Dear MoveOn member,
CNN is reporting that Republican senator and Donald Trump sycophant Lindsey Graham is "in trouble" in his re-election bid this fall.1
The Democratic candidate who—to the great surprise of pundits—is now neck and neck with Graham in the deep-red state of South Carolina is Jaime Harrison, a deeply inspiring candidate who gives us so much hope for bringing the change our country needs—on health care, income inequality, dismantling structural racism, and so much more.2
And in Maine, Democrat Sara Gideon is locked in a razor-tight race to defeat Republican Senator Susan Collins.3 Like Jaime, Sara also has an inspiring story as a daughter of immigrants from India and Armenia.4
These two races matter to each of us in every corner of the country, because ending GOP control of the Senate is on a knife's edge.5 And no two Senate Republicans have enabled Donald Trump more than Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins.
Mar, these races are so tight, with polls tied or with just a few points separating the candidates. We can't let the opportunity slip through our fingers to defeat Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins, flip the Senate, and elect two Democrats who give us real hope.
CNN explains that Jaime Harrison is getting support from voters who "view the GOP senator as everything that is wrong with the Republican Party in the age of Trump."6 The same is true in Maine, where Republican Susan Collins sailed to re-election six years ago with 67% of the vote.7 Now Collins is the most unpopular senator in the country.8
These two Senate races are an indictment of Trump.
And there's more. Because winning these two seats would very likely end Mitch McConnell's cynical and malignant reign as senate majority leader and put Democrats in control of the Senate.
But if we lose these races, Republican politicians and the Republican Party will know that they can act with impunity, and McConnell will retain the Senate gavel—meaning he will squash all progressive legislation and appointments from Joe Biden or, if Trump wins a second term, ram through even more right-wing extremist Trump judges, including as many as FOUR additional U.S. Supreme Court justices.9
So much is riding on these two Senate races. And Jaime Harrison and Sara Gideon need our help.
Jaime Harrison grew up so poor that he ate his cereal with water instead of milk.10 The son of a single teenage mom, he learned to read with comic books. He defied the odds at every turn, graduating from Yale and then Georgetown Law School and eventually becoming the first Black chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Now, Jaime is running for the U.S. Senate to fight for opportunity for all South Carolinians.
Sara Gideon rose to prominence in Maine by standing up to the state's Trump-like former Republican governor Paul LePage—and winning.11 She's the speaker of the Maine House and is best known for fighting day in and day out to expand access to health care in Maine, winning Medicaid expansion and improving access to reproductive health care.12
Now these two candidates are very close to unseating Republicans Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins. We need to help them, Mar. And now is a critical time as the campaigns assess their resources in this final stretch of the race and decide what they can and can't do to turn out voters.
Thanks for all you do.
–Allison, Amy, Nadia, Oscar, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Is Lindsey Graham in trouble?" CNN, August 17, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143584?t=5&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
2. "South Carolina Senate Moves From Likely to Lean Republican," Cook Political Report, August 17, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142044?t=7&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
3. "Latest Polls, U.S. Senate, Maine," FiveThirtyEight, accessed September 5, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142064?t=9&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
4. "Who is Sara Gideon, Indian-origin Politician and Mom That Obama is Endorsing for US Senate?" News 18, August 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143585?t=11&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
5. "Biden agenda hinges on Senate majority," The Hill, August 26, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143566?t=13&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
6. "Is Lindsey Graham in trouble?" CNN, August 17, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143584?t=15&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
7. "Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she is running for 5th term in office," WABI 5, December 18, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/143586?t=17&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
8. "Susan Collins surpasses Mitch McConnell as the most unpopular senator in a new poll," USA Today, January 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143587?t=19&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
9. "Trump's Re-Election Plan: Replace Clarence Thomas With a Woman," The Daily Beast, July 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143484?t=21&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
10. "Think no one can defeat Lindsey Graham? 'Watch me!' his Democratic opponent says." The Washington Post, May 19, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143568?t=23&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
11. "The Universal Notebook: Can Gideon Beat Collins?" Portland Press Herald, July 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143569?t=25&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
12. "Meet Sara," Sara Gideon for Maine, accessed September 5, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/143570?t=27&akid=273091%2E10220574%2EWL8mje
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