We did it, John. We officially held off the Red wave. 

Young voters came out in force to flip seats up and down the ballot. We flipped the Pennsylvania Seat by electing John Fetterman and elected Josh Shapiro as Governor with help from our friends in Pennsylvania Young Dems. We re-elected Catherine Cortez-Masto in Nevada and Mark Kelly in Arizona in nail biting finishes thanks to Young Democrats of Nevada and Young Democrats of Arizona. We maintained control of Senate Seats in New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington while we held onto and even flipped key House Races in states like California, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

We also did incredibly well on the state level front. In Arizona, we elected Katie Hobbs giving Arizona a Democratic Governor and 2 Democratic Senators for the first time in 72 years. In Maryland, we helped elect the first Black governor of Maryland, and the only Black Governor in the country currently, while legalizing recreational cannabis and flipping that seat from Red to Blue. In Massachusetts, we elected the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to be governor in history, while again flipping that seat from Red to Blue. We gave Michigan and Minnesota their first Democratic Trifectas in decades. We also helped re-elect a Democratic Governor to Kansas after we defeated the abortion ban amendment that was on the ballot earlier this year. We helped defeat another abortion ban in Kentucky, while codifying abortion in California, Michigan, and Vermont.

These results could not have been possible without the youth vote. If not for Young Democrats, there would have been a Red Wave. Young voters showed up in huge, unprecedented numbers and surprised everyone who has told us that we are the most unreliable voting bloc in the country. We had not been counted in polling and we had not been counted in the narrative of what this election would result in too many times. We showed up and we shocked the nation. 

We could not be happier that we held onto the majority in the Senate and we closed the gap in the House. However, we are now focusing on Georgia. In the next few days we will be reaching out about our efforts to help the Young Democrats of Georgia re-elect Senator Raphael Warnock in the run off. For now, you can sign up to get our volunteer updates.

Upcoming Events: 

• November 13 - November 19 - Trans Awareness Week 
• November 20 - Trans Day of Remembrance 
• December 6 - Georgia Runoff
• December 9 - December 11 - YDA Buffalo 

Updates:

The 2022 Winter Meeting of the Young Democrats of America will take place December 9th through December 11th in Buffalo, New York.

Our programming will focus on how the Labor Movement built this nation and keeps it running. Since World War II, unions have moved beyond their traditional roles of collective bargaining and representation to a more community-oriented mission of improving the quality of local jobs and the communities they live in. As the home to more than 200 labor unions including the newly formed Starbucks Workers United, Buffalo is a labor town. Since 2003, Buffalo’s union density and representation has ranked in the top 15 in the United States. It's time for us to honor, celebrate, collaborate and learn from those in the movement before us, those in the movement with us while training those who we will pass the baton to next.

IF YOU OR YOUR DELEGATION IS PLANNING ON BOOKING ROOMS,  PLEASE BOOK THEM HERE BY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17! 

The Young Democrats of North Carolina were one of the recipients of the YDA stipend funds that we sent out to help with our chapters organize for the 2022 midterm elections. The Young Dems from the Tar Heel State ran themselves ragged trying to elect Dems up and down the ballot, but especially for the State House. 

There is no better example of this than the Young Democrats of Rowan-Cabarrus who worked incredibly hard to elect Diamond Staton-Williams to the North Carolina House of Representatives by only 425 votes. This was one of only 2 seats to flip from red to blue in the entire state and effectively protected Governor Roy Cooper's veto, managed by Mackenzie Reedybacon from the Young Dems of Rowan-Cabbarus. This will be incredibly crucial when the North Carolina GOP attempts to pass abortion bans in the state next year. 

Congratulations to the Young Dems of Rowan-Cabarrus, NC State Rep-Elect Diamond Staton-Williams, and the Young Dems of NC at large for winning the race and protecting reproductive rights in their home state. 

If you want to help us continue to supply our chapters with funding like this so they can play key roles in elections, chip in here.

YDA Design Request Form

With our new branding, there are obviously going to be needs for new graphics. Our Comms Team is willing and able to help with the majority of requests coming from YDA. These are for official YDA use by YDA Officers, YDA Regions, or YDA Caucuses. The team urges you to have all information in this form completed before you request a design. 

Please allow 3-5 working days for a request to be fulfilled. If a request is urgent, please email Matt Royer at [email protected]. Requests may be edited for grammar and tone, brevity, or brand consistency. 

Don't Forget Your YDA Merch! 

Now's your chance to get your piece of the YDA Rebrand. We have shirts, totes, buttons, and can coolers. Get yours now! 

Go to store.yda.org now! 

Join the YDA Discord!

We're still on Discord! Make sure to join to communicate with fellow YD's across the country! 

Currently, the server will be available for National Committee Members, Appointed Officers, Regional/Caucus Officers, and active members of YDA Constituency Caucuses.

The invite for the YDA Discord Server can be found here.*

Please note that this link may expire in the near future, and subsequent server invites will be emailed out or can be requested to one of the server moderators.

Please note that participation in our Discord server is entirely optional, and no official communication from YDA will occur on this server.

We also recognize that many individuals may be unfamiliar with Discord, which is entirely okay. With that in mind, we encourage you to review this beginner guide to answer many of your questions - many of our moderators on our server are also available to answer questions.

In the News: 

MyNews4 Nevada - November 14 - Nevada for equal rights committee celebrates the passage of Question 1

• We are thankful for those who knocked on doors, made calls, sent texts, and voted to ensure that equality won here in Nevada," said Nnedi Stephens, Campaign Manager for Nevadans for Equal Rights. "Passing the most inclusive State ERA amendment in the country uplifts Nevada as a beacon of light and a model for fighting back against hatred and bigotry in all of its forms.

Financial Times - November 11 - How the youth vote helped the Democrats avert an election rout

• “The Biden administration has done really well in getting moving on issues that are very important to young people, whether that is climate, student loans or marijuana,” said Quentin Wathum-Ocama, the president of Young Democrats of America.

Nevada Current - November 10 - With Question 1, Nevada passes most inclusive states equal rights amendment in nation

• No other state has explicitly prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, according to Nnedi Stephens, the campaign manager for Nevadans for Equal Rights, which advocated for Question 1.
• “Passing the most inclusive state ERA amendment in the country uplifts Nevada as a beacon of light and a model for fighting back against hatred and bigotry in all of its forms,” they added in a statement.

Boston Globe - November 10 - Youth turnout helped Democrats win key races on election night, data show

•  
• Forrest Brungardt, the 19-year-old president of the University of Kansas Young Democrats, recalled his social media accounts awash with his friends, Republican and Democrat, posting about their votes to protect abortion and encouraging others to do the same
• “The most important thing that the Dobbs decision and the abortion amendment did was it kicked in the habit of voting,” he said.

WISHTV Indiana - November 9 - ‘All INdiana Politics’: Midterm Election Analysis

• On the latest “All INdiana Politics,” News 8 talked with Democrat Arielle Brandy and Republican Whitley Yates about Tuesday’s secretary of state election results.
• “We learned in the state of Indiana that unfortunately you can run, and you can break the law…you can also, unfortunately, sexually assault women and you still end up being our secretary of state,” Brandy said.

The Nation - November 7 - Youth Turnout Will Decide the Fate of the Midterm Elections

• These youth voters want to see positive progress on abortion rights, climate change, and the economy. “A lot of young folk are very aware of what is at stake,” said Matt Royer, the communications director for the Young Democrats of America.

WABE - November 5 - Gen Z-led nonprofits encourage young voters to impact Georgia's future

• “It all starts from the ground up,” said Young Democrats of Georgia president Bryce Barry. “It’s so crucial to start getting young people involved now and investing in them early. That’s how you create lasting change.”

ABC News - October 14 - North Carolina's 'boring' Senate race is one of the country's closest: Locals say it's being ignored

• Katherine Jeanes, who serves on the board of the Young Democrats of North Carolina, said that despite the high stakes in the Senate race, they think it's not getting as much media coverage or investment. She noted that Beasley, if elected, would be one of the few Black female senators in the country's history.
• "Despite the incredible stakes, not just for the balance of the U.S. Senate but for electing women of color in the South, we're not getting media to focus down here," Jeanes told ABC News. "Cheri Beasley is a Democrat with a history of statewide electoral success like Raphael Warnock in Georgia and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. But unlike them, she's not facing off against a controversial first-time celebrity candidate."

Anchorage Press - September 21 - The fighting Genevieve Mina

• Depending on the November election outcome, Genevieve Mina could be part of the new generation of young legislators in Juneau. Mina and several other new candidates, like Löki Tobin running for the state Senate, will bring new talent to replace experienced, retiring legislators. Lawmakers like Reps. Chris Tuck and Ivy Spohnholz in the state House, and Sen. Tom Begich in the Senate, are not running again and will pass the torch. That's assuming the November