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swing states
Climate Group Reaches Over 4 Million Voters to Elect Harris Then 'Organize Like Hell'
"Young people know what's at stake in this election," said one Sunrise Movement leader.
Nov 05, 2024
After setting out to reach 1.5 million young voters between late August and Election Day, the youth-led Sunrise Movement announced Tuesday that it made over 4 million voter contacts with a campaign targeting seven battleground states.
"Sunrise's program focused on presidential swing states where young, climate-minded voters were poised to decide the election: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Georgia," explains the group's new report. "Our voter contact universe was made up of people under the age of 35 who were very likely to be concerned about climate change."
The report lays out how Sunrise—sometimes partnering with other progressive groups—reached voters via digital advertising, phone calls, text messages, and door-knocking.
"We have six years left to stop catastrophic climate change. The next president will shape the planet for generations to come."
"I'm blown away by how many people stepped up to help us reach a record number of young voters this fall," said Sunrise communications director Stevie O'Hanlon in a statement. "We set a goal of reaching 1.5 million voters, and we blew past that goal, surpassing even our 2020 reach."
The report notes that this past spring, polls showed some young voters backing former Republican President Donald Trump over Democratic President Joe Biden—who dropped out and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris this summer—but Sunrise "employed a four-part strategy to turn these numbers around."
The strategy was:
- One of the largest youth voter programs nationwide;
- Use direct action and social media to spotlight the GOP's deeply unpopular climate policies;
- Pressure Democrats to back and emphasize policies that would motivate young voters; and
- Make the case to young progressives and disillusioned voters to vote for Harris.
Trump made clear that he would drive up emissions with plans to "drill, baby, drill" and pledged to roll back the Biden-Harris climate policies if fossil fuel executives poured just $1 billion into his campaign. While Harris is widely endorsed by green groups, she has worried some with her embrace of hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—and promotion of "the largest increase in domestic oil production in history."
Still, many organizers for climate action and other key issues—including Israel's U.S.-backed genocidal war on the Gaza Strip—have emphasized during this cycle that Harris is the best choice and the only candidate capable of denying Trump another term.
Sunrise's report acknowledges that "from the war in Gaza to the economy, frustration and disillusionment among young people is at historic levels. This has led many young voters to consider voting for third parties or sitting out altogether."
"We held 'Beyond the Ballot' trainings to dig into our four-year plan to win bold climate action if Harris wins," the publication says. "In those sessions, we dug into how much harder these plans would be under a Trump presidency."
"Through phone and text conversations, Sunrise directly persuaded thousands of voters in this position to vote for Harris," the report continues. "Sunrise also put out social media and press content making this case. These posts reached over 1.5 million people on Instagram alone."
Sunrise campaign director Kidus Girma declared Tuesday that "young people know what's at stake in this election."
"We have six years left to stop catastrophic climate change. The next president will shape the planet for generations to come," Girma added. "No matter who wins, our movement is stronger than before and prepared to take bold action to force the next president and Congress to act."
The report followed a Monday video in which Sunrise executive director Aru Shiney-Ajay said that "one of the hardest things about this election cycle has been watching the left absolutely rip ourselves apart. If you vote for Harris, you're accused of supporting genocide, and if you vote third party or don't vote, you're accused of supporting fascism—and I wish we would just be a little bit more compassionate to ourselves because the truth is we're in a really shitty situation."
"This system was not built for everyday people to have power; it was not built for the left to be able to build power," Shiney-Ajay stressed, detailing the group's rise—from early climate strikes to Biden launching the American Climate Corps and signing the Inflation Reduction Act—and Sunrise's plans for the future.
"First we elect Kamala Harris, because frankly the terrain that we're going to be organizing under Harris is going to be a lot easier for the next few years," she said. "Then, we organize like hell, especially around school strikes and campus takeovers, and we actually use the student power that we have to be able to go on indefinite school strikes and bring society to the realization that we need dramatic change fast. We pair that with escalations in city hubs."
"All of that builds up to 2028," the movement leader continued, highlighting the United Auto Workers' call for a general strike. That nationwide action, she argued, is an opportunity to call for "big climate legislation, structural reform to our democracy, and labor protections."
Shiney-Ajay added that "we can use that organizing power that we build to call for... a Democratic primary in 2028 to actually make sure that the next candidate that we get running for president is actually going to stand up for the values and the world that we know we deserve."
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'No Democracy Without Press Freedom': Journalism Crisis Found in Key Swing States
"It's critically important to understand the issues confronting the news media in the places that are most pivotal in American presidential elections," said the head of Reporters Without Borders.
Oct 29, 2024
Known for its World Press Freedom Index, the global advocacy group Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday turned its attention to four U.S. states that are expected to be crucial in deciding the winner of the presidential election next week—and found that journalism is grappling with numerous crises in states where voters are especially reliant on the media in the last days of the campaign.
The group, also known by its French name, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), focused on Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Nevada in the report, titled Press Freedom in the Swing States: The Climate for U.S. Journalism Ahead of the 2024 Election, and found that journalists they surveyed were concerned about hostility from local and state officials as well as the "economic viability" of local newsrooms and individual reporters.
"There can be no democracy without press freedom, so it's critically important to understand the issues confronting the news media in the places that are most pivotal in American presidential elections," said Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF USA.
Across the swing states, 94% of respondents said they have found that public officials ignore public records requests or stall in providing records, making reporting difficult and robbing news consumers of information. Arizona officials were found to be the most "egregious offenders," and the state had the lowest overall political score in the report.
The report comes days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said at a rally in Arizona that the press is "the enemy of the people"—recycling comments he frequently made during his presidential term.
Eighty-five percent of journalists in Arizona reported that "leading politicians and political party leaders explicitly insult, threaten, or incite hatred against journalists" and "act in an antagonistic manner towards the media."
"The hostile political environment for the press exacerbates the economic pressures facing media outlets."
But Arizona was one of the swing states surveyed that has made an effort to protect journalistic sources, through a shield law that ensures reporters can protect their sources' identities; the Arizona Media Subpoena Law, which restricts subpoenas against journalists; and a recently strengthened anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) law, which now protects free speech and press freedom.
The same cannot be said for Florida, which does not have a shield law and has only a "vaguely worded" anti-SLAPP measure.
Under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida's government has become increasingly hostile to journalists, with DeSantis championing bills to make it easier to sue media outlets.
"The state is withholding public records about the governor's travel," said an anonymous news director interviewed by RSF. "Violent threats to journalists from the public is a weekly regularity."
The report points to attacks on the media by a number of Florida agencies under DeSantis, including a letter from the state health department to a Tampa TV station that threatened the general manager with jail time if the station aired an ad promoting an abortion rights-focused ballot initiative.
"The hostile political environment for the press exacerbates the economic pressures facing media outlets," said RSF. "It likely also contributes to Florida's serious news desert problem. Over 300,000 Floridians have no local news source, the third highest figure of any U.S. state."
Annual wage data for Florida was not available to RSF, but reporters in Pennsylvania told the group that their biggest concerns are economic and center on whether journalists in the state will be able to continue providing their audiences with news that could affect their lives.
Eight-one percent of respondents in Pennsylvania said that "the average media outlet struggles economically and that journalists are generally unable to earn a living wage." The median wage for journalists in the state is barely half Pennsylvania's living wage, according to the report.
Ninety-four percent of journalists and media experts in the Keystone State also said they were concerned about animosity from politicians and the public, with reporters facing "persistent online harassment" and some reporting a bomb threat that targeted a newsroom, "being followed by unknown agitators," and one incident in which journalists were "in the sights" of a rooftop militiaman with a rifle.
"County commissioners and much of the GOP establishment will not speak with us because they believe we are biased against them, mainly because we reported on local [January 6 rioters], on our congressman voting against certifying Pennsylvania electoral votes in 2020, and our continued reporting on religious and right-wing groups inciting hate against LGBTQ people and all the associated campaigns, such as banning books from school libraries and changing school curricula," one editor told RSF.
Nevada had the highest overall press freedom score, with strong anti-SLAPP laws, widespread news distribution and few news deserts, and a median reporter salary slightly exceeding the state's living wage.
But 80% of respondents in the state said officials stall or ignore public records requests all or most of the time.
Several of RSF's recommendations for legislators centered on increasing government transparency to better allow journalists to do their jobs and to serve the public interest. The group called on legislators to:
- Ensure adequate funding and staffing levels in the offices tasked with responding to public records requests;
- Establish simple, coherent processes with clearly articulated timelines;
- Improve training for officials tasked with processing and responding to these requests; and
- Lead by example at the political level to encourage a culture of transparency.
To help newsrooms cope with volatile economic conditions and dwindling resources, RSF said state legislatures should "innovate new models" including increased public funding, tax rebates for news subscriptions, and policies requiring social media companies to compensate the news media for using their content.
"RSF," said Weimers, "hopes that this report will provide a starting point for all Americans to demand improvements in their states' media ecosystems: greater transparency, better access to information, and a marketplace that enables journalism to thrive."
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Are Top Players in the NBA and WNBA Doing Enough to Defeat Donald Trump?
For example, where is Lebron James now? As far as I can tell, he has said little about the presidential race despite the incredibly high stakes of next week's election.
Oct 29, 2024
Back in 2020--during the BLM protests following the murder of George Floyd—NBA and especially WNBA support for the Biden-Harris campaign played an important role.
Now Kamala Harris—the first Black woman to run as a major candidate—has a very real chance of winning the presidency.
And she is running against a Donald Trump that is even more racist, and angry, than he was in 2020, spreading lies about the Haitian community, promising to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, and publicly calling for a “very rough day” in which police could violently punish suspected criminals—a nod to the racist police brutality that sparked the 2020 protests. He even ranted against President Biden for rescuing WNBA star Britney Griner from Putin’s Russian prison.
This would seem to be an all-hands-on-deck moment for the NBA and WNBA, many of whom care deeply about these things and often act on their convictions. Yet little seems to be happening, especially compared to 2020.
An active campaign by top NBA and WNBA players to support Harris could have a major impact in mobilizing voters...
There are some promising signs.
Back in July many high-profile WNBA players publicly backed Harris.
Both Steve Kerr and Steph Curry publicly endorsed Harris at the DNC Convention in Chicago (both enjoy a Bay-area connection to Harris, a Golden State Warriors fan).
An Athletes for Harris group was recently formed, whose co-chairs include Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Steve Kerr, Candace Parker, Doc Rivers, Dawn Staley, and Chris Paul. Johnson spoke clearly for the group, declaring: “I’m so happy to be a part of Athletes for Harris . . . For all of the athletes out there, don’t be afraid to use your platforms – we need all of you to get involved.”
These things matter.
But there was so much more in 2020.
Back in 2018, when LeBron James was scolded by Laura Ingraham to “shut up and dribble,” he responded: "I get to sit up here and talk about social injustice. We will definitely not shut up and dribble. ... I mean too much to society, too much to the youth, too much to so many kids who feel like they don't have a way out.” In July of 2020 he joined with other players to form “More Than a Vote.” The following month he publicly praised Biden for nominating Harris as his vice-presidential candidate. In October he endorsed the ticket. And in November, he celebrated the Biden-Harris ticket victory.
But where is James now? As far as I can tell, he has said little about the presidential race.
In August, James publicly turned over leadership of “More Than a Vote” to Nneka Ogwumike--a 9-time WNBA All-Star and current president of the players union. The group pledged to focus its attention on reproductive freedom—a theme obviously resonant with the Harris campaign, as James alluded: “I started More Than a Vote to give athletes a place to educate themselves and get active authentically to who we are. It’s only right that this election be about women athletes. We’re all following their lead right now and Nneka is the perfect person for this election. I’m excited to support her vision.” But neither James nor “More Than a Vote” has publicly endorsed Harris. The group’s Instagram account features powerful posts on reproductive freedom, but nothing about the election, even though Trump opposes reproductive freedom and it is the centerpiece of the Harris campaign.
To be fair, like “More Than a Vote,” the NBA has “teamed up” with Power the Polls to promote poll worker volunteerism, and has also promoted non-partisan voter registration. But this is a far cry from making a strong political statement or endorsing the Harris-Walz campaign.
An active campaign by top NBA and WNBA players to support Harris could have a major impact in mobilizing voters, especially in large cities of hugely important swing states. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix—these are cities with major NBA and/or WNBA teams that feature some of the sport’s most revered stars.
Is there a television network in the country that would say “no” to interviews with James or Curry or A’ja Wilson or Breanna Stewart or Candace Parker? Where is the Kamala campaign ad featuring “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Where is the warm-up gear with the slogan “Kamala, We Won’t Go Back?”
One very promising development: Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, two outspoken retired NBA champions, recently hosted Harris on their popular webcast, “All the Smoke.” The 47-minute interview has had 605,000 YouTube viewings in two weeks. It’s a great interview, highlighting Harris’s affinities with millions of NBA fans.
Professional basketball is big business, for the league and for its players. There are serious economic risks to being “too political,” as the recent controversy surrounding Celtics star Jaylen Brown’s exclusion from the U.S. Olympic team because of a dispute with Nike make clear. And NBA professionals are certainly no more “obliged” to take a stand than any other professionals or citizens.
At the same time, many NBA stars, and increasingly WNBA stars as well, are huge celebrities with their own “brands” and media companies. As James himself stated back in 2018, “the Association” furnishes a huge platform for professional athletes to promote social and racial justice. In 2020 these athletes very visibly, and heroically, used this platform at a moment of real decision.
The current moment is perhaps even more serious.
Kamala Harris represents the promise of social justice and democracy.
Donald Trump represents contempt for them and contempt for everyone who does not share his racist and xenophobic vision of “American Greatness.”
The choice is clear. And time is running out.
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