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Blog

The primaries so far

July 13, 2018

Over the past several weeks, many of our Fellows running for office around the country faced critical primary elections.

So far, 16 of 17 of our Fellows who faced a primary election won.

From the start, we believed we must expand the map and our conception of where our leaders come from. We watched as too much support went to candidates in the likely Democratic pickup districts.

As in Virginia in 2017, we invested in people and places that have been historically under-resourced and overlooked. We supported first-time candidates who might not have a robust network of donors and campaign veterans, but have a compelling story and clear values.

That strategy is working. Our candidates are running strong campaigns that are resonating with voters. We’re proud to have played a supporting role. And we’re proud of what many of you — members of our community — have done to support these candidates.

Throughout the primary season, our team and network of pro-bono advisors have worked with Arena Fellows to provide support that’s personalized for each leader’s unique needs. At our core, though, we focus on a few critical areas: storytelling, campaign leadership, and organizing.

Winning the primary is an essential first step — but it’s not the end goal. Each of our Fellows faces a competitive general election in November. Visit their websites, and learn how to contribute your time or resources to help them cross the finish line in November.