Run for Something

From Bernie Sanders to my own town, progressives are urging each other to get involved, get elected.

By Bruce Watson

MONTAGUE, MA, November 6, 2024 — My little New England village awoke that post-election morning in shock. Here in the bluest of blue regions in solid blue Massachusetts, we believed the re-election of the convicted felon and January 6 mastermind was just a nightmare. The shock lasted until the inauguration. Then a handful of people who had never held elective office decided to run for something.

Emily ran for Town Meeting. Ken ran for Parks and Rec. His wife Tamara ran for the Library Board. Leigh ran for the town’s Finance Committee, and Marina ran for Select Board. They all won. Turned out that Massachusetts’ veteran pol Tip O’Neill was right — “all politics is local.”

But my town was only a part of a nationwide movement catalyzed by the dedicated activists at Run for Something.

Since its founding on Trump’s first Inauguration Day in 2017, Run For Something has recruited, endorsed, and coached more than 3,500 progressive candidates running for everything from school boards to city councils to Congress. Some 1,500 have been elected, including five to the House. And the numbers are growing.

This year, with 100,000 state and local offices up for grabs, Run for Something has been flooded with interested candidates. Part of the interest was stoked by Bernie Sanders who, as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, partnered with Run for Something and issued a call to his legions of supporters.

“I am writing to ask you to run for office,” Sanders e-mailed in March. “Yes, you! We need to elect progressives at every level in this country who are prepared to side with the working class in America and fight for an economy and government that works for all of us, not just the few.”

Heeding Bernie’s call, some 5,000 potential candidates logged onto runforsomething.net, searched its “Where Can I Run?” database for open offices near them, and announced intentions to run.

“Young people aren’t waiting for the change we need,” said RFS president Amanda Litman. “They’re stepping up to be that change, Our future depends on building a new generation of leaders, and with this partnership, we can reach even more young people ready to serve their communities and fight for change.”

And while my town’s new politicians are mostly gray-haired, straight, and in bed by ten, Run For Something is passing the torch to what JFK famously called “a new generation of American leadership.”

This year, RFS plans to endorse more than 300 candidates, most under 40, some as young as 18. Half will be women, half people of color, and 20 percent LGBTQIA+. Candidates come from all walks of life — teachers, doctors, musicians, civil engineers. . . Noting the crying need for housing reform, Run for Something is also proud of the number of renters among its endorsees.

If just half of this year’s slate is elected — and even in 2024 RFS’s endorsed candidates won more than half their elections — this could change the face of an embattled Democratic party. “The way to get more people to like the Democratic Party,” one RFS announcement noted, “is to get better people to run as Democrats.”

As its 2025 list grows, RFS has released “endorsement classes” of candidates. Thirty-seven new candidates in March, 51 in May, 50 more in July. The list includes city council candidates in Cleveland, Omaha, Newark, Tucson, Detroit, Seattle, and New Orleans, ample school board seekers, plus candidates for state legislatures in Florida and Virginia.

But getting people to run for office is not enough. Even politically attuned progressives need help navigating the laws, deadlines, and media environment of today’s toxic politics. So along with endorsing candidates, Run for Something helps potential candidates focus their idealism.

In weekly group calls, RFS steers interested candidates towards issues they care about. Key questions include:

— What problems do you want to solve in your community?

— How have you been involved in your community?  

— What concerns do you have about running for office?

— What does progressive mean to you and your community?

Following the initial calls, one-on-one mentoring connects potential candidates to the “experts” — in campaign management, digital advertising specialists, videographers, and more.

Candidates who are still interested and have filed their papers are encouraged to apply for RFS endorsement. If chosen in the latest endorsement class, each can then tap RFS’s media connections, fund-raising advisers, marketers, and other veterans of America’s political fray.

So, progressives, the proverbial ball is in your court. Fed up? Feel like fighting for democracy, not just in protest but in the trenches? Why not run for something? As RFS says, “We don’t have time to wait for someone else to fix it. This is how we win — starting right here, right now.”