NextGen America and the California Labor Federation Announce New Organizing Effort to Flip Seven California Congressional Seats
Uniting California will engage voters on the issues that matter most in their communities
SAN FRANCISCO — Today, NextGen America and the California Labor Federation announced a new organizing effort to engage and mobilize California voters in seven key congressional districts with Republican incumbents. The organizing effort, Uniting California, is an unprecedented partnership with local community groups to build infrastructure and engage half a million voters across the seven districts to ensure progressive victories in 2018 and beyond.
“Californians deserve better than the dangerous agenda that Trump and the GOP are pushing forward in Washington, D.C.”, said NextGen America President Tom Steyer. “We need representatives who will put our needs and our communities first. NextGen America is proud to partner with the California Labor Federation to support grassroots efforts working to inform every Californian of what’s at stake at 2018. We’re going to get every eligible voter we can reach to cast their ballot, so we can send representatives to Congress who will fight for a California that works for us all.”
“On issue after issue, California Republicans in Congress are aligning with Donald Trump to put the American Dream out of reach for so many families,” said California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski. “Uniting California is an unprecedented ground effort in scale and focus to give working people power to control their own destinies. Many national pundits have already recognized that the road to taking back Congress runs through farms and rural communities of the Central Valley and the suburbs and exurbs of Orange County and San Diego. With this program, we’ll be in these communities every day through November 2018, creating real, lasting change to benefit working families.”
Uniting California will work in seven GOP-held districts — CA-10 (Rep. Denham), CA-21 (Rep. Valadao), CA-25 (Rep. Knight), CA-39 (Rep. Royce), CA-45 (Rep. Walters), CA-48 (Rep. Rohrabacher), CA-49 (Rep. Issa) — where Trump’s congressional allies are putting corporate profits ahead of their constituents. Through the program, local organizations will lead neighborhood canvasses and phone banks, and use digital tools — like peer-to-peer text messaging and social media — to connect with voters and highlight how these seven representatives are out of touch with their constituents.
The multimillion dollar program will kickoff in all seven districts over the next few weeks, creating sustained field organizing efforts in targeted congressional districts. On-the-ground organizers will prioritize face-to-face conversations and direct contact with California voters, targeting primarily split-ticket voters and low-propensity Democratic voters who typically vote in presidential elections, but not in midterm elections.
The program will provide community organizations with the resources needed to run an unprecedented field program that begins more than year before Election Day in 2018. Partner organizations include the Orange County Labor Federation, the L.A. County Federation of Labor, the Fresno Central Labor Council, Million Voters Project Action Fund, Orange County Voter Improvement Project, and Working America.
By partnering with grassroots organizations that have strong connections to their communities, the effort will engage voters on the local issues that matter most to them — including economic prosperity, health care, racial and environmental justice, and quality education. Strong issue advocacy leads to better campaigns, better campaigns lead to better elections, and better elections lead to stronger progressive outcomes for Californians.