Gretchen's List: February 2023
Dear Friends,
Another election cycle has begun! The 2024 cycle has Democrats playing defense on the Senate map in addition to the White House; we also have some retirements (both announced and likely forthcoming) that give us the opportunity to send new, exciting candidates to the Senate. Welcome to another two years of me sharing my lightly-solicited opinion.
But first, this: recently, I heard from a friend who was planning on not engaging with political giving anymore, not because they weren’t interested but solely because the email from campaigns had become too much. And they right! It’s annoying; it’s excessive; it can’t possibly be effective; it means you open none of them. (I was getting between 800-1,000 campaign emails myself at one point.) At the risk of annoying literally every finance director who reads these emails (HI!!!!!!! Don’t hate me! Looking forward to your texts later today!), here’s where you can block the bulk of campaign emails. (Please know that this will also block a lot of political organizations, and possibly people from whom you do like hearing. If that’s the case, you’ll want to unsubscribe individually, and good luck to you. But if the inundation is too much… there you go.) I’m sharing this because I don’t want the daily annoyance of a flooded inbox to alienate you from supporting the campaigns and organizing that need your help. I have a huge amount of respect for donors’ time and resources, and don’t want you to feel miserable for having engaged every time you open your email. And don’t worry — it won’t impact your Gretchen’s List subscription. :)
The next few months are busy busy busy: I am hosting Congresswoman Katie Porter next week, Senator Jacky Rosen in March, and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin in April. If you’re in the Bay Area, I hope to see you in-person sometime soon!
Best,
Gretchen
Where to Give Money Right Now: Wisconsin Supreme Court Races
This race is one of those seemingly small races that will have a hugely outsized impact.
Long version: read “The most important election no one’s ever heard of” and send your support here.
Shorter version: on February 21, there is a primary election for one seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. (General election is in April). The judges are technically nonpartisan, but there’s effectively a 4-3 conservative majority that makes very conservative rulings. (This memo is a fantastic overview of the damage done to democracy by this court.) Flipping one seat will change the majority on the court with huge repercussions for abortion access, voting rights, fair districting, and more. There are basically four candidates running — two conservative, two progressive — and only the top two will advance to the general. If we don’t go all out for the primary, then we risk having two MAGAites in the general. (Why should us non-Wisconsinites invest here? Remember that Wisconsin is a state that voted for Trump and then Biden, and that has elected both Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin — this is a swing state, and winning this race will have repercussions for fair elections in the electoral college in 2024.)
I recommend giving to the Wisconsin Democratic Party today. (I wouldn’t recommend giving to any state party — many of them are a mess! — but the Wisconsin party is well-run, effective, and moving quickly for both the primary and general.
Upcoming Events
On Monday, February 13, I will be hosting a Galentine’s Day reception and dinner for Katie Porter for US Senate with Electing Women Bay Area. Reception at 5pm ($1,000); dinner at 6pm ($3300+). There will be “Be My Senator” conversation heart cookies. ❤️❤️❤️ Please RSVP here for the reception and here for the dinner. [Here in California, we are fortunate to have many qualified, exemplary Senate candidates. I’m happy to talk about why I’m happy to support Katie right now; it’s likely that I will be sharing information about other events that my friends and frequent collaborators are hosting for other candidates in the future. If you’re excited about Katie like I am, I hope you’ll join us next week!]
On Tuesday, February 14, please join me and co-hostess Jill Habig at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco for a Valentine’s Day afternoon tea on behalf of the DAGA Women’s Initiative, and help us election more women to attorney general offices across the country. Please contribute and RSVP here.
On February 21, my friends in Palo Alto are hosting Ruben Gallego for US Senate. Unfortunately, I am not able to join, but you should! I’ve weighed seriously what it means to run a Democrat against the now-“Independent” Senator Sinema, as far as our odds of not losing the seat to the Republican, and I think Ruben can get the job done. (Check out his stellar campaign announcement video here.) You can RSVP for the Palo Alto event here.
Please join me on Sunday, March 19, for dinner with Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada. This is sure to be one of the most competitive senate races in the country this cycle, and will need your early support. (Remember how you felt in November while we were waiting for Nevada to count up their votes and see if Catherine Cortez Masto was going to pull it out? This race will likely come down to that again, and you’ll want to know you did everything you could to get Jacky across the finish line.) Please RSVP here.
Donor, sociologist, researcher. Board member at WDN Action and Emerge America, and steering committee member at Electing Women Bay Area -- but all content here is mine alone and not on behalf of any organization. My goals are to help others find their networks and feel more comfortable and informed participating in the political giving space.
Currently reading: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez.