To that finish, we need to share some essential assets with our group and people who may search our assist. Anybody—whether or not a candidate, a staffer, or a supporter—can suggest an endorsement utilizing one of many varieties beneath:
As well as, we’ve put collectively a list of key questions we ask when contemplating any candidate endorsement. This listing makes an attempt to summarize all the data beneath, although it must be handled as a place to begin slightly than an ending level, as a result of there’s all the time extra we’d ask.
Yow will discover a continually updated list of all of our current endorsements right here, and we welcome your questions and suggestions within the feedback beneath.
Places of work we recommend for
Our main focus is the U.S. Home, the U.S. Senate, governorships, and state legislatures since Congress and statehouses are the locations the place coverage is crafted and laws is handed. We now have additionally supported Democratic nominees for president, though we don’t endorse in Democratic presidential primaries.
We elevate cash for escrow funds for federal races (what the progressive fundraising hub ActBlue calls “nominee funds”). These escrow funds permit us to put money into key alternatives to flip Republican seats months and even years earlier than Democratic nominees for these races are chosen in primaries. The cash raised and held in escrow is given on to the Democratic nominees proper after they win their primaries, giving them an essential infusion of assets the second they start their common election campaigns.
On the state degree, we again candidates for secretary of state since these officers are charged with defending the voting rights Republicans are all the time desperate to suppress. We additionally assist candidates for legal professional common as many Democrats who maintain this submit have been leaders in courtroom battles towards regressive insurance policies.
As well as, we assist candidates for state supreme courts. These courts rule on points touching each side of day by day life, together with abortion rights, local weather change, and gerrymandering. That makes it vitally essential that we make sure that impartial, fair-minded justices—and never conservative ideologues—sit on the bench.
We additionally endorse organizations selling progressive poll measures starting from defending marriage equality to increasing Medicaid.
Once in a while we’ve gotten concerned in different kinds of races, resembling these for important legislation enforcement posts just like the 2016 election for sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona—a submit that the infamous Joe Arpaio lastly misplaced.
Whereas it’s all the time attainable that we’d broaden our endorsement program, these classes by and enormous are those through which we recommend. For one, there’s a restrict to how deep into the weeds we will go—although we’ve grown tremendously, we’re nonetheless a small, lean operation. Every day Kos’ viewers can be primarily nationwide in its focus, so our endorsements purpose to be as effectively: Even state races closely affect points resembling voting rights and redistricting.
We solely endorse Democrats
Every day Kos has all the time been, and can all the time be, a Democratic website. The one exceptions we ever make are in formally nonpartisan races (resembling these for sure state supreme courts) through which candidates run with out formal occasion labels. In such instances, we could assist candidates who’re backed by native Democrats and progressive organizations.
We need to beat Republicans!
In an effort to win again energy we have to decide up Republican seats, so our sturdy choice is to endorse in races both with Republican incumbents or Republican-held open seats. Typically, when weak and demanding Democratic open seats are on the road, we’ll get entangled in these races as effectively.
We’ll often assist at-risk Democratic incumbents we’re particularly keen on, however for essentially the most half we avoid Democrats looking for reelection just because they’ve far higher entry to assets than challengers do. And we don’t endorse Democratic incumbents in protected blue seats: Our scarce assets must go towards defeating Republicans.
We respect native voters
Typically talking, we don’t get entangled in contested Democratic primaries as a result of we don’t need to be perceived as an enormous nationwide group bigfooting into a neighborhood race and telling people what to do—it’s not good for democracy or for Every day Kos. However there are some essential exceptions when it does make sense for Every day Kos to leap into primaries, which we’ll focus on beneath.
We need to cease terrible Democrats
Luckily, there aren’t too many actually crummy Democrats left in our occasion nowadays. But when there’s a very awful Democratic incumbent who’s out of step together with his or her constituents and a very good progressive comes alongside to problem them, then we’ll think about getting concerned. (One instance is stridently anti-choice Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a blue-leaning district in Texas.) The identical goes for terrible Democrats operating in primaries for open seats. These form of races will solely ever be a small a part of our portfolio, although, as a result of our foremost focus is all the time going to be defeating Republicans.
We need to construct our bench and elect office-holders who replicate the Democratic Get together
Electing extra candidates from underrepresented communities is a excessive precedence for Every day Kos. Essentially the most loyal Democratic voters embody ladies, individuals of colour, non secular minorities, LGBTQ individuals, and everybody who isn’t a member of this nation’s dominant class. We as a celebration can solely hope to totally perceive the issues and meet the wants of those communities if we elect individuals from these communities. And when the demographics of our elected officers begin to higher replicate the demographics of our voters, we’ll be on our manner towards a extra simply society.
To attain this aim, it may be essential to get entangled in Democratic primaries, notably because it’s typically tougher for candidates from underrepresented communities to acquire the assets they should compete early sufficient. And it’s not about selecting ideological favorites or saying we’ve an objection to the opposite candidates in these primaries. Slightly, it’s about constructing our bench—and a extra inclusive Democratic Get together. The oldsters who win races for state legislatures finally go on to run for the Home, then the Senate, then the presidency. We need to assist construct up that pipeline of fine candidates.
As famous above, although, we aren’t going to tromp into native races uninvited. If and after we detect actual grassroots enthusiasm behind a specific candidate, then we’ll take that as an invite to get entangled.
We need to get good bang for our buck
If we will ship, say, $10,000 to a specific candidate, that cash will go lots additional in a race the place the whole funds is $1 million slightly than $10 million. Because of this we will have a much bigger affect the additional down the poll we go. In a troublesome particular election for the New Hampshire state Senate in 2017, as an illustration, we offered totally 13% of Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh’s complete fundraising; Democrats flipped the Senate from Republicans the next yr.
By the identical token, we’re typically disinclined to assist self-funding candidates. Candidates who can draw on their very own private assets merely want much less assist than those that can not.
Nonetheless, given their significance, we will’t simply ignore dearer races resembling these for Senate or governor, so we get entangled there, too—and given the spectacular measurement and generosity of the Every day Kos group, we will have an actual impact even on big-ticket races. It’s all about placing the proper steadiness.
We need to assist candidates who aren’t getting a ton of consideration
Once more, a number of the races we recommend in will likely be high-profile contests. However we additionally need to assist broaden the taking part in subject as a lot as attainable, and meaning giving some like to candidates who aren’t within the prime tier. We’re ready to do that as a result of this group understands the necessity to embrace longer photographs and readily accepts that with the intention to win, it’s important to take dangers. If there’s the opportunity of a wave election, as there was in 2018, we need to make certain it crests as excessive as it will possibly.
We need to assist candidates who could make a significant affect
As we’ve mentioned, we’re open to tougher contests, however since we’re asking the members of this group to donate cash to candidates, we really feel it’s incumbent upon us to ensure we vet races correctly and solely ask you to offer to those that advantage it. Meaning we take into consideration each candidate high quality and the demographics of the district or state in query.
How we assess each of these items entails a really detailed and sophisticated evaluation, one we’ve frequently honed over 20 years. Briefly, we need to see {that a} candidate is operating a severe race, and that they’re operating in a spot that isn’t implacably crimson. It does us no good to endorse a candidate who refuses to boost cash, as an illustration, or who’s operating in a district no Democrat might ever hope to hold. On the very least, somebody we recommend must be able to placing a scare into their opponent and forcing Republicans to spend cash the place they in any other case wouldn’t.
That’s to not say we don’t imagine Democrats ought to subject candidates in every single place—we must always! However we will’t assist everybody, so we’ve to be selective. Once more, we’re prepared to offer many people a shot who a lot of others would overlook.
We need to elect progressives, however we don’t demand perfection
We’ve all the time taken a heterodox method to supporting candidates, and we’re cognizant {that a} message which may work in a single a part of the nation won’t in one other. We additionally recognize that candidates must be the proper match for his or her states or districts. And moreover, no two individuals will agree on what makes a “excellent” candidate.
We analysis the background of each candidate we think about endorsing to find out whether or not there’s something which may give us pause. We additionally ask campaigns if there’s something of their candidate’s file, or that they’re campaigning on, which may elevate a crimson flag with a progressive group resembling Every day Kos. This permits us to forged the broadest attainable web for potential issues, one thing we couldn’t do even with the longest, most detailed questionnaire.
Campaigns perceive precisely what we imply by our query, and so they’ve been very candid with us as a result of they know an endorsement solely is smart if either side are a very good match. And fortuitously, only a few crimson flags have emerged over time.
That mentioned, there’ll inevitably be some deal breakers. One crimson line for us: We received’t again candidates who don’t assist ladies’s reproductive rights. Luckily, that’s uncommon to see amongst Democrats nowadays. If and after we encounter others, we’ll replace this submit as wanted.
How we discover candidates
A small crew of Every day Kos staff with a few years of experience meets often to think about potential endorsements, and when its members are in settlement, Every day Kos will difficulty an endorsement.
As well as, the Daily Kos Elections part of our website covers downballot races as comprehensively as attainable. We now have a crew of devoted election nerds who commit themselves to assessing candidates and races. Info this squad produces is frequently shared with the endorsements crew.
However the place will we get endorsement concepts? From throughout! Endorsements crew members and the Elections division scour the information day by day, speak to educated operatives and activists, and seek the advice of with different members of the Every day Kos workers.
We’re additionally very longing for enter from the Every day Kos group. Even within the universe of workplaces we concentrate on, there are literally thousands of races and much more candidates, and irrespective of how onerous we strive, we will’t presumably know all the pieces ourselves. However Every day Kos members stay in each state and district, and also you’re going to know stuff we merely received’t. Assist make us smarter and make your voice heard by proposing concepts for us. Yow will discover hyperlinks to take action on the prime of this submit.
What we do for endorsees
Every time Every day Kos makes an endorsement, we publish a weblog submit, difficulty a press launch, ship an e-mail to our listing of members, and promote the endorsement on social media. We write about and lift cash for each candidate we recommend on ActBlue, and the place we will, we additionally assist direct volunteers (whether or not digital or in-person) our endorsees’ manner utilizing the platform MobilizeAmerica.
In different phrases, we ask you, the superb members of this superb group, to half along with your money and time to assist make a distinction. We’re continually humbled by the belief you place in us.
We additionally all the time encourage candidates to return weblog themselves at Every day Kos—and to stay round in feedback and reply questions. In the event that they’d spend an hour at a fundraiser urgent the flesh, it’s equally very important for them to spend an hour at Every day Kos speaking to extremely motivated activists, and that is exactly what we inform them. Every day Kos may also be a good way for candidates to get their message out past the attain of conventional channels.
Observe: Potential endorsees have to be listed on ActBlue as that is the one fundraising platform that works with our methods.
