New Districting Lines = New Progressives?
The results are in! Courage California partnered with Communities for a
New California and Data for Social Good to [ [link removed] ]poll more than 900
registered voters in newly drawn congressional districts 21 and 22 in the
Central Valley. District 21 includes parts of Fresno and Tulare Counties,
and District 22 includes parts of Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties.
Overall, Central Valley voters identify more as Democrat (44% CD21, 43%
CD22) and liberal (36% CD21, 42% CD22). This means these districts are key
opportunities to flip in November!
We also learned that jobs and the economy are the two top priority issues
for voters in both districts, and we will focus on those for the election.
You can read more about our polling in this [ [link removed] ]SF Chronicle article
covering Democratic outreach to Latino voters, and this guest column in
[ [link removed] ]SactoPolitico by Courage executive director Irene Kao and CNC director
of strategic engagement Hatzune Aguilar on how Latinx voters will be key
to flipping these districts.
We will expand our congressional polls to the Inland Empire and Orange
County in August.
Our Winning Strategy For A Safer California
Media coverage of recent retail theft and some violent crimes was nearly
constant for the first half of the year throughout the nation, and the
influence of law enforcement and right-wing media over the public safety
conversation in California resulted in the scapegoating of criminal
justice reforms and elected reformers.
In an effort to reframe the public narrative around community safety,
Courage convened more than a dozen local and statewide criminal justice
reform organizations to develop a [ [link removed] ]California Public Safety
Communications Toolkit and coordinate a community-centered communications
and media strategy that was both proactive and reactive.
For the primary election, we endorsed several reform candidates. We also
produced [ [link removed] ]messaging and graphics to support several partner campaigns,
which were combating false criminal justice and community safety
narratives, including the campaigns to re-elect Contra Costa DA Diana
Becton and fight against the Prop H recall of San Francisco DA Chesa
Boudin. We organized a shared post-primary press release with local
partners on key criminal justice reform race results, including Attorney
General, district attorneys, and sheriffs, which influenced broader media
coverage of the races to be more balanced, especially further out from
election day.
Courage -- It Looks Good on You!
Have you listened to our bi-monthly podcast Courage — It Looks Good On
You! yet? In a series of conversations with leaders from across the state,
our podcast aims to keep Californians informed about important issues like
community safety, environmental justice, and, most recently, the future of
abortion.
[ [link removed] ]“The Future of Abortion Access” episode aired on June 25, one day after
the SCOTUS decision. Nourbese Flint led a conversation with Onyemma
Obiekea, Policy Analyst at Black Women for Wellness/Action Project,
Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice California, and
Sierra Harris, Deputy Director of Network Strategies at National Network
of Abortion Funds, about what the Supreme Court decision means for
California, and how California’s fight to expand abortion rights and
access can be a model for the nation.
Subscribe to our [ [link removed] ]podcast on itunes and Spotify and share it with your
friends and family!
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
Primary Results Are In!
Out of our Voter Guide’s total of 22 endorsed candidates, 15 won their
races or advanced to the top-two general election. Half of them have
fairly straightforward general election races in which they are expected
to win, and half have tough races in which they will face considerable
industry spending against them, especially from Big Oil.
Many of our endorsed district attorney candidates lost in a historic
number of contested DA races in the state. However, Contra Costa County DA
Diana Becton’s re-election was significant because she faced a
conservative, law enforcement-aligned challenger from her own office and
because she is the only Black DA in California. Congrats to DA Becton!
The biggest blow in the primary came with the recall of San Francisco DA
Chesa Boudin, who lost his recall election 55% to 45%. A lot of factors
went into this loss, and through our work with partners we were able to
influence a more nuanced and balanced analysis of what his unseating means
for the future of progressive District Attorneys nationwide. Here are some
articles of interest:
* Sacramento Bee: [ [link removed] ]Progressive DA Chesa Boudin is out, which will
solve none of San Francisco’s problems
* NY Times: [ [link removed] ]Democrats Need to Understand the Real Message San
Francisco Sent
* SF Chronicle: [ [link removed] ]San Francisco voters got rid of Chesa Boudin — and
may soon face a recall hangover
Voter Week of Action
In the weeks leading up to the June 7 primary elections, we organized a
statewide week of action to educate voters about the importance of voting,
culminating in the release of the [ [link removed] ]Courage Voter Guide. Our small but
mighty team published analysis of 110 races up and down the ballot. We
also hosted a Primary Election Power Hour with partners from around the
state to highlight key races and voter resources. Watch the conversation
[ [link removed] ]here.
Overall, over unique users accessed the voter guide – 47.4% of whom were
younger voters aged 18 - 34 years old! We were excited to see so many
voters used the voter guide as a trusted resource, and especially that
half of them were from a traditionally under-engaged demographic.
Courage will release our general election voter guide by early October,
when ballots go out for the November 8 elections, and running GOTV ads
with the goal of increasing statewide voter turnout from a disappointing
33% in the June primary.
Reproductive Justice For All
The close of this quarter brought with it the unimaginable reversal of Roe
v. Wade by the right-wing majority of the Supreme Court, ending abortion
rights for millions across the country. Courage immediately [ [link removed] ]released a
statement calling on all Californians and reproductive justice advocates
across the country to stand together for the rights of all Americans.
Scottie Thomaston, Editor at Courage California Institute’s
EqualityOnTrial.com, wrote a thoughtful blog piece on the issue entitled
[ [link removed] ]SCOTUS: How We Got Here and Where We Go.
We also compiled a list of [ [link removed] ]resources for members to learn how they
might directly support [ [link removed] ]ACCESS Reproductive Justice, the only abortion
fund in California, and take action by [ [link removed] ]signing our joint petition
calling on Google to delete location data that could be used to prosecute
people seeking abortions, which Googlee committed to in early July.
Most importantly, we are encouraging our members to vote their values in
November. Courage California supports Proposition 1 (SCA 10), a
constitutional amendment to explicitly protect the fundamental
constitutional right to abortion and contraception. Also, don’t forget to
[ [link removed] ]sign up for our general election voter guide so that you can see which
federal, state, and local leaders and candidates support or oppose
abortion.
Top 5 Things Californians Need to Know
1. [ [link removed] ]Supreme Court ruling puts target on California gun laws
2. [ [link removed] ]Abortion Rights Constitutional Amendment Heads to Ballot for the
November election
3. [ [link removed] ]Primary Election results will be certified July 15th
4. [ [link removed] ]California will offer health insurance to all undocumented
immigrants
5. [ [link removed] ]LA County Supervisors to ask voters for power to remove Sheriff
Villanueva
What We're Streaming...
[ [link removed] ]"Malcom X" by Spike Lee
[ [link removed] ]Dodgers Baseball
[ [link removed] ]“Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel" , on HBO Max
[ [link removed] ]“The Janes”, on HBO Max
[ [link removed] ]“Irma Vep” , on HBO Max
[ [link removed] ]“Somebody Somewhere" , on HBO Max
What We're Reading...
[ [link removed] ]State of Resistance- What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable
Resurgence Mean for America’s Future, by Manuel Pastor
[ [link removed] ]Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
[ [link removed] ]Woman of Light, by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
[ [link removed] ]How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
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