General Shifts
Dear Leading Ladies,
Sitting in the cafe of the Boston Public Library last Friday for the broadcast of Boston Public Radio Live, it was hard not to be excited when David Hogg Zoomed in for an interview with Jim Braude and guest host Andrea Cabral. Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland High School mass shooting of 2018, co-founder of March for Our Lives and Leaders We Deserve, spoke eloquently and convincingly of the importance of enlisting and working to elect a new generation of leaders in local, state, and federal government positions.
For the last two weeks, we’ve written about writing postcards to reluctant voters in battleground states and supporting organizations that work to get out the youth vote. After hearing David Hogg speak again (you’ll recall he appeared by Zoom at our Community Conversation a few months ago), we wanted to highlight the work Leaders We Deserve is doing. The new organization was founded just over a year ago by Hogg and Kevin Lata, a young political consultant.
“After the Parkland shooting, my classmates and I were told by many older people that change wasn’t going to be possible in Florida, that we couldn’t change gun laws,” said Hogg, a 24-year-old recent Harvard grad. “But we still had the audacity to hope and try. And we actually did. We raised the age to buy guns and we passed a red flag law to disarm people who are risks to themselves and others.” That law, in fact, has been used more than 12,000 times in Florida and saved thousands of lives.
Once again, in college, Hogg was told by his elders that his friend and March for Our Lives colleague, Maxwell Frost, didn’t have a chance of winning a seat in Congress. With no wealth and no political connections, the campaign was doomed. Hogg’s response was, “I've seen those odds before and I’ll take them.” Hogg and the other campaign workers raised $400,000 for Frost and he won, becoming the youngest and first Gen Z member of Congress. Elected by 10 points, Frost defeated two former members of Congress. “If we hadn’t had that hope, nothing would have happened,” said Hogg.
These experiences cemented Hogg’s belief that the biggest obstacle to creating change “rarely is whether or not it is possible. More than anything, it’s whether you believe it is possible.” He hopes that Leaders We Deserve will provide an answer to “what I perceive to be the biggest threat to American democracy which is not Donald Trump. It’s the hopelessness and apathy that helps to empower people to believe that nothing is going to change.”
Leaders We Deserve invests in young candidates running for state legislatures and Congress and advises them on a daily basis. For example, in Houston, Texas, they raised $300,000 for Molly Cook, an emergency room nurse who is an abortion rights and gun control advocate. She became the youngest member of the Texas State Senate when she won her race by 62 votes.
The idea, Hogg explained, is not to endorse or financially support an unlimited number of young candidates. They are “trying to find a couple dozen of the most compelling and credible generational leaders and supercharge their campaigns to get them across the finish line.” The belief is that these candidates will be able to effectively combat the cynicism, apathy, and hopelessness rampant especially among the young.
Being young by no means ensures support from Leaders We Deserve. Those under consideration for support go through an interview and questionnaire process; they are asked about their positions on gun safety, the climate, and abortion; and they are questioned about issues that concern them in their districts. Leaders We Deserve also considers where races are competitive and where there are open Blue seats.
Leaders We Deserve is looking to play the long game. Change won’t come with one administration, said Hogg, but over a long time. “What is our inherent advantage? What do we have that they can’t buy? Time. We are investing in building the future of our country with generational leaders.” He pointed to Lincoln, who was elected to the Illinois State House at age 25; FDR elected to the New York State Senate at 28; LBJ elected to Congress at 28; and Biden elected to the Senate at 29.
“All of those people together got so much done,” said Hogg. “It makes sense. If you start when you are young, you become very effective at getting things done because you have experience. You have the relationships. You know how to play the game.” Investing in new leadership today that will evolve into experienced leadership for the future is absolutely crucial, according to Hogg.
But there is more. Leaders We Deserve is also working to turn out the vote in the November elections, not just for the two dozen candidates they support financially, but for all candidates who care about issues like gun control, reproductive rights, and the climate. Their mantra is that “things can get better” and “change is possible.” Their proof is their track record with the gun control laws established through the work of March For Our Lives and the election of candidates such as Maxwell Frost.
So who funds these exciting new leaders identified by Leaders We Deserve? The group had absolutely no money when they started a little more than a year ago. SInce then, they have received small donations from 103,000 people. They categorically refuse any corporate donations and will endorse only candidates who also refuse corporate money.
Before Hogg ended his Zoom appearance on Boston Public Radio last Thursday, he asked the audience members to each make a donation of $10 dollars to leaderswedeserve.com.
We can do that to support the hope and audacity of youth!
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team