Why States Matter: The Glory of Grassroots

Yolanda Nunn

Here at Sister District Project, we’re all about building progressive power in state legislatures. This means winning elections, of course, but it also means supporting grassroots partners (remember Stacey Abrams?) — groups toiling away on the ground, day in and day out, 365 days a year, educating citizens, registering voters, supporting ethical candidates, identifying community concerns, lobbying for progressive laws, and generally behaving like heroes.

In March 2024, we and other SDP teams raised $139k+ for our partners in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Take a gander at how these groups ran with the money!

LUCHA (LIVING UNITED FOR CHANGE IN ARIZONA)

2024 Successes:

• Knocked on 47,739 doors and registered approximately 10k new voters;
• Supported several US Senate & House victories;
• Successfully fought for the repeal of an 1864, pre-statehood, near-total ban on abortion. (The ban has been stayed by a court; repeal will go into effect when the State Legislature resumes session this September, meaning abortion will remain available up to 15 weeks in the state. Not ideal, but better than the alternative.)

2024 Goals:

• Defeat the “Secure the Border Act” (HCR 2060) in November. Cleverly packaged as a ballot referendum in order to evade Gov. Hobbs’ veto, the Act would upend decades of established law by handing over immigration enforcement to the state — making it a state crime for migrants to cross the border anywhere except a point of entry, and allowing AZ police officers to arrest migrants and AZ judges to write orders of deportation. LUCHA has filed a lawsuit to stop this unconstitutional power grab, and is including voter education materials in their door-knocking literature;
• Support the AZ For Abortion Access ballot initiative in November, which would codify abortion as a right in the state constitution;
• Knock on 1m doors and register 31k voters;
• Pass 2025 state budget with no budget cuts to essential services;
• Defeat harmful tax/revenue policy and anti-democratic legislation.

“The Sister District/State Bridges partnership is critical to our organization as it mobilizes and activates people who share the same values and goals as LUCHA: Building a democracy that serves all of us.” — Belen Gonzalez, Director of Philanthropy, LUCHA

RAZA (RURAL ARIZONA ACTION)

2024 Successes:

• Registered 10k+ voters in rural counties (overall goal = 13k);
• Knocked on 15k doors in three weeks to support the Governor’s budget;
• Mobilized against HRC 2060 and the 1864 abortion ban;
• Hired and trained an organizer focused on Congressional District 6, where former State Sen. Kirsten Engel is running to unseat an anti-abortion GOP incumbent.

2024 Goals:

• Help US Senate candidate Ruben Gallego defeat infamous election-denier Kari Lake;
• Gain a blue trifecta in the state;
• Win down-ballot school-board and city-council seats;
• Protect State House seat in District 16, a critical swing district that could determine state legislative control;
• Win state-legislative seats in Districts 17 (where SDP candidate Kevin Volk is running for State House) & 23.

“Even though our districts are far apart, our fates are tied to the outcomes we are both striving towards. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and collaboration that is the State Bridges program.” — Pablo Correa, Co-Executive Director, RAZA

PENNSYLVANIA STANDS UP

2024 Successes:

• Held local campaign trainings for 620 new volunteers and 84 leaders;
• Hired an organizer to recruit volunteers, train leaders, and run joint deep-canvassing phonebanks with PA United.

2024 Goals:

• Flip three PA State House seats from red to blue;
• Train 140 leaders to run phone banks, launch canvasses, take leadership roles on local and statewide member teams, and recruit 2025 municipal candidates for future state legislative cycles;
• Connect voters with retirement benefits and offer political education re: “good government” as government that works for all, not just the wealthy few.

“The best thing about our partnership with State Bridges continues to be that you all make us feel celebrated in the work we do in rural and small-town Pennsylvania, encouraged to keep going, and supported all the way. From the financial ambition and generosity, to the affirming and joyful space you create in State Bridges events, your community makes it possible for our organizers and member-leaders to organize people across race and place, build a durable and resilient organizational infrastructure, and shift voters’ worldview to build a Pennsylvania that works for all of us.” — Carrie Santoro, Executive Director, PA Stands Up

PENNSYLVANIA UNITED

2024 Successes:

• Knocked on 54k+ doors and made 83k+ phone calls;
• Registered 400+ new voters in underrepresented communities;
• Contributed to Congresswoman Summer Lee’s successful primary race;
• Expanded field infrastructure in small cities and towns across Western & Central PA, building a team of canvassers ready to travel to the nearly 20 communities of 10k-20k voters who won’t be reached by any other field program this year.

2024 Goals:

• Stop Trump by knocking on 750k doors and making 500k+ phone calls;
• Maintain (or expand!) the one-seat Democratic majority in the State House;
• Stop the expansion of private school vouchers;
• Pass renewed funding for $50m for Whole Home Repairs, which provides grants of up to $50k to low- and middle-income residents to repair their homes.

“Sister District is one of a kind — there’s no other organization that provides the ongoing support and direct connection to individual activists from across the country to support our work to build progressive infrastructure in Western PA.” — Alex Wallach Hanson, Executive Director, PA United

Talk about a bang for our buck! And how about our previous partners?

In 2023, The New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGPAF) spent $9m on GOTV and civic engagement programs for Black, Brown, and young Georgians, and held 86 community events across the state. The group plans to knock on 3.7m doors, and directly engage 75k young people in the political process in 2024.

The North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Education Fund (NCAPREF) has launched two GOTV campaigns, “I Am A Voter” and “Black Men Vote,” to combat the “crude conservatism [that] created a mindset of social defeatism by many of those disenfranchised by situation, circumstance or indifference.”

The New Virginia Majority helped craft and launch the Loudoun Cares Program, which will apply federal ARPA funding toward eviction prevention, utility assistance, and nearly $6m for rental assistance. NVM’s political team organized constituent calls for important bills re: raising the minimum wage and protecting election workers, and its Tenants Association led a mass mobilization advocating for better housing standards and protections.

Heroes, all.

Our team is thrilled to be hosting another homegrown dynamo in the fall — stay tuned. Till then, keep that grassroots love going. It takes a village to protect a democracy!

- Juliet Eastland