The California Democratic Party today launched a statewide campaign to recruit hundreds of Democrats to run for local office, with a targeted focus on non-urban areas where GOP incumbents often run uncontested. This is part of a national campaign by Contest Every Race to ensure that no Republican goes unchallenged up or down the ballot.
The program utilizes text messages, coaching calls and in-person organizing meetings to identify and mobilize Democrats to run for local office, with a particular focus on geographic areas where a high percentage of Republicans go uncontested – outside of major urban areas.
The California Democratic Party, County Democratic Parties, and Contest Every Race are launching this program as evidence continues to build that having more Democrats running locally boosts Democratic turnout and enthusiasm, which can translate to increased votes to ensure Democrats win CA congressional races key to taking back the House of Representatives.
The 2024 candidate recruitment program is targeting 774 local races across the following 31 counties: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Ventura, Yuba.
The program aims to recruit at least 105 Democrats who haven’t run for office before to file by the August deadline via a broad outreach campaign. Targeted races include city council, city treasurer, mayor, city clerk, and other local races.
Since its inception in 2018, the Contest Every Race project has recruited over 7,000 Democrats to run for local office nationally, with 40% of candidates winning their races.
Yvette Martinez, Executive Director of the California Democratic Party, remarks:
"As we launch our campaign to recruit local candidates across California, we're driven to include leaders from every part of our state – from rural communities to urban centers. We contest every race because California Democrats are committed to an economy that works for everyone. We believe that every person should have fair access to improve their lives through good paying jobs, affordable housing, quality education, universal and exceptional healthcare, racial justice and protections against the impact of climate change. We are proud to partner with Contest Every Race and focus on every single corner of California.”
Lauren Gepford, Executive Director of Contest Every Race, says:
“A core value of Contest Every Race is to work in places where Democrats often go overlooked. Democrats in rural California deserve the attention, support, and resources that lead to political and organizational wins. When Democrats don’t compete - we don’t give communities the choice to elect leaders who will fight for California’s most vulnerable communities and protect working families. Every California voter deserves a choice, no matter their zip code. We are thrilled to launch this joint recruitment effort with the California Democratic Party. I look forward to witnessing emerging leaders from the Golden State fight for affordable housing, excellence in CA schools, and protections for working families.”
For more information, contact:
Daniel Jubelirer, daniel@movementlabs.com, 919-619-5795
###
Contest Every Race, a project of Movement Labs, recruits Democrats to run in otherwise uncontested local races, and operates a national rural organizing support program to net votes for Democrats in the 2024 election.
