Yesterday, voters across Texas went to the polls for the state’s primary elections. We are excited to share that Gina Ortiz Jones, member of the inaugural class of Arena Fellows, shocked the establishment by garnering more than double the votes of any of her four opponents in her primary election.
However, in Texas, a candidate must exceed 50% of the vote to win the primary outright. This means Gina will now advance to a runoff election on May 22nd. And she needs your support. Visit her site to find out how you can get involved.
Gina is a bolt of lightning. We first met her in August when she told us she was planning to run for Congress in the Texas 23rd — which stretches from San Antonio to just outside El Paso. She told us she planned to take on Congressman Will Hurd, who has voted with Donald Trump 97% of the time despite representing a district that voted for Hillary over Trump in 2016.
But we knew that before Gina could take on Congressman Hurd, she would have to make it out of a fiercely competitive primary. Though we are extremely selective about the competitive primaries we take on, Gina impressed us as the kind of leader our country needs, and we decided early on to throw our support behind her.
Through the Arena Fellowship, Gina received coaching and guidance on storytelling, organizing, and campaign leadership. And through the Arena Joint Fundraising Committee and associated events, Gina received over $62,000 in campaign contributions. We are thrilled to be able to continue that support through the runoff election.
Gina is everything you could ask for in a candidate — she is brave, authentic, and understands the lived experience of the people she will serve in Congress. She is a first-generation American and the daughter of a single mom. She courageously served under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, as an Air Force Intelligence Officer in Iraq, and went on to work in national security in many levels of the government. She is passionate about looking out for the most vulnerable in our society — and will work hard to represent all of her constituents, not just those who vote for her.
There no better candidate to invest in if you want to change Washington.