Weekly Recap: Honoring the memory of the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11

5 min readSep 12, 2019

Remembering 9/11

On September 11, we honored the memory of the men and women who lost their lives 18 years ago, the brave first responders who put others’ lives before theirs, and every American who has served since to keep us safe.

Top Democratic candidates come together for an ad on gun violence (CNN Politics)

Link to article here.

Several top Democratic presidential candidates came together ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate to support former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ political organization and deliver a message on guns: Our children deserve better.

In a powerful video titled “Our Kids Deserve to be Safe at School,” eight candidates speak about the need to pass stricter gun laws to prevent mass shootings in schools. The video, the first in a series produced by Giffords’ Courage to Fight Gun Violence, will be part of a six-figure digital ad buy targeted toward Houston around this week’s third Democratic debate.

While Democratic candidates have some differences on how to combat gun violence, the video stands out because of the candidates’ unified message on the issue in the midst of an increasingly contentious primary. Cast against a gray slate and edited to make it appear that the candidates are finishing each other’s sentences, the candidates uniformly tout the need for stricter gun laws to protect children.

“We can continue with the corrupt leadership of Donald Trump, who has taken millions from the NRA while opposing gun safety policies, or we can forge a new path and elect a gun-safety president who’s willing to stand up to the gun lobby and protect our kids and communities from gun violence,” Giffords said in a statement to CNN. “This campaign will give Americans a closer look at just how committed the candidates running against Trump are in the fight to save lives.”

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden all participated in the video. An aide for Giffords’ organization tells CNN that all the candidates were invited to participate.

Click here to read the full article and watch the video below.

WATCH: Virginia Democratic Candidates Newest Ads

Joshua Cole “This Is My Story” HD28

Dan Helmer “Command Center” HD40

Debra Rodman “What I See” SD12

Ghazala Hashmi “Easy” SD10

Cheryl Turpin “Saved” SD7

Larry Barnett “Get It Done” HD27

Shiela Bynum-Coleman “Kirk Cox Sold Out” HD66

PAC to spend $500,000 to help Democrats running for Virginia House (Washington Post)

Link to article here.

A Democratic super PAC focused on turning statehouses blue will pour $500,000 into Virginia’s “off-off-year election” for the state House of Delegates in November, while another group plans to invest $1 million in pro-environment candidates from either party.

The super PAC Forward Majority said Tuesday that it will spend $500,000 in 16 targeted House races throughout the state, funding digital ads and mailings.

The Virginia League of Conservation Voters, meanwhile, announced that it would spend $1 million on digital ads, direct mail and field organizers for candidates it supports. The group has endorsed 50 candidates — 49 of them Democrats. The lone Republican is Del. Lee Ware (Powhatan).

Those Virginia contributions come on top of other big donations from national Democratic groups and individuals, including $1 million pledged in June by billionaire Tom Steyer, now a Democratic presidential candidate. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has also made a $1 million contribution.

With all 140 seats in the state House and Senate on the ballot in November, Virginia has drawn national attention as a potential bellwether for the 2020 presidential contest.

Virginia is one of just four states with legislative races this year and the only one where control of the legislature is considered up for grabs. In the only Southern state that Donald Trump lost in 2016, Republicans are defending narrow majorities in the House (51 to 48) and the Senate (40 to 39), with one vacancy in each chamber.

Without a presidential race or contests for statewide office, this election is referred to as an “off-off” year.

Democrats picked up 15 seats in the state House in 2017, riding a wave of antipathy toward President Trump. This year, the Senate will also be on the ballot — for the first time since Trump entered the White House.

Forward Majority, based in New York, is one of several Democratic groups created amid the Trump backlash with a focus on down-ballot races. The group said it limited its spending to the House races in Virginia because it believes the state Senate is “more likely to flip absent any outside intervention.”

“It’s really important for Democrats to be aggressive in state legislative elections, because there’s so much at stake for the future of the party,” Ben Wexler-Waite, a spokesman for Forward Majority, said in an interview Monday. “For too long, we’ve ceded too much ground to Republicans, who have been investing tens of millions of dollars in down-ballot races because they understand that state legislatures are the root of power in American democracy.”

Control of the General Assembly will be a key factor in 2021, when the legislature will redraw state legislative and congressional districts based on the 2020 Census. If Democrats control both houses, Republicans will have little input on the new boundaries.

Read the full article here.

Special Program and Canvass In Virginia With Stacey Abrams for Del. Hala Ayala!

Join Stacey Abrams along with New Virginia Majority and the Democratic Party of Virginia as we canvass in neighborhoods talking with voters about the importance of all of us having an equal voice and the need to support strong leaders like Rep. Hala Ayala in Virginia’s 51st district. Sign up here!