Countdown to Elections 2020: A Cheatsheet to having no regrets knowing I did everything I could

It’s been 1,377 days since Trump was elected to lead our country. I thought I could imagine the extent of the negative impact he could have on our country and yet I was not prepared for the reality we have experienced. As if you need a reminder, writers from the Post and NY Times have compiled 842 Trump atrocities in eight categories from Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, & Bullying to White Supremacy, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, & Xenophobia as well as Collusion with Russia & Obstruction of Justice, Trump Staff, Administration, and Family Business Dealings. This list doesn’t include the gross negligence in the worse handling the pandemic by an advanced country causing a catastrophic healthcare crisis killing 170K Americans as well as an economic crisis with 51 million Americans out of work today.

There are 78 days left until the US Presidential election. For so much of this presidency, I’ve felt hopeless in the negativity, paralyzed in the scale of offenses, and incapable of driving action and change. With less than three months to go, it’s time for me to get more educated on how my time, voice and money can help turn the tide for this country. I’m writing this article to share what I’ve learned and to invite others to engage in these final days so that none of us have any regret that we didn’t do everything we can to put our country back on track to hope, unity and a position of global leadership.

1. Support Joe Biden & Kamala Harris: We’ve seen a revised energy with Biden’s VP announcement of Kamala Harris. Her selection should mobilize young, female and Black voters. Remember that 30% of eligible Americans didn’t vote in 2016 handing Trump the election per the Pew Study. We need to mobilize the nonwhite, lower-income, younger voters especially in key battleground states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Minnesota per Newsweek and USA Today. Trump still had more cash on hand at the end of June with $113K vs. Biden at $108M but more disturbing, the Republican National Committee has 3x the funds at $100M vs. The Democratic National Committee at $37M per NPR. This is why you might be getting lots of emails from ActBlue so if you have money, please donate. If you have time, handwritten letters to voters in key states can make a difference and you can do this on your own time, with your family, from home. Sign up for a VoteForward account and host a virtual letter writing party with SwingLeft.
2. Swing the Senate: Democrats will likely lose the Senate seat in deep-red Alabama which means we need to flip 5 seats from Republican to Democratic. There are 9 Senate seats most likely to flip the Senate from Republican to Democratic and get Mitch McConnell out of the majority leader seat. As a reminder, McConnell has blocked all smart gun control legislation passed by the House (details) and manipulated the Supreme Court by not holding confirmation hearings in 2016 giving Trump two controversial conservative confirmations: Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. My politically savvy friend Caroline Donahue who is on the board of the amazing Emerge America did an assessment of money and polls this week. If you have money, these seven Democratic challenger Senator candidates polling well but under-funded relative to Republican dollars so your money will have the biggest impacted on these races: Cal Cunnigham (North Carolina), Steve Bullock (Montana), Theresa Greenfield (Iowa), Barbara Bollier (Kansas), Jaime Harrison (South Carolina), Jon Ossoff (Georgia) and Sarah Gideon (Maine). I had a chance to hear from all but one of these candidates last week at a National Gathering to Flip the Senate where we raised $1.3M for their campaigns. Mark Kelly (Arizona) and John Hickenlooper (Colorado) are looking good and Amy McGrath who is challenging Mitch McConnell in Kentucky is well funded but will have a hard time winning in deep-red Kentucky. If you have time, SwingLeft coordinates letter writing and virtual volunteer events.
3. The House of Representatives: Although we will likely keep the majority in the house, we will both win, flip, and lose specific seats. Find House candidates in tough races or in districts you love and support them. Check out the Battle for the House 2020 at RealClearPolitics for polling and a Google quick search will give you the money raised via their opponent.
4. Mail-in Ballots: Of course, news that the Postal service is warning nearly every state it may not be able to deliver mail-in ballots in time based on current election rules is terrifying per CNN and the Post. Change.org has multiple active petitions to demand states to enable safe vote-by-mail in every state and Michelle Obama has been active with When We All Vote which could use your donation. Encourage your community to mail ballots early — understand the process for your state and amplify. Also, be a poll worker if you can do it safely.
5. The Census: The census closes at the end of September so be sure you and your family have completed it and/or volunteer to be a census worker.

I’m no political expert. I’ve been overwhelmed with emails asking for money but looking for a cheat sheet on how to maximize my impact so I have no regrets on November 5th knowing I did EVERYTHING I could with my money and my time to get rid of Trump and flip the Senate so we can begin the long road to repair our country from our current health, economic and trust crisis. The hope is we amplify our voices, views, candidates on social media because unfortunately, this one of the Republican’s strengths. Please leave a comment below on feedback and what more information you need to be informed, engaged, and active so you too know you did everything you could by the time we hit election day in November.