Election Day:
On Friday, September 18th, 2020, we lost a revered icon of the left, a legend, and a champion for equal rights and gender equality. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87.
With just weeks left before the most consequential election of our lives, suddenly a new, dire existential threat to our Democracy has emerged. Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have expressed their intention to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat before the election despite her dying wish that a new justice not be confirmed until after a new president is installed.
The consequences of this brazen power-grab are dire. Donald Trump's nominee threatens to reshape the Supreme Court for an entire generation, creating a 6-3 conservative supermajority that will put into jeopardy generations of hard-fought advancements for women, LGBTQ+ rights, workers, and voting rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a tireless and prolific advocate for our democracy and for civil and social rights. But democracy should never hinge on the life of one individual again. She fought for us, and now we must pick up the mantle in her passing. We must now be Ruthless.
The #ForRBG campaign aims to fight for Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy in two ways:
- We must flip the United States Senate to Democratic control, and we must do so with a renewed urgency.
- We must elect Joe Biden.
Only then will a Democratically-controlled government be empowered to rebuild the judiciary, grant Washington D.C. its long-overdue statehood, expand the Supreme Court, and put guardrails in place to avoid this current crisis. Democrats need to net +4 seats in the Senate and are competitive in 8 key races, but polls are suggesting that the states that are most likely to flip are Maine, North Carolina, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, South Carolina OR Montana.
In the spirit of RBG, we should also look at state courts that are directly elected. In Texas, some key (partisan) races up in November can help move that purple state. The Republican Chief Justice, Nathan Hecht, is being challenged by Amy Clark Meachum, a Democratic District Court Judge. Giving money to her campaign puts a woman as Chief Justice of a state court, and this directly supports the work Justice Ginsburg did her entire legal career.
In terms of chances, there were more Democratic votes cast in the primary than Republican. This is a purple state! In Texas, we could also support Supreme Court candidates: Kathy Cheng (Seat 6) Staci Williams (Seat 7) Gisela Triana (Seat 8).
In North Carolina, the Democratic Chief Justice, Cheri Beasely, is up for re-election to the bench. We can support her.
Whether donating, phone or text banking, volunteering, registering voters, or simply tweeting, there are many avenues to get this done. Visit our action page to find out all the ways we can work together to honor RBG's legacy.