<epresents a promise of opportunity. Through the upcoming midterm elections, we have the chance to challenge the dangerous and harmful actions of the current administration and advance critical progressive policies that will have a tangible impact on the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans.
We can win greater access to high-quality and affordable healthcare. We can enact science-based policies to combat climate change. We can take meaningful action to protect the rights of immigrants and Dreamers. But these goals will not be accomplished on their own. To realize these changes, we must take action, committing ourselves to getting involved on our campus and helping to elect proven, progressive candidates who will advocate for these policies on the local, state and national level.
Turning the House of Representatives blue is the first step towards building a better America, and here in Minnesota’s second congressional district, we are at the front lines. The Democratic candidate Angie Craig lost in 2016 to Republican Jason Lewis in the third-closest race in the nation, coming within two points of Lewis in a formerly safe Republican district where Republicans had previously won by double digit margins.
Since his election nearly two years ago, Representative Lewis has voted with Trump 90% of the time and is only now holding his first town hall—which are only open to a select few constituents who are granted a ticket by Lewis’s office. Angie Craig has committed herself to holding town-hall style events at least once a month once elected, offering a promise of accountability to the citizens of Minnesota’s second congressional district that Jason Lewis has repeatedly failed to meet. In office, Angie will be a progressive voice for our district in Washington. This seat is one of the most likely to flip in the nation, and Carleton students have the power to turn it blue.
In Minnesota, Republicans have been obstructing Governor Mark Dayton’s outlook for a more progressive Minnesota since taking control of the state legislature in 2016. Yet in 2013 and 2014, when the DFL last held a majority in both chambers, Minnesota was able to raise the minimum wage, invest in education and legalize marriage equality. We have the power to vote soon-to-be-endorsed Democrat Todd Lippert into the Minnesota House. We also have the power to elect a Democrat as the next governor with a strong slate of prospective candidates in Tim Walz, Erin Murphy, and Rebecca Otto, all proven progressives.
One only need look to Wisconsin, a state in which the Republican-controlled state government has attacked public sector unions, public education, and voting rights, to understand what is at stake in Minnesota. Further, Minnesota is unique in having two Democratic Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, up for re-election in 2018, races that will be crucial in helping Democrats regain control of the Senate. Up and down the ballot, each of these races represents an important opportunity to advance progressive policies by holding a current Democratic seat or turning a Republican seat blue.
The blue wave will not come in like the tide—it will be the result of the hard work, enthusiasm, and determination of energized young people and students committed to seeing a change in our country. The Republicans’ only hope this year is for us to be complacent and disengaged. CarlDems is counting on you to join us this fall to prove the Republicans wrong and make progressive change possible in Minnesota and across the country. We have the power to build a more just and hopeful future. It is up to us to meet the challenge of 2018 and realize the opportunity of the midterms.
Signed,
The CarlDems Board