THE MIDTERMS MINUTE (Primaries): Support Progressives in New Hampshire on 9/11 and Rhode Island on 9/12

The Midterms Minute is a look at the candidates and races that you need to know about, shout about and support to make sure we have a blue tsunami on November 6th.

With the exception of Louisiana, the Senate and House candidates for the Midterms are nearly set. We want to remind you that the Massachusetts primary is coming up on September 4th and Delaware primary is on September 6th. If you missed our spotlights on those states, head to best of the left dot com slash activism.

You can still make a difference by getting involved, no matter what state you live in. Both Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress offer Get Out the Vote online calling and texting tools, with scripts on individual candidates, allowing you to talk to voters from the comfort of home. This is a great way to make a real impact.

Today, we’re going to talk about New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

SEPTEMBER 11TH

NEW HAMPSHIRE (Reg. Deadlines: Primary & General: Same day registration & voting (*see details); NO online registration)

1st District: Brand New Congress candidate and New Hampshire state representative, Mindi Messemer, is running for congress in a Democratic primary field of 11 candidates. She’s one of only two candidates not taking special interest or PAC money. A former environmental scientist, her whistleblowing on cancer-causing water contamination from a landfill in her community and the difficult fight to address it lead her to run for State Rep. New Hampshire’s 1st district is known as a district that constantly swings and Trump only won the district by less than 2 percentage points. On the Republican side, two candidates are spending way more than they are taking in while duking it out over which one of them is the “Trumpiest.”

Governor: New Hampshire’s Republican Chris Sununu is up for re-election this year. The Democrats vying to run against him in November are State Rep Molly Kelly and Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand. Both are focusing on Sununu’s hindering of the sate’s renewable energy industry. Neither Kelly nor Marchand are championing Medicare for All, but Kelly says health care is a right while healthcare is not an issue listed on Marchand’s website. Both are opposed to a major hydro project and natural gas pipeline project proposed in the state.

Important Dates: New Hampshire voting is sadly restrictive. Unregistered voters can theoretically register in person and vote on primary day, but details vary by locality and required documents and voter ID laws apply. If you want to be registered before primary day, your physical registration form must be received 10 days head of the election since online voter registration is not available. We’ve included a link to a list of contact information for all New Hampshire Local Election Offices in the show notes for your convenience. If you plan to vote in the general, don’t wait to start this process.

SEPTEMBER 12TH

RHODE ISLAND (Reg. Deadlines: Primary: August 13th / General: Oct 9th)

Governor: In the race for governor of Rhode Island, Justice Democrat and former Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown is running to take the nomination away from the Democratic incumbent Gina Raimondo. Brown has entered the race to roll back Raimondo’s restrictions on abortion, end her corporate giveaways at the expense of locals, fight for Medicare for All, and build a sustainable local renewable energy economy. Brown is also co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize nominated organization Global Zero, which works to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons.

Lieutenant Governor: As for Lieutenant Governor, Justice Democrat Aaron Regunberg is hoping to knock out incumbent Democrat Daniel McKee. Regunberg has endorsements from Rhode Island chapters of Our Revolution. Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, Clean Water Action, and many more.

Important Dates: The voter registration deadline to participate in the Rhode Island primary was August 13th. The deadline to vote in the general election is October 9th.

We want to emphasize registration cut off dates and absentee ballot request and submission dates are different for each state, sometimes even each county. We highly suggest reviewing your state’s information, and voter ID laws, at rockthevote.org as soon as possible to ensure you will be able to vote in both the primary and general elections.

So, if building the bluest of blue waves is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about supporting progressive candidates across the country via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

THE MIDTERMS MINUTE:

*Reminder! Massachusetts on 9/4 & Delaware on 9/6*

Check on candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats | Brand New Congress | DSA | Latino Victory | Our Revolution