
MADISON, Wis. – If you are covering former President
Donald Trump’s victory in Wisconsin and the 2024
presidential election, please consider the following
statement from WisGOP Chairman Brian Schimming:
“From the 2024 Republican National Convention in
Milwaukee to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wisconsin was the
cornerstone of President Trump’s victory. This election
was a triumph for the millions of working families who
made their voices heard after four years of neglect and
division. It is now time for all of us as Americans to
come together, rally behind President Trump, and work as
one to build a better future for our country.” —WisGOP
Chairman Brian Schimming
______________
Michigan Republican Party
Nov. 6, 2024
Team Trump’s Michigan Victory Statement
If you are covering the election in Michigan, please
consider the following statement from Team Trump:
“Congratulations to Donald J. Trump and Senator
JD Vance on their victory. After four years under
Kamala Harris, Michiganders are eager for
President Trump to fix what Kamala Harris broke.
Starting on Day 1, President Trump and Vice President
JD Vance will help to ease costs, secure the
border — and Make America Great Again.
– Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita
###
George W. Bush
Nov. 6, 2024
Statement by President George W. Bush on the 2024
Presidential Election
CRAWFORD, TEXAS — I congratulate President Trump on his
election as 47
thPresident of the United
States of America, as well as Vice President-elect J.D.
Vance and their families.
I also thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for
their service to our country.
The strong turnout in this election is a sign of the health
of our republic and the strength of our democratic
institutions. Laura and I are grateful to the election
officials, poll workers, and volunteers who oversaw a free,
fair, safe, and secure election.
We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of
our new leaders at all levels of government. May God
continue to bless our great country.
Trump Vance 2025 Transition, Inc.
Nov. 6, 2024
STATEMENT FROM
TRUMP-VANCE TRANSITION CO-CHAIRS LINDA MCMAHON AND
HOWARD LUTNICK ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S HISTORIC VICTORY
AND THE TRANSITION PROCESS
West Palm Beach, FL — Following the
historic victory of President-Elect Trump to serve as
the 47th President of the United States, Trump-Vance
Transition Co-Chairs Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick
offered the following statement on the progress and next
steps of the Trump Vance 2025 Transition, Inc., a
501(c)(4) organization.
“Since the formation of President Trump’s transition
organization and our announcement as Co-Chairs in
August, we have been preparing for President Trump’s
next administration. In the days and weeks ahead,
President Trump will be selecting personnel to serve our
nation under his leadership and enact policies that make
the life of Americans affordable, safe, and secure. We
are proud to volunteer our time to present President
Trump with a wide array of experts from which he can
select for his team. The American people decisively
elected President Trump in a historic victory and
delivered a mandate that puts the working men and women
of our nation first. As he chooses the best people to
join his team and best policies to pursue, his
transition team will ensure the implementation of
President Trump’s common sense agenda starting on Day
1.”
MORE
Jill Stein for President 2024
Nov. 6, 2024
Dr. Stein Comments on the Results of the Presidential
Election
Democrats have no one to blame but
themselves for another disastrous Trump win. We need a
true opposition party for people, planet and peace.
Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate, made the
following statement today on the results of the 2024
presidential election:
“Once again the two-party system has delivered a disastrous
result for the American people. Now we must continue the
uprising for people-powered politics and demand the world we
deserve - which will never be delivered by the twin parties
of war and Wall Street.
"The Democrats have no one but themselves to blame for
losing to Trump again, after their decades of failures and
betrayals that paved the way for Trump’s rise in the first
place. From their unconditional support for the endless war
machine and genocide in Gaza, to their subservience to Wall
Street, to their indifference to human rights, to their
reckless acceleration of the fossil fuel pollution driving
climate collapse, to their assault on democracy - on all
these issues and many more the Democratic Party has betrayed
the trust of the people. This election removes any remaining
doubt that the Democratic Party has utterly failed the
people it claims to represent, and that we need a genuine
opposition party for people, planet, and peace.
"Over the last year, we have continued our long-term efforts
to build the movement for peace, for a livable planet, and
for all the countless millions of people in America and
around the world who have been neglected and abused by the
parties of war and Wall Street. The momentum we achieved
despite the pervasive media blackout threatened the
Democratic Party so much that they set up an unprecedented
operation dedicated to the suppression of our grassroots
movement. They harassed us with expensive lawsuits to kick
us off the ballot, marginalized and smeared us in the media,
posted jobs seeking people to sabotage our campaign, and
even launched attack ads against us - something they’d never
done before for any independent challenger.
"These unprecedented attacks against us by the corrupt
political establishment backfired madly. These attacks
inspired a whole new multiracial, multigenerational
coalition of voters, organizers, and activists to join
forces with the Green Party – and that coalition will
continue to grow. Our campaign built relationships with
powerhouse anti-genocide activists, especially in the Muslim
and Arab American community; the Black community; the
student movement; the reawakened antiwar movement; the
radical labor movement; and many others.
"Year after year, millions of eligible voters have refused
to vote for either establishment party, particularly young
people, people of color, and people of lower income. In the
2020 presidential race, a full third of eligible voters
declined to participate. These are exactly the people our
agenda speaks to. The vast majority of voters are calling
for a political alternative like the Green Party that serves
the greater good instead of the warmongers and economic
elites.
"The political establishment is quaking in their boots that
the public is discovering us. They will be shocked to see
how much our coalition grows as more voters discover they
actually have a choice for the future they deserve.
"We have the solutions to end genocide and empire; to adopt
a foreign policy based on international law, human rights
and diplomacy; to tackle the climate emergency; to reverse
wealth inequality and invest in human thriving; to dismantle
systems of oppression and build a society rooted in justice,
freedom, and equity.
"Our movement for people, planet, and peace is aligned with
the values and priorities of the American people, and
together we have the numbers we need to transform our
future. We only have to get the word out to the millions of
Americans who reject the failed status quo, and bring them
into our movement.
"Everything we have achieved together is a victory for
working people, for justice, for peace and a future where
all of us can thrive.
"Thank you for your unwavering support and for joining in
this fight to build an America and a world that works for
all of us. We will only get stronger from here.
"The pressure will continue to build for the political
transformation that the American people demand. The
political elites will continue to tell you that resistance
is futile. Ignore them. This is our moment.
"Together, we are unstoppable.”
Chase Oliver for President
Nov. 8, 2024
IT’S BEEN THE HONOR OF MY LIFETIME TO BE THE LIBERTARIAN
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
I’m at DFW Airport, preparing to fly home to Atlanta, when
I’m approached by a man who notices my “Anti-War to the
Core” backpack. I reflexively say, “If you’re anti-war, you
should vote Libertarian; I’m their candidate for president.”
Then I quickly realize my mistake and add, “Well, I was the
Libertarian candidate for president.”
For about three years, I’ve proudly run for public office as
a Libertarian. It was in November 2021 that I decided to run
for U.S. Senate, and just over a year later, I heard the
call from Libertarians across the nation to run for
president.
And run, I did! This campaign reached all 50 states, marking
a historic first for the Libertarian Party and for any
third-party or independent candidate. We hosted events, met
delegates at state conventions, participated in dozens of
debates, and earned the most donor support and media
coverage before the nominating convention in Washington,
D.C. We put together a platform that addressed the concerns
of voters both inside and outside the Libertarian Party,
promoting the principles and philosophy of liberty to the
American public. After a long and contentious convention
with 9 hours of voting over 7 rounds, this campaign earned
the nomination. Personally, this has been the honor of my
life. Until I have a husband or children, I imagine this
will be my highest honor.
That day on the convention floor, I also gained an amazing
running mate and partner in Mike ter Maat. Mike and his team
came into the campaign ready to work hard and support our
message of liberty for all individuals. Mike has put in the
miles on the road and done the work. I cannot thank him
enough for his grace and willingness to dedicate so much
time and energy away from his home and family over the past
5 months. He has always had a mind to serve and be of
service to others, and we need more Libertarians like Mike
ter Maat. Thank you, Mike, for choosing this campaign to
partner with, and thank you for the work you and the
fantastic volunteers and staff you brought on board have
done.
With a running mate and a great team, we began our general
election campaign. Mike and I traveled across the country to
meet as many voters as we could, especially in places where
we weren’t only meeting Libertarians. I remember some days
at state fairs, I would speak with hundreds of voters
directly. Many times these were brief interactions, but
there were also many moments where I got to hear in depth
about voters’ concerns and speak with them about solutions
rooted in liberty and the decentralization of power out of
Washington, D.C.
I spoke with farmers concerned about eminent domain being
used to build pipelines on their land. I met veterans who
know the struggles of the VA bureaucracy and want to bring
the troops home, ending the foreign policy of the War on
Terror. I talked to parents who want more input into their
children’s education and want the government out of their
family’s healthcare decisions. I heard from people concerned
about the cost of living, inflation, immigration, bodily
autonomy, healthcare, climate change, the cost and quality
of education, and so much more. Each time, the policies I
advocated for were presented through the lens of liberty and
non-aggression. I have always, and will always, look for
liberty as the answer—empowering individuals to exercise
peaceful self-governance and have maximum agency over
themselves and their property.
This year was a challenging election cycle for anyone
working outside the status quo two-party system. Increased
fear among the electorate, billions of dollars in campaign
and PAC spending, and a hyperpolarized media and social
media made 2024 a particularly difficult year to break
through. The Libertarian Party faced its own challenges for
a variety of reasons. It’s no surprise that the Libertarian
Party and all parties outside the Democrats and Republicans
had lower totals than in years past on the national level.
I am happy to take objective criticism for potential
mistakes and missteps in my campaign. Every campaign, no
matter how well-funded or prepared, will make mistakes. I
can admit to my imperfections as a person and a candidate,
and I will always be seeking to improve myself through
introspection and growth. I also believe the party needs to
take a hard look at its own issues. Why are we so polarized?
What steps can we take to improve? What is the path forward
for the Libertarian Party?
These questions will be answered in the coming months and
years, but I do know we must reverse course when it comes to
our operations and organization. For nearly three years, we
have seen a drop in membership and donors and have lost many
capable, hardworking staff members due to inner-party
division. With this, we have lost some valuable
institutional memory. If we want to continue to exist, we
must put our party on a path to growth. We must end petty
and cruel division and focus on building liberty. We must
focus on being a policy-driven party—namely, running
candidates for office and supporting their efforts. We must
build a big tent and proclaim the truth that liberty is for
everyone living in peace. All people have a right to be
free—not just those who think like us, look like us, worship
like us, love like us, or express themselves like us. We
must shine the torch of liberty in every corner, for all
people. If liberty isn’t universal, it is doomed to fail. We
must always advocate for the liberty of ourselves and the
liberty of others. Anything less isn’t liberty.
The Libertarian Party has had many wonderful people lead the
ticket as our candidate for president, and I’m honored to be
counted among those who have taken up the fight for liberty
at the highest level. I’m blessed to know so many great
Libertarians running for office this year, and I know each
of them worked hard to spread the message of liberty. We had
about 400 candidates running across the nation this year—we
need to at least double that by four years from now. I will
do whatever I can to make that happen.
I want to congratulate President-elect Trump and his team on
their victory in this election. He made many promises to
Libertarians, and while I remain skeptical, it would be
welcome to see those promises kept—starting with the pardon
of Ross Ulbricht. He has also advocated for policies that
are, quite frankly, un-libertarian. If he pursues those
policies, we must be loud critics and provide better
alternatives. We must continue to criticize any
administration that controls such a large and overly abusive
federal government. Donald Trump has been president before,
and there are objective reasons to be skeptical when he
makes a promise. But I welcome the opportunity to be
surprised.
I want to end with this message: it has been the honor of my
life to represent the Libertarian Party as its candidate for
president. I will cherish the hard work of my staff and
volunteers, and the memories we made on the campaign trail.
The last time I wasn’t running for office was about three
years ago, and I plan to enjoy the holiday season with
family and close friends as I prepare myself for what comes
next.
I do know this: I am not going away. I am staying in the
fight. What role that will take in the coming months and
years will reveal itself soon enough. But know this:
This is just the beginning.
Peace, Love, and Liberty,
Chase Oliver
2024 Libertarian Candidate for President
Party
for Socialism & Liberation
Walter Smolarek
Nov. 7, 2024
PSL Editorial: The Democrats failed to stop Trump. But
the working class can defeat him – and win a new society
Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election ushers
in a new phase in U.S. politics that threatens profound
attacks on the basic rights of workers and oppressed
communities – but also presents an opportunity to build a
united working class movement that can finally overcome the
disastrous misdirection of the liberal wing of the ruling
class that has failed so miserably to stop the advance of
the far right. In this moment, our tasks are to organize
working people to both fight back against the offensive that
Trump is preparing to carry out, and to build the socialist
movement fighting to overturn the rule of the billionaires.
For either to be successful, these two tasks have to be
linked. The fight against Trump’s ultra-reactionary
initiatives will not succeed if it is carried out as a
defense of the status quo. There needs to be a larger vision
for the transformation of society underpinning the struggle
ahead.
What happened on election day
The election results should first and foremost be understood
as a total failure of the Democratic Party. There will be no
shortage of narratives blaming one or another section of the
population for the outcome. But in truth, the Democratic
Party elite and the entire centrist/liberal wing of the
ruling class have no one to blame but themselves.
The key issue of the election was the economy, and in
particular the high cost of living. Trump would frequently
start his rallies by asking if those in attendance were
better or worse off than they were four years ago, and for
huge numbers of people, the answer was that they were now in
a worse position. In the first 15 months of the Biden
administration, weekly wages fell by nearly 4% when
inflation is taken into account. Although wages mostly
recovered later in Biden’s term, there was no substantial
program put forward to address the decline and stagnation
working people have experienced for years.
Biden came into office promising the largest expansion of
social programs since the 1960s – the “build back better”
agenda. Not only did he abandon this program in the face of
resistance from senators within his own party, he presided
over the expiration of all of the emergency relief programs
enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year leading up
to the election, he spent $27 billion backing Israel’s
genocide in Gaza while people’s basic needs went unmet.
Beyond material conditions, the bumbling political missteps
of the Democratic Party leadership played a significant
role. Kamala Harris was only the candidate for slightly over
100 days. Biden insisted on running for office until his
meltdown on the debate stage forced him out of the race. At
that point, he had also become rightfully hated by millions
for his participation in the ruthless genocide against the
Palestinian people – a genocide that Harris pledged she
would continue to back with limitless weapons supplies. And
Biden was only the candidate to begin with essentially
because he was in the right place at the right time to
defeat Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic primary. And
despite all this, Harris refused to distance herself from
Biden, embracing his record while building an empty personal
brand around “joy” and “hopefulness.”
Any attempt to blame the victory of Trump on one demographic
group or another falls flat. For instance, one line of
attack from liberals has been to accuse Black men of
supporting Trump in record numbers. There is no evidence
whatsoever that this materialized on election day – exit
polls found that Trump enjoyed 20% support among Black male
voters compared to Harris’ 78%, essentially unchanged from
the total in 2020. Likewise, the idea that there was a surge
in misogynist sentiment in society overall does not align
with the decisive victories for abortion rights referenda
across the country. In 10 states where abortion rights were
on the ballot, clear majorities were in favor in eight of
them – with the only defeats in conservative-dominated
Nebraska and South Dakota.
Exit polls did reflect significant growth in support for
Trump among Latinos. Harris won 53 percent of the Latino
vote, compared to 45 percent for Trump – a 13 percentage
point increase. That Trump achieved this feat while
intensifying his racist rhetoric against Mexicans,
Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans and people of other Latin
American nationalities is a reflection of how deep disgust
is with the Democratic Party over its failure to address
profound economic hardships.
Incumbent governments around the globe are facing serious
headwinds. Long-dominant parties of many different
ideological stripes have faced severe electoral setbacks in
the face of a world situation characterized by high
inflation, deepening geopolitical conflict and skyrocketing
inequality. This proved true in the United States as well,
multiplied by the incompetence and egoism of Democratic
Party politicians.
Defeating the coming war on immigrants
Trump has vowed to carry out a massive police state
crackdown on immigrants, pledging to round up millions of
undocumented people in militarized raids that would take
place in every part of the country. He has whipped up
support for this mass deportation campaign using the most
vile, racist rhetoric that slanders immigrants as violent
criminals.
The Democratic Party has reacted to this by essentially
adopting Trump’s anti-immigrant program, but without his
demonizing language. Harris touted her plan to vastly expand
Border Patrol, and emphasized the support of the Border
Patrol officers’ association for her policy. She presented
herself as a “tough on crime” prosecutor ready to take on
“the border.” Even more, they have totally ignored laws like
the Alien Enemies Act and the Insurrection Act that Trump is
using as legal cover for his offensive. They preferred to
wax poetic about Nazi Germany, while ignoring the
authoritarian structures of the US government facilitating
many of Trump’s proposals.
Some groups that are traditionally in the Democratic Party
orbit have advanced a narrative in defense of immigrants,
but its presentation as a single issue isolated from the
other pressing matters on the minds of working people has
failed to galvanize a sufficient mass of people. The
non-profit model of organization lends itself exactly to
this kind of error, and also gives credence to the false
right wing narrative that ultra-rich individuals (who do in
fact provide the grant money that fuels non-profits) are
conspiring to “replace” the native-born population with
people born in other parts of the world.
A movement capable of defeating the war on immigrants needs
to have at its core the idea of working class solidarity
that applies to all people regardless of place of birth or
legal status. Deporting millions of undocumented people will
not lower the rent, or make the price of groceries go down.
Immigrants did not decide to close down factories and
devastate communities – corporate executives did that.
Immigrants want the exact same thing as U.S.-born workers:
the ability to live a life with dignity and provide for
their families. Oftentimes, they are fleeing war and poverty
created by the very same corporations and politicians
responsible for the injustices that people experience here
in the United States.
Exposing the class nature of Trump’s program
Despite his hollow rhetoric about standing up for the
“working man and woman”, Trump’s agenda is actually premised
on the destruction of the rights of the working class for
the benefit of billionaires and big corporations. He swept
back into power thanks to the support of some of the richest
people on the planet, like Elon Musk, Richard and Elizabeth
Uihlein, Marc Andreessen, and many others. Their ultimate
goal is to eviscerate the economic and political rights won
during the New Deal of the 1930s and the Civil Rights
revolution of the 1960s.
Trump has pledged to appoint Elon Musk to lead a new
“government efficiency commission” that would be given a
broad mandate to reshape the federal government. Musk
certainly will not be focused on making sure the government
more efficiently provides healthcare, quality education, or
disaster relief to people. His mandate will be to conduct
massive layoffs of public sector workers – which would also
constitute a historic attack on unions – and to slash any
vital social program that helps working people survive. This
could take the form of the wholesale elimination of programs
like the Affordable Care Act, or through the imposition of
bureaucratic “means testing” designed to make qualifying for
benefits next to impossible.
Workers involved in the enforcement of environmental
regulations will certainly be among the top targets, as
would the regulations themselves. Trump wants to make sure
that there are no restrictions to how much corporations can
pollute the air, dump toxic chemicals into our water, or
subject our communities to cancer-causing hazards. And he
has pledged to dramatically expand the use of fossil fuels
that deepen the climate crisis that already causes such huge
suffering, like the death and destruction in the wake of
Hurricane Helene.
One of the first items on the Republican legislative agenda
next year will be the extension of the 2017 tax cuts that
Trump pushed through in his first term in office. This was a
$2 trillion dollar giveaway to the rich and the corporations
they own, starving the government of revenue that could
otherwise be put to use for the common good. Even if Trump
follows through on some of the tax-related pledges he made
on the campaign trail like eliminating taxes on tips or
overtime, that will not change the pro-billionaire,
pro-corporate essence of Trump’s tax policy.
Trump claims that he will make up for that revenue by the
imposition of tariffs on goods that are imported from other
countries. For decades, “free trade” has been the consensus
position of the ruling class. But that has not always been
the case. For long periods of time in the United States,
tariffs were a preferred tool to promote “national industry”
and guard the market share of U.S.-based capitalists. Tariff
policy was also used as a political tool to convince certain
sections of the working class that their well-being was
bound up with the prosperity of their bosses. It is not
inconceivable that in some industries, high tariffs would
result in the creation of a not insignificant number of new
jobs as enterprises are forced to move production to the
United States. But the overall effect on the working class
would be to drive up prices and bring the inflation crisis
roaring back. To rebuild communities shattered by
deindustrialization, we need to seize the stolen wealth of
the billionaire class and redistribute it, not tinker with
tax policy to incentivize corporations to exploit people “at
home” instead of abroad.
The new Trump administration is likely to pursue policies
that would be hugely detrimental to public health. Trump has
indicated he would appoint Robert F Kennedy Jr. to an
important post in this area – giving him the chance to enact
his bizarre “Make America Healthy Again” agenda that
includes hostility to life-saving vaccines. Kennedy couches
this in rhetoric about big pharma and the greed of the
medical industry. But the country saw during the COVID
pandemic that when common-sense public health measures are
rejected, it is frontline workers and the most oppressed
communities in society who suffer the most. Science is a
powerful tool to save the lives and better the livelihoods
of working people, it has to be defended from men like
Kennedy who were born into unimaginable wealth and are
searching for an outlet for their conspiratorial fantasies.
Trump’s claim that he is a lover of peace who refuses to
start new wars is ridiculous. He is an outspoken advocate of
funneling more and more of our taxpayer dollars into the war
machine. He wants to step up aid to Israel so it can “finish
the job” in its genocide against Palestinians and aggression
across the region. During his time in office, he took the
country even further down the road towards a devastating
conflict with China, and nearly started a war with Iran by
carrying out a brazenly illegal assassination of a top
Iranian leader. And he imposed cruel blockades and attempted
to orchestrate regime change in countries like Venezuela and
Cuba that want nothing more than the right to pursue their
own independent social projects.
Who will be sent to fight the wars that Trump may start?
Certainly not the children of the politicians in Washington
or the executives in the boardroom of Lockheed Martin,
Boeing or other war profiteers. It will be working class
young people who are sent to kill and die on behalf of
millionaires and billionaires who view their lives as
completely disposable.
Fighting Trump, fighting for socialism
Although Trump ran a campaign pitting one section of the
working class against another, there are in fact many things
workers are broadly united around. Most workers support
universal healthcare, universal childcare, union rights, the
cancellation of student debt, and an end to the endless
wars. And beyond that, people are highly receptive to a
radical critique that gets to the core of the system. A
recent New York Times opinion poll found that 69% of
respondents stated that the U.S. economy needs either “major
change” or that the system needs to be “entirely torn down.”
The experience of the PSL’s Vote Socialist campaign, running
Claudia De la Cruz for president and Karina Garcia for
Vice-President, is further proof of this. Many votes are
still being counted, but already we know that this ticket
secured a historic vote total for socialist candidates. For
over a year, thousands of PSL members and volunteers across
the country worked tirelessly to spread the radical message
of the campaign and explain the urgent need to “end
capitalism before it ends us.”
Central to this program was the demand to seize the top 100
corporations and turn them into public property. This would
be the basis to provide healthcare, education, housing, and
a job with a living wage to everyone as guaranteed
constitutional rights. Reclaiming the stolen wealth of the
billionaire class would also make it possible to take the
decisive action necessary to save the planet from the
climate crisis.
The complete bankruptcy of the Democratic Party and its
inability to stop the far right has never been clearer. It
is time once and for all to jettison its misleadership and
build an independent movement accountable to no one other
than the working class.
Inevitably, there will be many moments of defensive
struggle, where Trump has the initiative and it is up to the
people to stop him. But a movement capable of defeating
Trump will also have to put forward a positive program that
speaks to the deep crises working people are facing. And the
progressive measures we demand should not be presented as
bandaids to address this or that problem. They are stepping
stones as we build towards the socialist transformation of
society. This will be a tremendous task, but it is the only
way that the people can defeat Trump and keep the fight for
justice moving forward until the entire political and
economic elite is swept away, never to return.
League of
Women Voters of the United States
Nov. 6, 2024
League of Women Voters
Statement on 2024 Election Results
WASHINGTON — The League of Women Voters of the United States
president Dianna Wynn and CEO Celina Stewart released the
following statement on the 2024 election results:
“The 2024 election underscores the dedication of poll
workers, election officials, and volunteers nationwide, who
ensured that every eligible vote was counted, and every
voice was heard. This year’s election was marked by
integrity, transparency, and high turnout. The American
people have spoken.
“While we celebrate a fair and secure election, the outcome
of this election has made the future for women unclear.
“Given the disturbing rhetoric made during this election
season, we are deeply concerned about challenges we may
face, particularly regarding the issues that
disproportionately affect women, from health care and
reproductive rights to economic security and equal
representation.
“We are thankful to Leagues across the country for their
tremendous work supporting the election infrastructure and
supporting voters, as well as every election worker and
democracy defender who guaranteed our fair and free voting
process. We are thankful for the work they have done so far
this cycle and the counting, curing, and certifying work
that will take place in the weeks ahead.
“The League is dedicated to our mission of defending
democracy. As we move forward, we remain steadfast in our
commitment to advocate for policies that uplift women and
ensure equitable representation in all levels of
government.”
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