Voters made a big statement this week: Common sense and human decency are still our values, and we’ll keep showing up to fight extremism head-on.
You’ve probably heard about some exciting election wins, including Virginia electing its first female governor, Abigail Spanberger, and New Jersey electing its first Democratic female governor, Mikie Sherrill. Virginia also chose Ghazala Hashmi as their lieutenant governor, making her the first Muslim woman to be elected to a statewide office anywhere in the U.S.
There were also big wins that will help protect democracy against extremism, like Pennsylvania retaining three state supreme court judges, California passing Prop 50 to fight congressional gerrymandering, and Maine blocking an attempt to restrict their absentee voting.
But let’s also look at some local wins you might not be hearing about, and how voters made a powerful impact in our communities:
- Mary Sheffield was elected as the first woman mayor of Detroit, Michigan.
- Our Suburban Women Problem podcast host Amanda Weinstein won her city council race in Hudson, Ohio.
- 15 Red Wine & Blue members won various local races in North Carolina.
- In the town of Midland, NC, Isaac Davis was elected to the town council by a huge margin – becoming the first Black person to be elected to any position in the town.
- In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which was ground zero for extremist takeovers of school boards back in 2023, the Central Bucks and Pennridge boards were flipped back to commonsense candidates.
- Despite extremists pushing their anti-trans agenda in Virginia, two candidates who will protect trans students – Ross Svenson and Monique Bryant – were elected to school boards in Loudoun and Arlington Counties.
- Ohio also saw commonsense school board candidates beat extremists in Trump-supporting places like Geauga County and Mentor, North Royalton, and Brecksville–Broadview Heights.
- Almost 78% of the school bonds and millages we supported in Michigan passed.
And these are just a handful of the stories we’re hearing!
These wins mean that in these communities, more people will see themselves reflected in their local leadership. Public schools will get the funding they need. Books will stay on classroom and library shelves. Teachers will be free to teach honest and accurate lessons. LGBTQ+ students will feel welcome and supported.
We know about these inspiring, local stories because of our amazing members working on the ground with us year-round in your own communities. You helped make them happen and we thank you for being with us. Take this moment to celebrate these victories and stay tuned – next week we’ll celebrate some more local wins as the stories keep rolling in!
P.S. If you have a little extra time tonight, join us for our virtual RWB Family Meeting to unpack election results and talk about what comes next. You’ll be the first to hear more stories like these from some of the most consequential local races in the country. Grab your bevvie of choice, get comfy, and log in to spend time with the RWB family! If you can’t make it, register anyway and you’ll be emailed the recording to watch when you have time.