ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Courage Campaign and Flip the 14, two organizations with active field and digital campaigns in California working to help defeat Republican Members of Congress in the state, today announced that they are partnering through the June election to mobilize voters in CA-39, CA-48, and CA-49. Those three swing districts are all at serious risk of two Republicans advancing to the general election under California’s top two jungle primary.
The two organizations will make more than 50,000 voter contacts through a joint phone and text bank campaign, with a special focus on new voters and voters who might otherwise skip midterm elections.
Volunteers interested in signing up to phone bank (Click here).
Volunteers interested in texting (Click here).
Volunteers interested in emailing people they know in these districts (Click here).
“More than ever before, in 2018, California counts. On June 5, CA-39, CA-48, and CA-49 are the three districts where Democratic voters most need to show up and be counted so we will win back the House in November,” said Eddie Kurtz, Executive Director of Courage Campaign. “Unfortunately, there’s a very real chance that these swing districts will not see a Democrat advance to the general election under the Top Two primary system. Voters need to know what’s at stake: California will put a check on the corrupt, bigoted Trump administration if we stand up for our values and demand representatives that share those values. That’s why we’ve joined forces with Flip the 14 through the primary to reach the voters who need to know how much they count.”
“There are good Democratic candidates in all three districts, and enthusiasm is high. But the simple math is this: in each district, Republican votes have mostly consolidated behind two candidates, which means the top two vote getters in the primary could be Republicans if we don’t boost Democratic turnout,” explained Doug Linney, Campaign Manager and Co-Founder of Flip the 14.“Working together, Flip the 14 and Courage Campaign will do everything we can to see a Democrat win in CA-39, CA-48, and CA-49.”
Neither organization has endorsed a specific candidate in CA-39, CA-48, or CA-49. Rather, volunteers are reaching Democratic base voters, like young people, union households, and communities of color, especially women, with a message focused on the impact of the top two primary and the profound importance of voting for a leading Democrat for Congress, in the hopes that a Democrat rises to the top two in each race. Multi-lingual volunteers will help reach voters who are more comfortable speaking in languages other than English.
On Tuesday, the Cook Political Report shifted CA-39 and CA-49 from “lean Democratic” races to “toss ups”, because of the top two risk. CA-48 was already listed as a “toss up”. CA-39 and CA-49 are currently represented by Rep. Ed Royce (R) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R), who are both retiring and not seeking re-election. CA-48 is represented by the embattled and vulnerable Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R).
Dr. Donald Green, nationally recognized professor of political science at Columbia University and specialist in uses of field experimentation to study the ways in which political campaigns mobilize and persuade voters, will be studying the results of the phone banking, texting, and peer-to-peer emailing programs included in this partnership.
For more information on the Courage Campaign and its #CaliforniaCounts campaign, please visit https://CAcounts.org. For more information on Flip the 14, please visit http://www.flipthe14.com.
# # #