Samantha Casne has just been elected caucus president. Here's what she has to say about our work last year -- and how you can help the National Women's Political Caucus of Washington elect a woman-powered Washington in 2018.
2018 President's Letter
A year ago, we were all in shock and mourning— instead of rejoicing over the election of the first woman president, a known sexual predator was sitting in the White House.
So, we at the Caucus decided to get to work. While the president set forth his divisive agenda, we came together to march and to build the pipeline, investing in down ballot races such as city council and school board, supporting over 100 women candidates – many first time – in 2017. Today, I’m convinced that the work we do to elect women to all levels in government is as crucial as ever.
Here’s a look at what we are working on as we move into the 2018 midterm elections, and how you can help us elect women to all levels of Washington state government.
Endorsements
In 2017, we endorsed over 100 women running for offices across Washington – up from 80 in 2016. Affectionately dubbed “The Hillary Effect,” if you talk to our Founding Mothers, these number would have been unheard of not too long ago. In 2018, we hope to continue this momentum.
This year, big congressional races are up for grabs and we have a good chance of electing pro-choice, family-first women in all of them. With women candidates already in the mix in the 8th and 5th, the Caucus is working hard to endorse early and support them with training and other resources. We are also actively working on endorsements in the 3rd and have already endorsed incumbents Pramila Jayapal in the 7th and Suzan DelBene in the 1st.
2018 is also a big year for Washington state legislative endorsements. The entire House and half the Senate are up for election. We will work hard to increase the number of women in our state legislature, which is currently at 37.4 percent. We are also working to protect the women currently serving on the bench, planning to lend our support to judicial races including the State Supreme Court.
Volunteer Opportunity: We rely on supporters like to you help us interview candidates for endorsement. If you’re interested in supporting our endorsement process in your county, email [email protected] for more information!
Trainings
This year, we are thrilled to announce that we are hosting TWO trainings for future candidates, campaign managers, and volunteers. One will be held March 10 at Everett Community College and the other March 31 at Highline Community College. If you have ever thought about running for office, this training is for you!
We’re also accepting donations to support scholarship spots – we never turn any woman away who wants to join us and your donations ensure that we can continue that tradition. Click here to sponsor a future candidate now.
Coming Up: For the second year in a row, we are working with Amplify to host trainings specifically for women of color. These trainings will be exclusively focused on recruiting, training, and electing diverse women candidates. We'll have more info soon, but if you can't wait to learn more, please email us at [email protected].
Events
Our support doesn’t stop at our endorsements. Many Caucus-endorsed candidates receive campaign help in the form of trainings – on everything from how to manage volunteers to how to raise money in the field – and PAC donations made directly to their races. This year, we are setting our fundraising goal at $16,000 to support these efforts. Here’s a snapshot at some of our planned fundraising events this year.
- May – Our annual May Hutton event honors Spokane feminist May Hutton’s legacy and is our largest donor event that exclusively brings in money for the PAC.
- August – We are bringing back our Men for Women event, in which our men allies raise money to support parity in office.
- September – Join us at our annual candidate event, which is a chance for our members to meet our endorsed candidates. This is also another opportunity for us to raise money for our work.
- December – Our annual post-election Campaign Heroines event honors the work of women campaign staff.
It will take all of us to build a woman-powered Washington. As an all-volunteer organization, we rely on each and every one of you to make this work happen. From volunteering for candidate interviews in your county, to writing a personally meaningful check that sends dollars directly to our endorsed women candidates, to joining our state steering committee to power all of this work, your help has never been more needed.
At a time when our nation continues to ask how we can resist and move forward from here, we challenge you to join our ranks and contribute to this work. Together, we can recruit, train, and elect a government that is truly representative of the people it serves and the values that we share as Americans.
--Samantha