Students for a New American Politics

SNAP Makes Final Summer Endorsements

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:20:31 +0000

NEW HAVEN, CT. — Today, Students for a New American Politics (SNAP PAC), the nation’s largest student-run political action committee, released the remaining destinations for their summer organizing fellows, as they announced their endorsements of Tammy Baldwin (WI-Sen), Ami Bera (CA-07), Lois Frankel (FL-22), David Gill (IL-13), Martin Heinrich (NM-Sen), Tim Kaine (VA-Sen), Joe Miklosi (CO-06), Manan Trivedi (PA-06), Elizabeth Warren (MA-Sen), Rob Zerban (WI-01), and Angela Zimmann (OH-05), as well as endorsing the Maine same-sex marriage referendum.

“These candidates are a collection of some of the strongest voices we have for progressive policy in the country today,” said Executive Director Matthew Breuer. “For six years now we have been working around the country to elect leaders who understand the challenges American families are facing, and can bring the ideas and experience to bring that change to this country. This year we are supporting more candidates than ever before because on too many issues – declining middle-class wages, our continued dependence on fossil fuels, the destruction of our most precious natural resources – Americans can’t afford to wait any longer.”

These candidates join Chris Donovan (CT-05), Eric Griego (NM-01), Annie McLane Kuster (NH-02), and Chris Murphy (CT-Sen) as part of the largest endorsement class in SNAP PAC’s history. As a result, SNAP will have provided over 30 college students with the opportunity to work as paid field organizers on the most competitive progressive campaigns in the country, with plans to extend that number beyond 40 in the fall.

SNAP PAC will be sending SNAP Organizing Fellows to work as field organizers on the campaigns of every endorsed candidate. SNAP Fellows are selected from a pool of hundreds of the most talented student organizers in the country, many of whom would not be able to afford to work full time on a campaign without SNAP’s financial support. For more information on SNAP’s fellowship program and how support SNAP, visit at www.snappac.org.

Contact:  Matt Breuer

matthew.breuer@snappac.org

802.922.0789

Rob Zerban (WI-01)

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:06:15 +0000

Taking on Representative Paul Ryan is no easy task – there are few people within the Republican Party who leadership has worked so hard to protect than the young chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. But after seeing Rep. Ryan offer up another budget that would destroy our countries most important social services and shift even more wealth towards those already in the top 1%, Rob Zerban said enough is enough.

Rob hasn’t been just running a campaign to represent Wisconsin’s 1st district – he’s been fighting hard on key progressive policies every step of the way. When members of Congress wanted to enact the Stop Online Piracy Act, a piece of legislation that would’ve stripped millions of Americans of their privacy and rights while they use the internet, Zerban led a grassroots movement against the bill, and forced enough pressure on Representative Ryan to make him come out against the bill, and ultimately led to the bill’s failure.

We have seen Rob’s ability to take up the mantle on core progressive issues, and it is for precisely that reason that we know he will be such a strong advocate of Wisconsin voters, and progressives across the country. With the same grassroots spirit that led him into this race, we can rid of one of the Republican Party’s shining stars, and replace him with a progressive star of our own.

Angela Zimmann (OH-05)

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:59:29 +0000

Angela Zimmann is running a campaign in Ohio to represent the voices of the middle class that have long been ignored by Representative Bob Latta. As a university professor and ordained pastor, Angela has watched the struggles Ohio families face everyday in front of her very eyes – students falling increasingly into debt trying to pay for their education, and parents worried about how they’re going to provide a future for their children as economic opportunities continue to vanish.

Angela understands how to work on these problems because she’s lived through them – she was the first person from her mother’s side of the family to attend college, and has devoted to her life to teaching and helping those around her. This November, the people of Ohio’s 5th Congressional district have a chance to support a real fighter to represent them in Washington. We see the compassion, ideas, and talent that Angela will bring to Washington, and that’s why we’re sending her organizers on the ground to make sure she gets there.

Mainers United for Equality

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:52:32 +0000

Here at SNAP, we have been working tirelessly since 2005 to put the most progressive voices in Congress from around the country. Despite the tremendous success we have enjoyed, there are some issues where we have not been able to play as big a role as we would have liked to – none more so than same-sex marriage.

We strongly believe that support for marriage equality is a core progressive value, and one that is worth fighting for anywhere it is possible or jeopardized. That is why for the first time in our organization’s history, we are endorsing the ballot measure in Maine to write marriage equality into state law through the referendum system.

This is an issue that is beyond ideology for us here at SNAP – it affects the personal lives of our members and our fellows, and it’s a fight that many of us have been working on since we first got started in organized politics. This year in Maine, working with the incredible team over at Mainers United for Marriage, we will add Maine to list of states that ensure full equality under the law.

SNAP Endorses Ann McLane Kuster for Congress

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:04:07 +0000

In 2010, we sent two organizers to New Hampshire to fight for an activist who was running against an ultimate Blue Dog – a former chairperson on Joe Lieberman’s presidential campaign. She won that fight, and despite the Republican wave, was just barely denied the chance to serve her constituents in Washington. In 2012, we’re proud to support Ann McLane Kuster again, and our organizing fellows are committed to making sure this election ends differently.

“Throughout her career, Annie Kuster has proven herself as a dedicated, principled, and effective advocate for the middle class on the issues that matter to progressives and to all Americans,” said Matt Breuer, Executive Director of SNAP PAC. “In Congress, Kuster will be a strong voice that will push back against the extreme right and offer progressive, pragmatic solutions on jobs, the deficit, and health care.”

“I am honored to have the support of SNAP PAC. Their endorsement clearly demonstrates the breadth of our support,” Kuster said. “Their contribution of two Organizing Fellows will be a boost for our grassroots driven campaign.”

Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:02:06 +0000

SNAP Endorses Chris Donovan for Congress

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:39:12 +0000

Today, we are announcing that we will be supporting Chris Donovan’s bid to become the next congressman from Connecticut this fall. This is a seat that has always been important to us – when Chris Murphy ran back in 2006, we were one of the first organizations to get behind his campaign to win this seat for Democrats. Now Connecticut families in the 5th congressional district have a chance to elect another fighter who will stand by them when Republicans are busy defending the interests of oil companies or corporate money. We’re proud of the work he’s done as Speaker of the House, and we know he’s going to deliver the same results for working people in Washington that he did in Hartford.

To find out more about our endorsement, read our press release and visit Chris’s website.

Chris Donovan (CT-05)

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:32:38 +0000

Chris Donovan is the right candidate to fight for middle-class families in Washington. Since becoming Speaker of the House, he’s been a champion of working people in a time when state governments across the country have turned their backs on the middle class. His work fighting for mandatory paid sick leave and crafting one of the strongest public campaign finance systems in the countries show us that he’s not just going to be a reliable progressive voice in Washington – he’s going to be a leader that knows how to do the hard work to pass laws that benefit working families across the country.

“What we need right now in Congress are more fighters for middle-class families,” said executive director Matt Breuer on Donovan. “Chris isn’t just talking about issues that matter to the middle class, he has a proven track record of fighting for them and winning, and we’re confident that the leadership he has shown throughout his career makes him the right person to represent Connecticut families in Washington.”

“I am honored to have the support and endorsement of the students of SNAP PAC. With their help, and with the help of the two organizers they will be sending to the campaign, we will fight for good jobs with solid benefits, to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and to increase Pell Grants and lower the cost of student aid in order to bring higher education within the economic reach of more American families,” said Donovan.

SNAP Endorses Ilya Sheyman for Congress

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:43:04 +0000

Today, we’re proud to announce our endorsement of Ilya Sheyman in the race to represent Illinois 10th congressional district. Ilya has been spending months now running exactly the kind of campaign we like to get behind – a true people-powered grassroots effort to elect a bold progressive voice to Congress. This is a seat that Democrats can flip from red to blue this cycle, and when they do, we want to make sure that the 10th district has a representative that will always side with the interests of working people.

Ilya has a tremendous story – he came to this country as a Jewish refugee of the Soviet Union, was educated in our public school, and became a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers at his first job. He since was a driving force behind progressive political organizations like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, and then returned home to help organize and improve the community that enabled him to achieve so much – and he’s done this all at the age of 25.

Ilya’s experience with online and grassroots will make him a uniquely talented leader in the House, where he’ll be able to mobilize the national progressive community to support bills to invest in jobs, enact new Wall Street reforms, and offer Medicare to all Americans. Ilya’s the right candidate, and this is the right time for the 10th district to elect a real leader to Congress.

Meet Amalia Skilton

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:21:10 +0000

Amalia Skilton was one of our program’s youngest fellows when she was sent to work for Roxanne Conlin’s Iowa Senate campaign in 2010. With no prior electoral campaign background, the opportunity to work in the state best known for field campaigns turned her into a seasoned field operative, skills she has since put to use on campaigns in Arizona and Connecticut. Her fellowship wasn’t the end of her SNAP experience either – Amalia currently serves as SNAP’s Finance Director, helping to expand the fellowship program so that even more students can have the experience that got her started. Here’s what she had to say while on the campaign in Iowa in 2010:

According to conventional wisdom, there’s no place like Iowa to get field experience. And that conventional wisdom has definitely proven right so far – Elaine and I are gaining some amazing experience here, and shouldering real responsibility. The two of us are heading up the Conlin campaign’s field operation in the Des Moines metro area, as well playing a part in setting up field offices in other locations around the state.

I went directly from SNAP training to Des Moines at the beginning of this month, and was on the ground for most of the GOTV operation for the primary. Since our primary was on June 8, “Pretty Good Tuesday,” most of Roxanne’s staff (including me) spent Monday and Tuesday of that week making turnout calls. Over those two days, I spent almost 20 hours on call time – making well over 600 dials. Fortunately, I managed not to lose my voice, and was still able to cheer for Roxanne at the victory party: we won with 78 percent of the vote, and a 66-point margin!

After the primary, we had a few lower-key days moving our office from the pre-primary location in downtown Des Moines to the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP)’s coordinated campaign. These days included my first weekend in Iowa, which started with the IDP’s annual Hall of Fame dinner Friday, continued with the annual state party convention on Saturday, and finished with a bang at the Capital City Pride parade on Sunday afternoon. All three were great events, but “Hall of Fame” was especially memorable. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was keynote speaker at this dinner, which honored his wife Ruth and longtime staffer Dianne Liepa.

Sen. Harkin spoke at length about how Ruth and Dianne – and Roxanne – had begun their careers at a time when women were not welcome in the political world. Being present as they were honored that evening gave me a better sense of how individual women had lived the gains of the women’s movement over the last fifty years, but also reminded me of the challenges which women in public service still face. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who gave the keynote address at Saturday’s state party convention, made me think more about this contrast. Since Sen. Klobuchar is the first elected female senator from Minnesota, her endorsement of Roxanne’s candidacy and remarks on her achievements in private and public life had a special significance. The senator also found time to greet staff from Iowa’s statewide Democratic campaigns before the keynote; I was excited and honored both to meet this remarkable woman and to hear her address from the floor.

The Conlin staff finished moving into our new space at the IDP’s headquarters this Monday, also the day when Elaine (who had just finished her final exams at school) arrived in Iowa. We hit the ground running on Tuesday, and have been working smooth and steady since then. As last week, this weekend promises to provide a change from the ordinary Sunday-Thursday rhythm of recruiting, training and managing volunteers. Saturday morning will see us marching with Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA-3) in a parade just north of Des Moines, and we’ll get a well-earned break Sunday morning. But for me, Sunday may not be a break from organizing – last weekend, I ran into one Conlin volunteer and recruited another at Des Moines Friends House!