Three years ago I was a registered NPA. Bernie inspired me to become a leader in my local Democratic party and a candidate for State House. Now I’m taking on a GOP incumbent in a race most people thought we could never win and sparking a grassroots movement in my own backyard. If we’re going to change this country, we need to take races like mine seriously and rebuild our democracy from the bottom up. This can – and must - be our legacy.
In 2015 I was living in Florida as a registered NPA. I had lived in the Northeast, so I knew about and admired VT Senator Bernie Sanders, but when I read his platform for the presidential race I got fired up.
I started donating to his campaign, which in itself was atypical for me. I changed my party affiliation to Democrat to vote for him. I learned how to use twitter to find news about him and within a month I had 1800 followers.
The Sanders Campaign encouraged me to run to be a Bernie Delegate to the DNC Convention in Philadelphia. I only knew two Democrats at the time and it took me three days to find a local Democratic organization and a month to find the leaders and join the County Democratic Executive Committee.
After weeks of hard work and campaigning, I came in third, losing by 8 votes. The race was ultimately decided by a coin toss, but I so enjoyed the process that I committed to traveling to Philadelphia for the Convention anyway. The Delegate and I had become close and I was invited to be a roommate in the house she rented with friends. I've always found Philly to be friendly, but it was ALIVE with Bernie LOVE- murals, political discussions on corners and in restaurants, and locals willing to walk with you to help you find a venue or a place to charge your cell phone.
It was heartbreaking to experience Bernie's last Convention appearance, but by then I was hooked. I had been going to statewide meetings - including the National Platform meeting in Orlando that year - and was committed to prepare and be ready to run for State Committeewoman should the opportunity arise. When HRC lost by 29 points in our county, I was approached to run. A month later, I won the election with 78% of the vote.
I was determined with others to bring grassroots to the state party and bring attention to RED SW Florida so I arranged and moderated the first forum in the state for the FDP Chair Candidates and organized an eight county coalition to share best practices. Within three months I was appointed as a Vice Chair of the Florida Democratic Party. I raised money for candidates, brought in expert training from the state party and contracted with a political consultant to encourage people to run for office. One day I woke up thinking "I could do that"... so I did. I never realized I was looking for me!
People told me it was "too hard, you won't win, we can't help you.” The last person to run as a Democrat in my District was in 1978 and they lost. But we can’t keep giving up and we can’t win if we’re not on the ballot. There’s too much at stake. So, I filed my campaign in October 2017 as a Candidate for FL State Representative / House District 106!
And yes, it's been an uphill battle. I had to build infrastructure, find people with institutional knowledge and convince the naysayers, but it's working and it's the most exciting thing I have ever done! Our opponent is far right with Koch $$$ and a 93% NRA rating, but our campaign now has 10 state-level endorsements, has been ahead with "cash on hand" since May, and we WON more contributions the last reporting period!
Come November we are going to flip this district and I need your help to make sure we win! Take a minute to like our social media, share this campaign and fund our outreach with a donation.
Thanks!
Sara
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