Our future depends on who is elected in 2016 — If you are a Progressive, you must start helping down ballot candidates this year. Grassroots Select Follow May 22, 2016 · 2 min read

Think of all of the values you hold dear. Every one of them is up for election this year, and a lot can happen over the next 2 years. We need to have politicians in all levels of government that are fighting for these values starting in 2016. This is why as a Progressive, your duty is to get involved with these down ballot candidates, not just the Presidential candidate you support. Don’t just let this year be about that inspiring man who stood against the establishment, but let it be about his movement. Let Bernie’s movement be present in down ballot elections.

Through working with many different candidates, I have heard a myriad of questions and stories of frustration. Each of these candidates have asked me similar questions: “Why have many people only focused on Bernie?” “Why have many people not thought about 2016 candidates in down ballot elections; where’s the movement behind them?” “Why is the focus so centered around Phillidelphia and the national convention that we lose sight of the other candidates that need help?”

Truthfully, I ask the same thing. To that however, I have a solution.

This solution is not an easy one. It calls for working harder than before, stepping in directions that many are not. It calls for people stepping out of their current progressive bubble and exploring other ways to make a difference. That solution is working with Grassroots Select.

Now it’s clear I have a bias here. I may be the Executive Director of this wonderful organization, but that doesn’t hold me back from seeing the overall picture. So many people fail right now, in 2016, to see how important it is to fight for down ballot Progressives in all levels of government. So many people see 2016 as the start for other movements along that which Bernie has created. But really, if we don’t come together and start helping elect Progressives this year, those movements for future elections may not be as strong. This is why Grassroots Select, an organization working to elect Real Progressives in all levels of government in 2016, is very important. This is why I encourage you to get involved.

For the sake of Tim Canova, Alex Law, Tom Fiegen, Pramila Jayapal, Tom Wakely, Jonathan Clarke, and many others running in 2016, get involved, step up, and help us make a difference in our government. It’s time to take this government back for the people. This starts in 2016.

Ian Boyd

Executive Director of Grassroots Select

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