Vote as if democracy depends on it
A guide to making an impact, while you still can
Mid-term elections generally don’t feel terribly consequential but 2022 is different. Rights are being withdrawn; Mitch McConnell’s decades-long project to put anti-abortion justices on the Supreme Court has resulted in the Dobbs decision overturning Roe. And democracy itself is under imminent threat; a former president conducts himself as though laws don’t apply to him, continues his efforts to cast doubt on the democratic process and has refused to concede his unpopularity on a seemingly tireless drive to have himself appointed Emperor of the United States. Which way the toss-up seats in congress land matters; we already see Lindsey Graham introducing legislation to ban abortions. There are numerous election deniers running for governor, attorney general and secretary of state offices across the United States; these are offices that have direct impact on how accessible voting will be and ultimately whether the votes will even be honored.
The contents below are largely derived from a recent review of the Cook Political Report ratings, explorations of Ballotpedia and States United Democracy Center. If you’re interested in digging more into how these candidates are supported, I recommend checking out Follow The Money. There is one month left before voting wraps in November. Vote like you mean it. And where you can’t vote, support candidates who will defend democracy and human rights.
U.S. Senate
Let’s not forget the republican incumbents in the senate who repeatedly put their party above country when they failed to vote for the conviction of Donald Trump; not once but twice. The first occasion, in 2019, concerned an egregious abuse of power as Trump attempted to engage in a quid pro quo; withholding aid to Ukraine until the Kiev government announced an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden. The second, scarcely over a year later, was when Trump was impeached for inciting the January 6th insurrection. In both cases, the republicans in the senate were derelict in their duty. In these senate races that are mostly likely to be pivotal, there are either republican incumbents who sold out America or challengers who are fame-seeking opportunists (though the incumbents aren’t innocent there either).
Florida
- Support: Val Demings
- Stop: Marco Rubio
Georgia
- Stop: Herschel Walker
- Support: Raphael Warnock
North Carolina
- Support: Cheri Beasley
- Stop: Ted Budd
Ohio
- Support: Tim Ryan
- Stop: J.D. Vance
Pennsylvania
- Support: John Fetterman
- Stop: Mehmet Oz
Utah
- Stop: Mike Lee
- Support: Evan McMullin
Wisconsin
- Support: Mandela Barnes
- Stop: Ron Johnson
U.S. House of Representatives
If you care about stemming the tide of authoritarianism, there are a number of toss-up races for congress with Trumpist ideologues (or at least, enablers) on the ballot. These are among the many places where your vote, volunteer efforts and financial support can throw human rights and democracy in America a lifeline, especially in the battleground states.
Through the magic and travesty of gerrymandering, there are many congressional districts where the republican hold is more or less an immovable object. However, there are races where there are the greatest opportunities for impact, so we’ll focus on supporting these candidates:
Alaska
- AK-1 Mary Peltola
California
- CA-13: Adam Gray
- CA-27: Christy Smith
- CA-16: Jim Costa
Illinois
- IL-17: Eric Sorensen
Indiana
- IN-1: Frank Mrvan
Kansas
- KS-3: Sharice Davids
Maine
- ME-2 Jared Golden
Michigan
- MI-7: Elissa Slotkin
- MI-8: Dan Kildee
Minnesota
- MS-2: Angie Craign
Nebraska
- NE-2: Tony Vargas
New Hampshire
- NH-1: Chris Pappas
Nevada
- NV-1: Dina Titus
- NV-3: Susie Lee
- NV-4: Steven Horsford
New Mexico
- NM-2: Gabriel Vasquez
New York
- NY-19: Josh Riley
Ohio
- OH-1: Greg Landsman
- OH-9: Marcy Kaptur
- OH- 13: Emilia Sykes
Oregon
- OR-5: Jamie McLeod-Skinner
Pennsylvania
- PA-8: Matt Cartwright
- PA-17: Christopher Deluzio
Rhode Island
- RI-2: Seth Magaziner
Texas
- TX-28: Henry Cuellar
Virginia
- VA-2: Elaine Luria
Washington
- WA-8: Kim Schrier
Just for good measure, there are a handful of especially awful characters who have no business being in congress:
- Lauren Boebert is a pistol fellating joke and she has to go, support Adam Frisch to replace her
- Matt Gaetz would sell his mother if he thought it’d advance his station in life, support Rebekah Jones to send him packing
- Marjorie Taylor Greene is a disgraceful specimen support Marcus Flowers to render her unemployed
- Jim Jordan might be mistaken for a rabid dog but that would be an insult to dogs, support Tamie Wilson to put him back in the hole he slithered out of
Statewide Races
One of Donald Trump’s attack vectors against democracy was to have state congressional delegations throw out their state’s certified results and allow the state’s congressional delegation decide which way their electors would go. The idea was that state delegations that were majority republican would be enlisted in the coup attempt. We must foreclose on that possibility in 2024 by turning more of those delegations blue.
Some of these candidates have little prospect of success of winning their elections but many of them do; some are even enjoying the electoral advantages of incumbency. What follows are races where there’s an election denier on the ballot and an opponent who represents a bulkhead protecting democracy. These democracy defenders are not all perfect candidates; it’s tough to fully endorse all of them but on the other hand, if conspiracy theorists, demagogues and fascists are allowed to strengthen their foothold in American life, authoritarianism wins
These statewide seats of power may not be individually consequential in presidential races. However, in aggregate they can sway the outcome one way or the other. Secretaries of State set the parameters for how ballots are accessed and ultimately counted. Attorney Generals are the top law enforcement authorities for the state, they hold the powers to investigate, challenge or indulge election fraud claims (or shams, as was the case with Trump’s claims in 2020). And of course, the Governor is anointed with executive powers for the state government.
Alabama
- Governor
- Election Denier: Kay Ivey (incumbent)
- Democracy Defender: Yolanda Flowers - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Steve Marshall
- Democracy Defender: Wendell Major - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Wes Allen
- Democracy Defender: Pamela Laffitte
Alaska
- Governor
- Election Denier: Mike Dunleavy
- Democracy Defender: Les Gara
Arizona
- Governor
- Election Denier: Kari Lake
- Democracy Defender: Katie Hobbs - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Abraham Hamadeh
- Democracy Defender: Kris Mayes - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Mark Finchem
- Democracy Defender: Adrian Fontes
Colorado
- Governor
- Election Denier: Danielle Neuschwanger
- Democracy Defender: Jared Polis
Connecticut
- Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Dominic Rapini
- Democracy Defender: Stephanie Thomas
Florida
- Governor
- Election Denier: Ron DeSantis (incumbent)
- Democracy Defender: Charlie Crist - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Ashley Moody
- Democracy Defender: Aramis Ayala
Idaho
- Attorney General
- Election Denier: Raúl Labrador
- Democracy Defender: Tom Arkoosh
Indiana
- Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Diego Morales
- Democracy Defender: Destiny Wells
Iowa
- Governor
- Election Denier: Kim Reynolds
- Democracy Defender: Deidre DeJear
Kansas
- Governor
- Election Denier: Derek Schmidt
- Democracy Defender: Laura Kelly - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Kris Kobach
- Democracy Defender: Chris Mann
Maine
- Governor
- Election Denier: Paul LePage
- Democracy Defender: Janet Mills
Maryland
- Governor
- Election Denier: Dan Cox
- Democracy Defender: Wes Moore - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Michael Peroutka
- Democracy Defender: Anthony Brown
Massachusetts
- Governor
- Election Denier: Geoff Diehl
- Democracy Defender: Maura Healey - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Rayla Campbell
- Democracy Defender: William Galvin
Michigan
- Governor
- Election Denier: Tudor Dixon
- Democracy Defender: Gretchen Whitmer - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Matthew DePerno
- Democracy Defender: Dana Nessel - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Kristina Karamo
- Democracy Defender: Jocelyn Benson
Minnesota
- Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Kim Crockett
- Democracy Defender: Steve Simon
Nevada
- Attorney General
- Election Denier: Sigal Chattah
- Democracy Defender: Aaron Ford - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Jim Marchant
- Democracy Defender: Francisco ‘Cisco’ Aguilar
New Mexico
- Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Audrey Trujillo
- Democracy Defender: Maggie Toulouse Oliver
New York
- Governor
- Election Denier: Lee Zeldin
- Democracy Defender Kathy Hochul
North Dakota
- Secretary of State
- Election Denier: Charles Tuttle
- Democracy Defender: Jeffrey Powell
Oregon
- Governor
- Election Denier: Donice Noelle Smith
- Democracy Defender: Tina Kotek
Pennsylvania
- Governor (appoints the Secretary of State)
- Election Denier: Doug Mastriano
- Democracy Defender: Joshua Shapiro
Tennessee
- Governor
- Election Denier: Bill Lee
- Democracy Defender: Jason Martin
Texas
- Governor
- Election Denier: Greg Abbott (incumbent)
- Democracy Defender: Beto O’Rourke - Attorney General
- Election Denier: Ken Paxton (incumbent)
- Democracy Defender: Rochelle Garza
Vermont
- Governor
- Election Denier: Kevin Hoyt
- Democracy Defender: Brenda Siegel - Secretary of State
- Election Denier: H. Brooke Paige
- Democracy Defender: Sarah Copeland Hanzas
Wisconsin
- Governor
- Election Denier: Tim Michels
- Democracy Defender: Tony Evers
In Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is not an election denier. In fact Donald Trump has directed ire his way because he didn’t go along with the stolen election sham. However, Stacey Abrams has done far more to promote democracy and ballot accessibility than Brian Kemp ever has or will. So the candidate to support there is Stacey Abrams.
There are a number of challenges facing America. Climate change, socio-economic inequities, gun violence and energy policies are all, if not existential, threatening our quality of life. The root of the problems afflicting American democracy is a broken campaign finance system; we shouldn’t have to engage in financial combat special interests but it is where we are for now. Vote as if democracy depends on it, because it does. And where you can’t vote, contribute to advancing candidates who will stand up for America and freedom.