DAY THIRTY - CAL CUNNINGHAM

Sep 28

Day Thirty | Cal Cunningham | North Carolina Senate
695 Sawbuck Patriots | $7348 pledged today | $249,255 donated overall

Team:

THE SITUATION: North Carolina is basically political ground zero. Really. No kidding. The NY Times had an article last week entitled "The White House, Senate and Supreme Court Could All Hinge on North Carolina." You know some of this already; we've donated to a Statehouse candidate in NC that is critical in the long arc of winning back our democracy.

And this isn't just the NYT's and my opinion. More $$$ has been spent in NC on TV ads than in any other state. The incumbent R Senator has said, out loud, to voters, "No one believes we can keep a Senate majority unless we win North Carolina." And North Carolina's Senate race is likely to be the most expensive Senate race in the nation this year.

And we've got a shot here. The demographics in North Carolina are changing - lots of folks moving to the fast-growing suburbs from out of state feel negatively towards Trump, and most of the new voters who arrive in NC are registering as no party preference. While six percent of D voters are undecided as to whether they'll vote D or R, a dozen percent of Rs haven't yet made up their minds - that's a helpful stat. Biden is statistically tied in the polls with Trump, and the D Senate candidate consistently polls just ahead of his R opponent.

While Rs have won all but one Presidential since 1980 (Obama's win in 2008 is the sole exception), few of those have been blowouts, and the stage is set for a stronger D wind to blow this year than in recent times.

THE COMPETITION: Thom Tillis. A first-term Senator who has decided to tie his fortunes to Trump's. ALL his fortunes. Before Coney Barrett was announced, he slavishly said he'd support whomsoever the President nominated. He has said that the administration is treating COVID-19 like a "serious crisis". Anti-choice, on the record in favor of encouraging the shaming of Americans on public assistance, is somehow still unclear about whether humans contribute to climate change, proud of his A+ rating from the NRA, has voted to repeal Obamacare, cool with a border wall (after originally being against one!), and led NC (as speaker of the NC House) in attempting to ban universal marriage AND civil unions.

His bottom-line appeal to voters here is this: don't let Chuck Schumer get to be Senate Majority Leader. (Narrator voice: "That's not a platform, Senator.")

OUR CANDIDATE: Cal Cunningham. Smart fellow. Good profile for NC. Born in Winston-Salem, grew up in Lexington. Graduated from UNC. Got a Master of Science in public policy and public administration from the London School of Economics. Got his JD from the North Carolina School of Law.

And armed with all those degrees, he ran for State Senate. He was NC's youngest legislator. While serving, he served in the Army Reserve, and has been stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, amongst other postings.

He supports Obamacare, slashing carbon emissions with attached deadlines, and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. Sure, North Carolina Democrats aren't as liberal as those in San Francisco and New York, but he's getting enormous support from the pragmatic Dems who realize that he's well-suited for his state's more moderate politics. Also, he doesn't vote with Trump 93.4%, as Thom Tillis does.

Based on the politics, the changing demographics, the strength of our candidate, and the intense national focus on North Carolina, THE MATH SAYS CAL CAN WIN.

Sawbuck Patriots, it’s go time: click HERE and send $10 (or more) to Cal's campaign. Our collective effort will invest $7348 today.

Thank you.

- Alex

Alex Clemens

DAY THIRTY - CAL CUNNINGHAM

Sawbuck Patriots, it’s go time: click HERE and send $10 (or more) to Cal's campaign. Our collective effort will invest $7348 today.

DAY THIRTY-ONE - KATE SCHRODER

DAY TWENTY-NINE - RAFAEL WARNOCK

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