Extra! Extra! November 13!
You lifted up the nation.
Hi, all.
Remember as you read the below: without you and the hard work you just put forth, this list—which is delightfully long— would be much shorter.
Enjoy every single item on it. You’ve earned it.
Thanks, as always, for your support. My gratitude for you truly knows no bounds.
Jess
Read This 📖
Democrats Hold the Senate—and the Ability to Appoint Federal Judges. A very happy-making piece indeed!
And this:
Democrats surged to flip state legislatures, defying past GOP gains. The States Project—and you—saved America!
Celebrate This! 🎉
ELECTION RELATED GOOD NEWS:
Y’all. We held the Senate.
Democrats flipped the Michigan state legislature AND the Minnesota state legislature. We likely flipped the PA House. We held off a GOP supermajority in the NC statehouse, and we held the Maine Dem majority, too. Statehouses had an AMAZING election and so many of you helped!
Tennessee voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that removes language allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as forms of punishment for those convicted of crimes.
A Kentucky judge who signed off on the police raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor lost her reelection bid on Tuesday.
Voters in a record five states—California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky and Montana—decided on abortion-related ballot measures and came down decisively in favor of abortion rights and access.
Massachusetts voters elected Maura Healey, their first woman, as Governor; she—-along with Oregon’s Tina Kotek— will also be one of the first openly LGBTQIA+ women to be elected as Governor in the US.
Maxwell Frost just made history as the first member of Gen Z in Congress. Frost made gun violence a central point of his campaign and secured representation for the growing generation of new voters.
Not a single election denying Secretary of State candidate won their race in a battleground state! NOT ONE!
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people ran for office in all 50 states for the first time, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Of the 239 Run for Something-endorsed races that have been called, over 190 were declared WINNERS! And many of the rest are still in play! 57% are women, 59% are people of color, 25% are from the LGBTQIA+ community, and 6 winners are GenZ. Read more about them here.
Ultra-conservative Nebraska passed a $15 minimum wage.
Voters in New York state have approved a sweeping ballot measure to mitigate climate change and protect the state’s natural resources.
Attorney General Josh Kaul (D-WI) has eked out re-election against his Republican challenger, as did Governor Tony Evers! These are crucial holds for Dems in the battleground state.
New Mexico became the first state to pass a universal pre-K measure after activists worked for over a decade to get early childhood funding on the ballot.
Nevada decisively passed a ballot initiative adding an Equal Rights Amendment to their state constitution, and it will be the most comprehensive and inclusive ERA in the country.
in Texas, Democrat Lina Hidalgo was re-elected as “Judge” (the equivalent of a CEO) of the Houston area. Hidalgo expanded the county’s pollution budget and air monitors, but her opponent said that climate was not “a priority.” Houston is one of the nation’s largest petroleum producers, so Hidalgo’s reelection is significant.
Remember Arizona's Dr. Eva Diaz, who launched a write-in campaign for a critical seat in Arizona, LD-22, after the winner of the Democratic primary unexpectedly dropped out of the race to take a lobbying job? Remember how so many of you jumped in to postcard for her or donate to her efforts? SHE WON!
In Ohio, 62% of voters in Akron said yes to Issue 10, which will now establish community review on policing and send a police oversight plan to city leaders.
Montana voters rejected the so-called 'Born Alive' ballot measure.
In Missouri, voters passed Amendment 3 legalizing recreational marijuana and expunging the records of those who were previously charged with nonviolent marijuana offenses.
Democrats won at practically every level in Michigan, one of the country’s most important swing states. Despite fierce challenges from Republicans, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) won their reelection bids, and ballot proposals enshrining voting and abortion rights passed.
Becca Balint, 54, a liberal Democrat, won her race to become Vermont’s lone member of the House of Representatives, the first time the state has elected a woman to Congress. Vermont is the last state to send a woman to Washington, behind Mississippi, which reached the same milestone in 2018. Balint is also the first openly gay person to represent the state.
Wes Moore, 44, a Democrat and a political newcomer, will become the first Black governor in Maryland’s history. Moore will be the only Black governor in the country and the third elected since Reconstruction.
Democrats still have a slim chance at keeping the House—something no one but Michael Moore (and I) thought was possible!
NON-ELECTION RELATED
October’s consumer price index shows inflation is finally cooling, which will hopefully lead Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to slow interest rate hikes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made Emperor Penguins a protected species. They said it “reflects the growing extinction crisis” due to the impact of climate change on sea-ice habitats.
A Connecticut judge ordered Infowars founder Alex Jones and his company to pay an additional $473 million to the families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
Germany and Norway announced they want to revive their fund to help Brazil protect the Amazon rainforest. The countries first set up the fund in 2008 but stopped making payments to it after the previous president weakened protection measures.
The French government has mandated that all large parking lots be covered with solar panels to boost the country’s usage of renewable energy.
New homes and apartments in Washington state will be required to use heat pumps starting next July, thanks to a new policy approved last week by the Evergreen State’s Building Code Council.
New data shows there was an 11% decline in veteran homelessness since 2020, the largest drop in over 5 years. The Biden administration report shows there’s been a 55% decline in veteran homelessness since 2010.
A first-of-its-kind pill to prevent women from developing preeclampsia during pregnancy has been fast-tracked in the U.K.3.
The wingless wood-eating cockroach, an insect not seen since the 1930s, was spotted by a university student in an Australian forest. “The survival is great news,” one official said.
Conservation win: A plot of coveted land along the water in Southern California will become a nature preserve rather than a real estate development.
The U.K. just set a landmark new wind energy generation record. Onshore and offshore wind farms generated more than 20 gigawatts for the first time last week.
The European Union approved a law that will effectively ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars starting in 2035. The deal also increased the required emissions reduction percent for new cars sold beginning in 2030, from 37.5% to 55%.
Shake 'N Bake has announced a decision to stop including a single-use plastic bag in every box of their product. This change is predicted to avoid a staggering 900,000 pounds of plastic waste per year.
Nearly 10,000 acres of koala habitat will be protected and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy thanks to two philanthropists who bought the land.
Veterans and military retirees will get an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment added to their disability compensation. The largest increase in 40 years, it is equal to the Social Security increase.
A first-of-its-kind pill to prevent women from developing preeclampsia during pregnancy has been fast-tracked in the U.K.3.
The wingless wood-eating cockroach, an insect not seen since the 1930s, was spotted by a university student in an Australian forest. “The survival is great news,” one official said.
We all are indebted to you, Jess, for your tireless work to lift our spirits and inspire so many to do so much to protect our democracy. Be proud.
Thank you Jessica for your relentless hard work, and your ability to inspire so many to get involved and work for our democracy 💙💛