The Midterms Start Now: Virginia Is a Bellwether
Listen, we heard Trump today at the U.N. talking crazy, but also saying Ukraine can get its territories back, and then some. As in, occupy Russia? We’ll get into all that in this week’s bonus show out later this week for our Patreon members. We’ll also break down the crime cabal of Epstein, Trump, and Russia. More soon.
For now, Happy New Year! 5786, to be precise. As Jewish families dip apples in honey and blow the shofar, we’d all do well to take inspiration: resilience is the tradition. Which is good, because democracy needs that same resilience right now.
Fox News will tell you New York is a crime-hive communist brothel, while Donald Trump–the convicted felon, enthusiastic coup-plotter, and Orban fanboy–cheers on Christian nationalism like it’s a Russian gift basket of underage girls. Thanks to Trump, RFK Jr.–a human centipede of conspiracies–used our tax dollars to declare war on Tylenol. MAGA and their Christian nationalist Charlie Kirk tent revival want to drag us back to an idealized 1950s where everyone smoked indoors for their health and also had polio.
With MAGA using Charlie Kirk’s laser light show memorial to fire up their base, we must and can fight back. That all-important work is in the states. Look to Virginia: a bellwether of the 2026 midterms. This week’s guest, Shawn Werner, Organizing and Political Director of Sister District, joins Gaslit Nation to explain why the 2026 midterms start now. But will we even have elections?
Here’s some hope: groups like Sister District and the Democracy Security Project are training volunteers, protecting elections, and building the infrastructure we need to out-organize the new Jim Crow. Races to watch on election night, for any indication of a blue and angry red MAGA-regrets wave, include Kimberly Pope Adams in House District 82, Lily Franklin at Virginia Tech in District 41, and Leslie Mehta’s campaign for the House of Delegates. Win them, and we prove momentum is on our side–and we lay the groundwork to build a victory engine to overcome Trump’s desperate shenanigans in 2026.
Consider this episode your official invitation to Gaslit Nation’s Halloween Party with Sister District on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. We’ll be dressed up in costumes like our lives depend on it and phonebanking for Virginia. Because democracy cannot defend itself. Fight back now, because fighting back in the MAGA Gulag will be infinitely harder. For more on how to join forces with Sister District in these precious days and weeks ahead, and plant seeds of hope wherever you live, check out SisterDistrict.com.
And again, don’t miss this week’s bonus show on Epstein, Trump, and Russia. Look out for that soon. To hear the full bonus show, out Thursday, be sure to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit to get bonus shows, all shows ad-free, invites to exclusive events, and more. Thank you to everyone who supports our independent journalism–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!
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Show Notes:
RSVP for our Halloween Party Phonebank with Sister District October 22 at 6pm ET: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/
Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/zohrankmamdani.bsky.social/post/3lzgxaahz4s2q
ACTION ALERT: Write postcards urging Democratic voters in California to VOTE YES on Redistricting to Save Democracy: https://www.mobilize.us/thirdact/event/777101/
ACTION ALERT: Send a duck to your rep in Congress to ask them to remove “quack” RFK Jr.: https://www.standupforscience.net/quack-o-grams
AOC makes appeal for Democrats' California gerrymander https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/23/aoc-ad-california-gerrymander-00576018
What the Mayor Got Away With Has Already Changed America https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/opinion/trump-eric-adams-corruption.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n08.FYw4.R_lM6WOHHBMh&smid=url-share
Jimmy Kimmel & the FCC: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohPToBog_-g
How We Got Here: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2025/5/27/how-we-got-here
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Zohran Mamdani (00:30):
As the sun goes down tonight, the days of awe begin for our Jewish friends and neighbors. Yamim Noraim. The high holy days begin with Rosh Hashanah when the Jewish calendar turns the year 5786. That number alone speaks of the endurance of this faith over millennia. Its resilience despite wave after wave of persecution. As we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the sounds of the shofar will echo across every corner of our city. From Brighton Beach to Williamsburg to Riverdale, families will gather to dip apples into honey. Yum Kippur will soon follow. On this holiest of days, Jewish New Yorkers will pause to reflect, to atone and to the hard work of looking inwards. It is a tradition we could all do well to emulate, to build a city that feels sweet and learns from what did not work in the past where we are not afraid to admit our failings and to grow accordingly. And where above all, every New Yorker is safe and cherished by the city they love. Shava New York have a sweet New Year.
Andreas Chalupa (01:38):
Our opening clip was Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Muslim Democratic socialist, a Fox news fever dream running for New York City mayor. And he is, oh, so cute. And he has this creative organizing machine and all the ingredients to be the next Barack Obama. And this time he's actually a Muslim. So expect Fox News to be on hyperdrive. That New York City is this lawless hellhole when the reality is the lawlessness is coming from inside the haunted Scottish castle of masked orgies that is Fox News. And that is of course the lawlessness of convicted felon Donald Trump and his criminal cabal of traitors who are trying to use Christian nationalism. And they're being used by the Christian nationalists to overthrow our checks and balances what's left of them, overthrow what's left of our institutions and usher in a Christian nationalist dictatorship that enslaves women non-white people and goes back to some idealized past where everyone has polio.
(03:13):
So obviously you saw RFK Jr, a living, breathing YouTube comment section in the White House standing beside Trump declaring war on Tylenol or whatever for pregnant women as a connection to autism. I have to tell you, because I've looked into autism a lot as a mom myself, and the reason why there's so many cases of autism today is because we simply know more about autism. That is why we have more cases because we know how to diagnose it. And in fact, back in the day, kids who were beaten in school by Catholic nuns and so on for misbehaving may have had autism. That's why they didn't fall in line with the other normies. So thank God we know more about autism. There's not an autism epidemic. This is science, an action improving people's lives and empowering families and educators to give their children the best that they need.
(04:19):
So this is very dangerous because telling pregnant women who are already here in America under so much pressure to conform a certain way and they don't have the support and the resources. I know I've been pregnant in America twice. We have one of the worst healthcare systems for pregnant women in the industrialized world, and people are just awful to you. You have to fight for your maternity leave. So no women should not be guilted and terrorized even more than they already are over Tylenol. When you're pregnant, listen to your doctor. God is willing you have a good doctor. And the slippery slope that sends us down is of course they're going to go after epidurals next, because you women out there, you got to feel the pain of childbirth because that's God's plan or whatever. I'm sure they'll find some Old Testament scripture claiming that they haven't already.
(05:14):
So scary times, I know. But guess who's even scarier? Pissed off people who want their rights, who want their clean water, who want to have a say in how their community functions, who are tired of having these sociopaths lording over us. And obviously you have the AI bomb, the climate crisis bomb, the income inequality bomb, all these crises hitting us at once together by design because it has been a 40 decade plan to get here. We have documented it all here on Gaslit Nation. I will link to in the show notes a montage episode looking at the Far rights 40 plus year plan to punish America for the Civil rights movement and what we do to get out of this. So I'll link to that in the show notes. But in this special episode, I want to start by flagging that we had an incredible gaslit nation salon yesterday with our listeners.
(06:13):
There are folks across the country who were flagging for our community important actions that they can take now to channel your rage and your grief into meaningful action to help us in this moment. Because I'm telling you, Charlie Kirk's disgusting funeral, whatever that was, that was just a pageantry of Christian nationalist fascism that was also a launching pad to get Trump's base ready for retribution against his opponents who are just democracy loving people who believe in our civic duty of voting and freedom of speech and protecting our constitution and improving the experiment of American democracy and not sliding back. And so all of those viewers, they're in that arena and around the world, they're being sent a very clear message. They're being energized, they're being motivated to take action to protect their dear leader in the polls in the upcoming big, big state elections, especially in Virginia and in the midterms. This is what it's all building up to because the one thing our enemies, our the fascists do extremely well is they keep their eyes on the prize, which is building political power. As I've always said on this show, there is no substitute for political power. If you don't have political power, you're not in charge. You're not deciding what values get implemented in our lives.
(07:58):
If you're not building political power, you're on the menu, right? So that's why we have no choice but to do what they're doing and build our own political power. And that's what this conversation, this week's episode is about. More on that in a second. But first I'm passing along to you important information from Gaslit Nation listeners at our salon on Monday. One flagged for us that we, it's all hands on deck to write postcards to democratic voters in California urging them for the love of God. Vote yes on Gavin Newsom's redistricting measure. It is the only way that we can ensure that Republicans don't automatically steal the House of Representatives in Congress by gerrymandering the majority. So to balance out Trump's extreme gerrymandering operation in both Texas and Missouri, we need to unfortunately gerrymander in California to take away house seats from Republicans and turn some swing districts to safe democratic districts.
(09:16):
This is the only chance we have to protect any shot at the house in order to take it away from them in the midterms. Mike Johnson is speaker of the house and he comes from Louisiana, which ranks dead last in all the metrics for quality of life. Do you really want him having control of our House of Representatives paid for with our tax dollars? So join us. I'm doing this. Join the effort here at Gaslight Nation by our listeners to write and send postcards to voters in the state of California, urging them to vote yes on Gavin Newsom's redistricting measure. It is unfortunately, the only way that we need to fight back when the rule book of how things are normally done is on fire right now because MAGA fascism set it on fire. And if you want to stand up for science against RFK Junior's Conspiracy Brain, I will link to an important link from standup for science where you can send a rubber ducky to your rep in Congress or any rep where you can just say, Hey, you need to stand up for science.
(10:27):
Stand up for our kids who need their vaccines and send them a rubber ducky. Why a duck? Because the whole campaign by standup for sciences, stop that quack. RFK Junior. Very cute. So I'll link to that in the show notes. Both campaigns get involved, roll up your sleeves while you're listening to podcast, while you're binge watching whatever. Write some postcards, send some ducks. That's the least you can do. And if we can't all unite and do that now, what makes you think we can fight back in the concentration camps in the MAGA Gulag camps? Now is the time to fight. It gets infinitely harder as time goes on. Alright, so this week look out Gaslit Nation listeners. We're going to have a conversation on the show with Russian mafia expert Ottman looking at Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump and Russia and their transactional crime syndicate nodes of operation and putting it all out there because Trump is openly leading a Epstein coverup for good reason because he is in those Epstein files because Epstein was probably the closest thing Trump ever had to a friend.
(11:40):
And so yes, the real life Q Anon ran through Russia. So we are going to expose that, discuss that on this week's bonus show on Gaslit Nation. Look out for that coming soon. And another big announcement, you are all invited to the hottest Halloween party in the world because the very fate of the world depends on it. And that is Gaslit Nation and Sister District's Halloween party on October 22nd where we are phone banking for must win Virginia, a bellwether state determining how well we do in our ground game in Virginia by making these phone calls, sets victories in motion for the midterms in 2026. But will we even have free and fair elections in 2026? That is the discussion with this week's guest. Sean Werner, Sister District's organizing and political director. Please listen and pay attention to how you can join me and others across our country and rolling up our sleeves and digging in proudly Antifa because why would you be anything else?
(12:58):
The opposite of Antifa is pro-fascist. So let's get out there, make our phone calls, send our postcards to California and join me and Sister district for our Halloween phone bank on October 22nd. I'll put this sign up the RSVP page in the show notes. There are a lot of things that we can do right now that will plant extremely powerful seeds of change. And here is Sean Werner of Sister District breaking it all down for us of why we still have a major, major fighting chance and we cannot forfeit it from despair and the fire hose of terror and chaos that they're deliberately engineering to wear us down, overcome that, reject that and join me in planting these powerful seeds of change for our democracy and for the world.
John Oliver (13:51):
It's frankly, no wonder Trump's a fan of Orban describing him as a great man, a great leader, a very strong man who some people don't like because he's too strong. And I have never been more sure that someone told Trump that Orban is a strong man and he just couldn't get his head around how that could possibly be a bad thing.
Andreas Chalupa (14:12):
I just want to get this out of the way first because we're always saying state races are everything because they're such an important buffer when the Russian asset traders, when the Neo Confederacy literally storms the Citadel our Congress and takes it over through gerrymandering and citizens, United and Russian bots and threats, intimidation, corruption. So it comes down to you, the states. So tell us what is your strategy for saving democracy in this year of 2025 leading up to the big races in November?
Shawn Werner (14:53):
Yeah, and thank you so much for having us on to have this conversation because state elections could not be more important than they are right now. In early 2025, we laid out a cycle strategy, a 20 25, 20 26 plan that we are just working the plan chaos. And while things are happening in the District of Columbia, we are in the States making sure that voters understand the impact that their state legislatures have on their lives and how that can serve as a buffer around what is happening in Washington. Now, can we solve all of the world's problems in state legislatures? Probably not. But in terms of access to abortion, speaking of free and fair elections, we know very well that our elections are run by each of our states. So making sure that our state legislatures are controlled by Democrats so that we have that buffer that we can enforce great laws.
(15:52):
Well, I'm sure we're going to talk a lot about Virginia, but when we were able to flip the Virginia House and the Virginia Senate and have a democratic governor in 2019 and then into 2020, at the time Virginia was ranked one of the worst states in all of America in terms of access to the ballot, they're now in the top 10. That is what happens when we elect Democrats and have democratic trifectas in the state. In fact, Virginians started voting just last Friday. They have 45 days of early voting to make sure that they can find a time to make sure that their voice isn't heard. And so when we laid out this strategy 20 25, 20 26 plan, it was multifaceted, it was win key special elections. We know as seeds are vacated, those special elections serve as a great opportunity for us to demonstrate that the momentum is on our side.
(16:45):
We know that we have to hold the line in Virginia with the slim majority of 51 49. We know we need to hold that majority. We also need to make sure that Abigail Spanberger is elected governor to get that democratic trifecta back. And we had to build for 2026 because we also know that in every midterm election, the party in power of the White House faces significant political backlash. And so what are we going to do in 2025 to build our infrastructure, engage as many people as possible to remind them about the importance of state legislatures and then do that now, do that work so that we can make sure that we take advantage of any electoral pushback and we can maximize the opportunities that we know that exist in states throughout the country. So we've been working that plan since the beginning of the year in terms of how things are going.
(17:42):
I will say Senator Catelin Drey in Iowa winning a seat that Donald Trump won by double digits to turn around and her to win it by double digits. That is a perfect example of when we focus and when we tell the voters exactly what we are going to do for them, that we can have a successful result. And because of Catelin Drey's election, we were able to break the GOP super majority. Governor Kim Reynolds can no longer just unilaterally appoint someone to the head of a state agency. She now needs a democratic vote. And so we're working the special elections, we're working and very excited about the momentum that is building in Virginia. And then we hope to really propel that into legislative wins in 2026 so that we can make sure that we have those free and fair elections even into 2028.
Andreas Chalupa (18:36):
As I'm always telling my listeners, I started as a community organizer in 2004 when Oregon was a swing state, when Colorado was a swing state, when Virginia was a swing state, and now they all get called early on election night. So I believe it is very much in the realm of possibility for Iowa to one day in our lifetimes be a swing state.
Shawn Werner (18:59):
It's hard for folks to remember just in 2018, republicans in Colorado actually controlled our state senate, which meant that it was very difficult for Democrats to really do anything for Coloradans. And then with the help of Sister District and many partners, we were able in that first midterm after the first Trump election, we were able to flip the Colorado State Senate and Democrats here have not looked back. And that is hopefully what we're really aiming to do in 2026, that first midterm after his second election is to win these elections and then to be able to govern for the people from making sure that working families realize that their state government is going to be responsive to their needs. As we see massive healthcare cuts from the federal government, it's our state legislators in these state capitals, they're trying to figure out how can they prioritize their budget because that's what budgets are. It's just a list of priorities and how are they going to prioritize working families recognizing that the cuts at the federal level are going to decimate people's healthcare. And it is Democrats in a lot of state capitals that are really wrestling with that and trying to make sure that they're able to potentially fix that.
Andreas Chalupa (20:16):
So on the ground in these state races in Iowa and obviously Virginia coming up, are your people there in those states, what are they hearing from MAGA regrets voters, if anything? I'm assuming because of these numbers shifting, there must be some like I'm, where's my free IVF? Why did you doge my job? Elon Musk destroyed my 401k. So what are you hearing on the ground?
Shawn Werner (20:46):
Yeah, so I think that let's take those in two different pieces because of the uniqueness of the Commonwealth of Virginia because they have the highest percentage of federal workers working families in Virginia are really, really struggling. In fact, we had an opponent, one of our candidates opponents, Michelle Maldonado's opponent, Christopher Stone actually just recently dropped out. He was a federal contractor. He lost his job, wasn't able to get another job, and so he had to move out of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is a Republican nominee for the House of Delegates. And so those impacts on people's lives doesn't have a partisan feel, and that's very clear. And so we are hearing from folks throughout the Commonwealth that the Doge cuts, we see Winsome Earl Sears trying to avoid this conversation at any opportunity that she can, trying to deflect into social issues and really have a conversation about things that aren't going to improve the lives of working Virginians.
(21:43):
And so that's what I would say that we're experiencing in Virginia and we just need to make sure that those folks understand and see an alternative in their state government. And hopefully we'll see those in just six short weeks in Iowa. I think that people are fired up. I think people really just want someone that is a common sense leader. Catelin Drey is a mom, she works in marketing and she just really wanted to go to the capitol to make sure that there's common sense approaches to government. And I think that that had a resounding success at obviously with the elections in just six weeks we're going to have higher turnout. And so making sure that we're able to communicate to all of those people, but really also making sure that folks that are disaffected with their government that think that the chaos is a reason not to engage.
(22:39):
I just would encourage folks to realize that that lets them win by not engaging, by not taking action. That is exactly what they want. They want us to feel despondent. But I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful because in six weeks I feel good about the elections that we will see in Virginia and New Jersey. There's some special elections in Mississippi and in Minnesota. But I'm also hopeful because that energy will propel us into 2026. And I tell my colleagues all the time, there's just 22 seats across five states that would allow us, if we're able to flip them, allow us to afford 42.5 million more Americans, a democratic state legislature, and from Colorado, as I just mentioned, that impact is massive. And so I'm optimistic and hopeful, but it is also because everyday people are taking actions at Sister District. We have teams of volunteers throughout the country. They actually just flew back from Los Angeles yesterday where we had a massive event for one of our candidates. And it was just absolutely invigorating to see people recognize that they can take action and taking action in community really is I think the antidote in my mind so that we don't feel alone, so we don't feel isolated, and that we can see each person taking that one action, whether it's a phone bank, a postcard, a donation to a candidate doing that collectively just is really empowering and truly hopeful.
Andreas Chalupa (24:08):
I love all that, and I absolutely agree, and you are right. I mean, so Charlie Kirk, his myth, Charlie Kirk's, I don't even know what to call it. With all due respect, obviously we have a very, very serious political violence crisis in America. No one should be murdered for exercising their first amendment right. But the grotesque way the Republican party is taking advantage of this tragedy is extremely dangerous because they told us directly from the stage, Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, that they're going to use this to come after us groups across the left who are just exercising our constitutionally protected rights. I mean, they had a freaking Christian nationalist laser light show to rile up their base. And as we've seen in the reporting, their base is recruiting and training each other to oversee how our votes get counted in these state elections. What is Sister District doing or any of the organizations that you partner with or are aware of? What is the Democratic as in small D, civic action, democratic movement to protect the integrity of how we vote? Because all the work you're doing is vital, but it doesn't matter if you have the MAGA base coming in to sabotage our elections or do what they can to be a pain or intimidate voters. And obviously we've had reports of election poll workers being harassed, intimidated. So what are you aware of in terms of movements efforts to secure our vote to ensure we even have free and fair elections this November and certainly in the midterms?
Shawn Werner (26:02):
Absolutely. That is a great question. And I know that there are a lot of election protection organizations throughout the country that are doing absolutely fantastic work. I think in this moment that feels quite tenuous and scary. I think that we all need to muster our courage and what does that courage look like? I would encourage listeners to look into how to become a poll watcher to try to figure out if there is a courageous way that they can step forward. I mean, working with our candidates throughout the country, these are people like moms and teachers and doctors that are courageously stepping forward and putting their names on the ballot. There's an organization called the Democracy Security Project who we are working with on a partnership to really kind of provide best practices in terms of providing safety and being safe in doing this work. And the folks there are doing absolutely amazing work.
(27:02):
And so I would encourage listeners to look into the democracy security project, and that really is around the physical online security of our elected officials, of our volunteers and of poll workers. And so get trained to make sure that you can do this work safely, find courage to be able to step forward and do the work, and then really kind of engage as locally as you possibly can to be that network of people that are going to secure our votes and our democracy because it really does require an all hands on deck situation. I always say at Sister District, there is just a through line step into volunteering with us in the state legislative space when you can. And if there is something that is calling you that you need to do, it's okay to take a step back and do what is calling you in this work because that will be absolutely necessary as well and will still be doing the work, the hard work in these state legislative races when you have some more free time. And so I think that it is that kind of multifaceted approach that is needed in a moment like this. And that's where I would encourage folks to really explore how to be engaged in their local elections.
Andreas Chalupa (28:18):
What races will you be watching in terms of seeing a bellwether for the midterms?
Shawn Werner (28:26):
Absolutely. So I'll definitely keep my eyes on the Commonwealth of Virginia. One of the things that's the most amazing is just how many amazing women have stepped up to run in these seats that Kamala Harris carried in 2024, but unfortunately, Republicans still hold those seats and some of those folks narrowly lost in 2023. In fact, the five closest races that Democrats won in 2023, flipping the legislature, they were all men. The five closest races that we lost, they were all women. And so seeing women stepping forward, putting their names on the ballots, it will be races like Kimberly Pope Adams running in house district 82 in the kind of Chesterfield area. She narrowly lost in 2023. Will she be able to win that seat? Lily Franklin down in house District 41, which is in a southwestern region with Virginia Tech, there will students come out and propel her to victory after she narrowly lost in 2023.
(29:30):
And then some truly amazing folks like Leslie Metta who's running for the House of Delegates, who previously ran for Congress, she was the Democratic nominee in Virginia's first congressional district in 2024 and just ran an amazing campaign, so much so that we're now seeing other people stepping up to run in a seat that historically folks thought would be a little too far for Democrats to be able to flip it. But because of her leadership, because of her story, folks see opportunity there. It would be really amazing to see her go to Richmond to represent her community. And then obviously making sure that Abigail S. Berger is elected governor so that we can get back to that democratic trifecta that I remember in 2020, it was headlines like Virginia First in the South to codify access to abortion, Virginia first in the South, to extend protections to L-G-B-T-Q, community Virginia first in the South to abolish the death penalty.
(30:26):
That is the fundamental reason why we do this work. Winning elections is fun, but improving people's lives is the reason why we're engaged in this and winning, begets winning. And so as we will hopefully see a democratic trifecta take bold, progressive stances in public policy that will also inspire other folks to engage in their state elections. I'll be watching a special election in Minnesota. Democrats have a very narrow majority in the Minnesota State Senate. There was a vacancy there in Senate District 47. We've endorsed the Democrat in that race, making sure that we're able to win that seat so that we can still maintain our majority.
Andreas Chalupa (31:05):
Was that Melissa Hortman seat?
Shawn Werner (31:07):
No, Melissa Hortman's seat was actually decided just last Tuesday Xp Lee did win that seat. I mean, that's the other frustrating thing in the whole Charlie Kirk conversation is that Melissa Hortman and her dog and her husband were murdered. And that happened on a Saturday morning and it felt like by Tuesday it was a forgotten conversation. And so Xp Lee did that. So Democrats do now have, we're at parity in the Minnesota House, but we do need to win this state senate seat.
Andreas Chalupa (31:37):
To get the majority.
Shawn Werner (31:39):
To get, to maintain the majority.
Andreas Chalupa (31:40):
Win it for Melissa.
Shawn Werner (31:42):
Win it for Melissa. That is right. And then obviously New Jersey and Mikey Cheryl, I would love to see Democrats hold that as well, but there are also some special elections in Mississippi. Their state legislative districts had to be redrawn, and so I'll be looking for some opportunities to potentially break the Republican super majority in Mississippi.
Andreas Chalupa (32:02):
That can happen, but they were redrawn, but the maps were protected, right? In terms of black voters, they weren't drowned out by MAGA gerrymandering. So the maps are relatively fair maps.
Shawn Werner (32:16):
That is relatively, yes...
Andreas Chalupa (32:20):
Relative for Jim Crow, Mississippi.
Shawn Werner (32:23):
Yes, they are better than they were, and there are some opportunities. We're definitely trying to see if there's an opportunity to break the Republican super majority there. That's definitely some research that I have on my plate for the coming days, but there are a lot of elections this fall that will really be indicative of the momentum that is building. And I would hope that with that momentum being built, that your listeners will understand and join us because with the opportunities that exist not only this November, but in 2026, it is an all hands on deck. So I would encourage folks to go to sister district.com/teams. You can find your volunteer team there. If there isn't one in your area and your friends are, you're the political friend, you're the one on the texturing that everyone's asking, what do we do? What do we do? That may mean that there is a team in your community and you are going to be the leader for that team.
(33:20):
And so I encourage you to check out sister district.com/teams to see if there's one in your community to find like-minded folks that are very looking forward to these state legislative elections and recognizing that in these United States that our states really do have tremendous power, especially over elections in our everyday lives, whether that's education policy, whether that's access to abortion care, a lot of our issues that we're real passionate about or decided in our state legislatures. And so join us, like I said, you can pop in when you have some time to do this work, and then if something else calls you and pulls you away, don't worry. We'll be continuing to do this work when you come back.
Andreas Chalupa (34:05):
And very importantly, for the first time ever, sister District is actually getting ready for the midterms now 12 months in advance. Amazing. Could you speak about that?
Shawn Werner (34:17):
Yeah. 58 weeks until election day in 2026.
Andreas Chalupa (34:21):
The mid-terms start now!
Shawn Werner (34:22):
58 weeks, and we got to do a lot of work. So for the very first time in Sister district history, we actually endorsing 2026 candidates. Our alum people that we have worked to get into office, folks like Woodson Bradley, who won her election by 210 votes just in 2024. People like Dante Pittman who won his election breaking the Republican super majority by just 981 votes, if memory serves me correctly on that exact number. But at the end of the year, every campaign will have to report their fundraising for the odd year. And those reports are going to be looked at by all of the insiders in state capitals to try to determine, and especially Republicans try to determine which democratic incumbents could potentially be the most vulnerable. So while a ton of courageous people are probably listening to this and wondering whether or not they are going to run, we know that our incumbents are seeking reelection, that we can help them raise resources to send a message in their state capitals that we still have their back, that we are not going anywhere, that we are going to do everything that we can to return them to their capitals, and hopefully that effort will put them in the strongest position possible so that when those courageous people who decide to take on some of these swing seats and put their name on the ballot, that we can then go help them just really expanding our reach.
(35:51):
And so I would encourage folks to check out our 10 recent endorsements of alumni candidates in states like Arizona, Iowa, Caitlyn Gures on there, North Carolina, Wisconsin. We're only two seats away from flipping the Wisconsin State Senate. I think that there is a clear path, and in that path is Robin Vining who's running for the state Senate. We're proud to be supporting her campaign, but yes, 58 short weeks and we will be at the midterms while...
Andreas Chalupa (36:24):
Are you sure we're even going to have free and fair elections in the midterms? How can we be confident of that, given how Trump, he knows what's coming. He saw the big blue wave in 2018 and he's trying really hard to gerrymander his way into keeping the house. So what reassurance can you give us or what are you seeing that makes it clear that our votes will count in the midterms next year?
Shawn Werner (36:50):
Yeah, I think that that is something that if we allow ourselves to question even our ability to do the work, I think that that's exactly what they want to see. An unprecedented mid decade redraw in Texas, in Missouri, that is about full intention. While it is obviously his opportunity to hold the US House, it's also just to make us think that none of the institutions are going to be able to withstand his pressure. And if we are not doing the work, the work of talking to voters and making sure that we are protecting the vote in each of these states, I think that that allows him to win. And so I would love to be able to tell you and your listeners, Hey, it's absolutely everything's going to be okay. I can't do that. The thing that gives me hope is that by seeing people collectively throughout our nation taking action and trying to stand for our democracy and to protect our democracy, that's what gives us the best shot.
(37:56):
But when I allow myself to get into that dark head space, I realized that I'm letting them win. And so then I talked to one of our volunteers, or I talk to the candidates that still have faith in their community, in their states and in our country to wake up every day to do the hard work, talking to voters, raising the money to get out our message. And so I wish that there was a silver lining and is something that is very simple for me to say, yes, I can promise you that. Unfortunately I can't do that. But what I can promise is that if we all collectively do this work together, we give ourselves the best shot at making sure that our voices will be, that our democracy will be protected, and we can only do that together.
Andreas Chalupa (38:40):
Absolutely. We have to out organize their new Jim Crow.
Shawn Werner (38:45):
That's right. That is absolutely right.
Andreas Chalupa (38:47):
Well, thank you so much, Shawn Werner of Sister District, and we will see you Gaslit Nation listeners at the Sister District Gaslit Nation phone bank on October 22nd. It's going to be our Halloween party, and we're so excited for that. And if you want to get involved with Sister District, I will link to them in the show notes. And please, please roll up your sleeves, chip in, because that is how we win.
(39:10):
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