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The PoliticsGirl Podcast
Who Will Step Up To Lead? : A Conversation with Run For Something’s Amanda Litman
00:47:12
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- [00:00]
Amanda Littman
I always say if our win rate was higher than about 55 or 60%, we wouldn't be taking big enough swings. I want to lose because I think as long as we're losing by less each time, that's how you eventually take an 8020 district to 6535 to 55, 45 to 51 49. That to me is more important than like, oh, we only endorsed in the easy wins or the most flippable races. No, I want to be everywhere. Because you know what? Beyond the political ramifications, people, people in those communities deserve a chance to make their voice heard. And too often, if Run for Something or one of our partners on the ground isn't recruiting in those races, nobody will run.
- [00:47]
Lee McGowan
Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl Podcast. I'm your host, Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. Look, I'm not going to pretend what's going on in this country isn't chaos. It is exactly what those of us who were paying attention warned everyone about for years. Every day feels like a new low. The end of America as we knew it. And it's hard to get your head around. Which is why every month or so, I'd like to highlight individuals and groups working to imagine a better future. Not just those dealing with what's happening day to day, but those who are doing the work to imagine an America where our democracy is still intact and we could replace this government with a better one. Because as unimaginable as that might feel right now, we have to keep it in our minds and we must work towards it. With that in mind, I have invited Amanda Littman on the show today. Amanda is the founder and president of Run for Something, an organization dedicated to recruiting and supporting progressive young candidates running for down ballot office. Run for Something is clear that they want a party that reflects the changing face of our electorate. Not just candidates who can raise a lot of money or who have connections or will follow the party line. Launched in January 2017 with a clear goal of building sustainable democratic power in all 50 states, run for Something is dedicated to lowering the barriers candidates have to cross in order to be viable, to help them with behind the scenes support, to get on the ballot and to win and win they have been doing between 2017 and 2021. Run4Something elected 637 candidates to offices ranging from state legislator to county clerk and everything in between. Their candidates come from all walks of life. Teachers, doctors, activists, environmentalists, stay at home dads, librarians and college students. And their candidates represent communities that historically been excluded or discouraged from running for office. Amanda is also the author of Run for Something, A Real Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself, and the upcoming book, When we're in the Next Generation's Guide to Leadership. So if you've ever considered running for office, this is an organization you should know about. And if you want to help new progressive voices emerge from this chaos, then this is an organization you want to support. And finally, if you just want to feel some hope and be comforted by the fact that there are still people out there fighting for America, its Constitution, and our values, then this is a conversation you're going to want to be a part of. So, without further ado, please welcome my guest, founder and president of Run for Something, Amanda Lippman. Welcome, Amanda.
- [03:12]
Amanda Littman
Thank you for having me.
- [03:13]
Lee McGowan
Well, thank you so much for joining us. I think we're at a place where people can't even think of the next election because they're feeling so overwhelmed with everything that's going on. And it feels like our democracy and rule of law are crumbling around us. But no matter how crazy it feels, it is something we have to consider. And I think it's essential that we remind everyone that there are still groups out there working to change the status quo for the better. And you are the president of one of those organizations.
- [03:40]
Amanda Littman
That's the whole thing.
- [03:42]
Lee McGowan
You guys are busy, right? I mean, as I understand it, since Election day, more than 33,000 young people across the country have sought you out and said they want to run for office.
- [03:52]
Amanda Littman
We're up to about 36,000 as of this morning. And my guess is by the time this airs, we will have crossed 40,000, which is, you know, just based on we're averaging about 500 or so new people every day raising their hands and saying, I want to run for office. Now what? We've built this incredible pipeline of leaders in the lifetime of the organization, nearing 200,000 people who are ready to jump into politics as a public servant for the first time.
- [04:20]
Lee McGowan
And as I understand it, that's way more people than the entire first two years of Trump's term and more. More than half of that has come since Inauguration Day. And the number went way up when Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator, chose to do what he did with the continued resolution. So it feels like people are being inspired to come forward and run for office, not just because they feel like the Republicans are doing the wrong thing, but in many ways because they feel like the Democrats are doing the wrong thing.
- [04:47]
Amanda Littman
You know, the way I describe it is like Trump is the water people are swimming in. He's not the bait hooking them in. You know, they are being hooked in, so to speak, by the Democratic Party's failure to fight. In many ways, they're being hooked in by high cost of housing, by book bans, by abortion bans. They're being hooked in by seeing leadership that doesn't seem to reflect where they are, how they feel, what they want out of government. And they're saying, I'm not going to wait for someone to do this on my behalf. If they're not going to do it, I'm going to do it. I think it's really beautiful.
- [05:20]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, no, it's great. I mean, you've been incredibly vocal about the need for older Democratic representatives to make way for newer, more dynamic leaders. Leaders who understand voters frustrations and leaders that know how to talk to voters. You want to tell me a little bit about that?
- [05:36]
Amanda Littman
Yeah. You know, I get called ageist on the Internet a lot and like, maybe, but I think it's really important to take a step back and look at how underrepresented young people are in leadership writ large. You know, the average age in the House is I think, 58, 59. In the Senate it's 63, 64. The median American is I think 39 years old at this point was 38 last census. That is so out of touch with where normal people are. And I gotta say, this matters because your experience as a 20 or 30 or even 40 something in this country right now is very different than that of a 50, 60 or 70 year old. You know, putting aside things like Social Security and Medicare, your engagement with the education system is very different. If you're a parent of young kids versus someone whose kids are already out of the home. Your relationship to the housing market is very different. If you're thinking about buying your first home or more likely renting for the foreseeable future because you can't afford to buy your first home. Your relationship to the Internet is very different. Like, I am very aware that Grammy, whom I love, I love my Grammy, does not understand how this works. She doesn't know how, you know, TikTok or Instagram are used to communicate. And like, that's not a personal failing of hers or of anyone else of her generation. It's just not how they're used to doing things, but it is how most Americans are these days. You know, I think it is such a pivot point we're in where the need for a new generation of leaders is so clear. We need people who are tonally policy wise and politically ready for this moment, but who also can communicate in this moment. And right now, older leaders can't. They just can't.
- [07:22]
Lee McGowan
No, they can't. And I actually don't think it's ageist. There are some people who are older who are getting it. Like, we're watching Bernie do rallies all around the country. He's old, right? And then Trump is an amazing communicator. The guy's old, but he's good at what he does, Right. He can, like, get his people up and going. Right. It's not ageist to say that, but there are people who are of a certain age who are just not relating to how the country works, how the country runs, who the electorate is now. And in many ways, they don't understand how we live. Like you said, like, if you could go through your life on one salary, put yourself through college, pay it off, buy a house, take care of a family, go on vacations, and that was your normal life. My grandmother's life, in many ways, my parents life, one salary, taking care of the whole family. That's not the world we live in. And so if you are regulating and you are creating legislation based on that reality, that's not the reality that most of us are living in now. Like, if you could pay for your college with a summer job, you don't know what we're dealing with, right? So, like, don't tell me that we have to get rid of, you know, student loans when, like, we have to take them to even go to college in the first place. My husband is in tech. He is literally losing his mind listening to our government talk about tech because he's like, these people don't understand what's coming. They are not prepared for AI. They are not prepared to regulate what needs to be regulated before it takes over our lives. And it's scary because you have these big organizations of senators or congressmen talking about tech and they're like, how do I log into my Facebook? And you're like, no, how do we get AI to not be, you know, in charge of the nuclear weapons? Like, this is the kind of discussions that we need to be having. And our representatives by nature are not prepared for them.
- [09:02]
Amanda Littman
And I'm not saying that it needs to be only 20 and 30 somethings of government.
- [09:06]
Lee McGowan
God, no, no, no. You need some wisdom in there.
- [09:08]
Amanda Littman
Yeah, we know this. In every other area of life, diverse teams get better outcomes. And right now, diverse teams are not what we've got in government, especially when you think about generationally. But it also cuts across race and class and background, educational degrees, all of it. What Run for Something does is bring a broader group of leaders into the fold, give them the encouragement to run, help them get off the ground. And because we only focus on local offices where most people get their start in politics, you know, the people that we engage with, who we get to run for a state house and state senate and school board and library board, then have governing experience for when they run for higher office. And we've already seen that pay off. It really matters to have these voices in the room.
- [09:53]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. And we should be really clear that Run for Something isn't about the Democratic Party. It's about progressive values. So will you tell me what progressive values mean to you? Like, what is a progressive? Because I think a lot of people get confused about what progressive values I am. They're like, am I a liberal? Am I a leftist? Like, am I a Democrat? Like, I think it's very confusing. People don't know how to label themselves these days. And we kind of get caught up in not wanting to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. But tell me what you define progressive as.
- [10:20]
Amanda Littman
You know, I will say what Run For Something looks for out of the candidates we work with are a set of shared values. So we want people who are pro choice, pro universal healthcare, pro LGBTQ equality, pro criminal justice reform, pro working families and organized labor, voting rights, campaign finance reform. We want candidates who are going to focus on tackling inequality and fair wages and job creation. We want people who will acknowledge climate change is real and manmade and we have something to do about it. And we want people who are going to fight to reduce gun violence in their community. But we know, and because we work in all of 50 states and all kinds of offices, you know, a city council candidate in New York, where I live, might be talking about working families and organized labor very differently than a school board candidate in Anchorage, Alaska, who might do it differently than a state House candidate in Texas. That doesn't mean they don't share those values. That means they're going to show up a little bit differently. And what we think is most important is that you have candidates running for the places they're in. Ultimately, if you are running to reflect your neighbors and your community and you hold those values dear, that's what we're looking for in the folks that we really endorse.
- [11:26]
Lee McGowan
Right. That is not like being a purist. You know, you're not Saying, do you check these certain values? Do you do this this way and this. There's only one way to be a run for something candidate. There's only one way to be a Democrat. There's only one way to be a progressive. You're saying, no, if you are running in Massachusetts, it's going to be different than if you're running in Mississippi, you know, but you might share the same level of values, the same sort of groundwork in which to build from.
- [11:49]
Amanda Littman
Yeah. And, you know, even more than that, what we're really looking for is candidates who have strong, grassroots driven campaigns, who have plans to talk with their neighbors, who are actually talking with their neighbors and their voters, because we want people who are connected to community. You know, when we first launched, one of the ways we'd measure this, we've gotten away from this a little bit because we've gotten more sophisticated about it. But I'd often ask people thinking about running, like, okay, if you were going to host a campaign launch event in two weeks, do you know where you'd have it? Do you know where you'd hang the flyers or get the word out to get people to come? Can you think about how many people you'd be able to get out to that launch event? If you can, if you can generally get a sense of that, then you understand the place you're in. Like you're of and in the community. It doesn't necessarily mean born there or raised there, but you got to have ties where you're running. You got to have people and you got to be connected to the people. And that even more so than anything else, is what we're really looking for when the candidates we engage with.
- [12:43]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, you're talking about connections. Like, and, and I think sometimes when we think about politics, we're like, do you have connections? And it means, like, are you friends with a senator? Are you super, super rich? Like, that's not what you guys are looking for. Like, obviously progressive values. But when I was reading through your literature, it also says diverse, which we understand what that means, and connected. And then of course, what you call the X factor. Do you want to. Let's, let's just talk a little bit about that because diverse, obviously you're saying you'll work with people from any kind of background as long as they're passionate about making a difference. Not that you have some sort of quota. You Project 2025 would have us theme like, everyone must be DEI. Like, that's not it. Right.
- [13:19]
Amanda Littman
Especially for our endorsements. We're Always seeking to try and get to about half women and about half people of color. But that's to help orient our programming to making sure we're really focusing on folks who traditional gatekeepers have left behind. Sometimes we hit it, sometimes we don't. But we're always seeking to work with people who have not historically been seen as leaders. I think that for us is a really important goal because it makes sure that, as we know historically, you know, women, for example, have not been seen as viable candidates. So people didn't ask them to run because they couldn't raise money. That's bullshit. We know women can be incredible candidates and can be incredible leaders. So we go a little bit further to make sure we're asking more women to run as one exam.
- [13:58]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, absolutely. And then when you're talking about connected, like we were just saying, we're not talking about connected to people in power and money. We're talking about candidates with connection to their communities, right? People who are already in that district, people who are already, say, volunteering or organizing things or mentoring people or know their community. That's what you mean by connected, right? With the chaos that's happening around us, One of my top priorities right now is getting our finances under control. And one of the ways to do that is by using Rocket Money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money shows you all of your subscriptions in one place and helps easily cancel the ones you forgot you were paying for. Rocket Money also pulls together all of your spending across different accounts so you can clearly track your habits and see where you could be cutting back. Their new goals feature automatically saves money for you so you don't even have to think about it. You can pay off a credit card debt, put money away for a house, or just build up your savings. Rocket Money makes it easy. Rocket Money will even try to negotiate lower bills for you. They automatically scan your bills to find opportunities to save. And then if you ask them negotiate for you, they will deal with customer service so that you don't have to. A lot of people could use this service, which is probably why Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving their members up to $740 a year when using all of their app's premium features. So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com PoliticsGirl today, that's RocketMoney.com PoliticsGirl one last time. RocketMoney.com PoliticsGirl DeleteMe makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online at a time where surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Do you know what a data broker is? Our data is a commodity. Anyone on the web can buy our private details and then make profit off our data. Data brokers look for our name, contact info, Social Security number, home address, even information about our family members. And then they compile them and sell them online. This can lead to identity theft, phishing attempts, and harassment. But now you can protect your privacy with Delete Me. I obviously put myself out there every day and I am increasingly nervous about what the wrong people are going to find about me, either digitally or even more scarily in person. So having an organization like Delete Me in my corner is something that really makes sense. So take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me now at a special discount for our listeners today. Get 20% off your delete Me plan by texting Politics Girl to 64,000. The only way to get 20% off is to text Politics Girl one word to 64,000. That's politicsgirl264000 message and data rates may apply. That's what you mean by connected, right?
- [17:06]
Amanda Littman
Absolutely right. They want them to be like, of the community and in it and really understand, like what their neighbors are going to care about and be able to speak in a way their neighbors can hear. You know, I think about this a lot when we talk about communication. Message obviously super important. Messenger even more important because if you think about what it means, like to look back in 2020-2024, if Joe Biden was going to say, I want your student loan debt and AOC said, I want to forgive all your student loan debt. The way you as the listener would hear that, interpret that like whether you'd believe them or not was based on who they were as people and the power that they held and the position that they have and the brand that they have. Messenger is really important. So who the candidate is, their personal story, the way they make you feel about yourself, the way that they're able to communicate. It is fundamental to winning campaigns. And people don't like to talk about this that much because it feels really hard to control. I actually think it is hard to control. But there are no magic words. There's only people who can communicate in a way that connects with others.
- [18:11]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. Which Comes back to that whole concept of authenticity when people are like, are you authentic or are you putting it on in some way? You know, I think about that old Marshall McLuhan quote, that's like, the medium is the message. And it was when, like, television was coming in and, like, how you learn things. And now you're basically saying the messenger is the message. Like, you could give the same message in two different ways, but it depends who's saying it.
- [18:32]
Amanda Littman
Yeah. Like, do I buy your bullshit? Do I think it's bullshit in the first place? That is so important. And it's why I think about candidate recruitment as the most important thing we as a party can be doing right now, and we as a democracy can be doing. You get better leaders who can genuinely connect with their voters, they're going to be able to make the case. I'm often in these text message conversations with often I will say older supporters who'll be like, why can't we just find the exact right message? I'm like, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter what the words are, because it matters who the person is that's saying it. Trump says something versus Ron DeSantis saying the same exact crazy shit. And one of them you believe and one of them you don't. Why is that? Like, dig into that. Like, why is that? It's because of who they are as people. And that's what we're trying to do is get better people.
- [19:18]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. And then that comes back to that last thing that's on your site, which is this X factor, Right? Which can't be denied. It's like what we call the it factor. If you were in entertainment, Right? It's like that, that thing that draws people to you. You know, are you a good communicator? Are you good online and in person? Like, do you like yourself? Are you comfortable in your own skin? Right? Like, are you an authentic person that people are like, yeah, I buy what they're selling. I think that's really important. And I, I keep going back to Donald Trump because at the end of the day, the man's authentic, Right? He's an authentic asshole and he's a moron, but he's authentically himself. And you believe when he says it that he believes it to be true. So you believe it to be true if you are one of his followers. And I think that that's important. And I think we have to acknowledge that instead of saying, well, this person will just vote the same way. I agree with. You have to say, but is anyone going to listen to them when they get there.
- [20:09]
Amanda Littman
You know, I think this is something that, generally speaking, younger generations who've grown up online have a little bit more comfort with anyone who spent a significant amount of time thinking about how they're perceived. You know, on AIM, on MySpace, on Instagram, over a video, in a podcast. Like, you have to have a very clear sense of self in order to do that, because you have to be thinking about how you're perceived. That's not to say, again, that older leaders can't do this. Well, obviously they can. Trump and Bernie are good examples here. But it is telling that the folks who are really able to connect in this moment, who you can tell that they're not bullshitting you are because they've had to spend most of their lives online not bullshitting themselves and others.
- [20:51]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. You know what's interesting, I think about, like, older politicians and how they were trained to speak. Right. They were trained to speak in political talk, right? Where you're kind of not really answering the question. You're sort of dithering around the edges. And that was sort of the way it used to be. You would speak like that on purpose. Like, someone would say, well, that's a political answer, because you didn't really say anything. Right. Like, but that's what they were all taught to do so they wouldn't get in trouble, so they could go either way. And now you hear someone talk, talking in political speak, which was a totally reasonable way to speak if you were, you know, a politician in the 80s or 90s. And now it just seems so completely inauthentic. And I just feel like it goes back to that idea of, you know, are you with the Times? Again, it doesn't mean what age are you? Are you with the Times? Can you speak to where we are? I was watching a Bill Maher episode, and he had David Hogg on, and he said, why is your generation so anxious? Like, what is with your anxiety levels? And he was like, well, we grew up doing live shooter drills in school every single day. Like, that's our generation. Like, it's gonna make you anxious. There are terrible things happening around us, and we are aware of them, and it makes us anxious. And he's like, well. And Bill Maher answered him and said, you know, well, I grew up doing nuclear bomb things in my school. And he said, yes, but the difference is we actually have shooters come in to our schools. You never actually had that happen. You did the drills, but it wasn't real for us. This is real. And so we have a totally different reaction. And to me, really felt like old school, new school, like you just aren't getting it right. And so many people who are in the electorate feel that way about their leaders.
- [22:25]
Amanda Littman
Yeah. And I think it is so much about how you grew up. I think it is also when you became aware of politics. This is the other thing we have really noticed and to your point earlier, about how we've seen the surge of people signing up since the continuing resolution debate, there are people who still think the Republican Party are good faith actors and there are. Sorry, there's everyone else who knows.
- [22:49]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, these are the same people that still think they're the party of fiscal responsibility and personal responsibility.
- [22:55]
Amanda Littman
And yeah, this is not our grandparents Republican Party. And they would say that themselves. This is Trump's Republican Party. They are not good faith partners in governance. They're not good faith negotiators. They want to tear you down. They will lie, they will cheat. We cannot pretend otherwise. And I think in particular, politicians and leaders who've come up really in the last decade understand that. And those who came up before really prize decorum and congeniality and like getting along with your co workers at the, at, you know, in the members halls of Congress or whatever. That's not to say you like, shouldn't be friends with them, but these are not your partners. They're opposition because I promise you, they see us as their opposition. That to me, more so than anything else, beyond even like online communication style, is the distinction between elected officials who come up in the last decade and those who've been there for the decades before.
- [23:49]
Lee McGowan
Which is fascinating really, because you think that this kind of enemy thing happened during the Newt Gingrich years, you know, when he started saying, don't be congenial with Democrats. Democrats are the enemy. Democrats are evil. Democrats are this. Stop having meetings with them to try and reach across the aisle and do things. I mean, this really started from the Republican side and it's almost like the Democrats were slow to pick up on what was being put down.
- [24:12]
Amanda Littman
I think that's absolutely right. And you know, per usual, we've been a little bit behind.
- [24:16]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, I mean, you've said that run for something's risk tolerance is high. And I find that interesting. Like a lot like business incubators or venture capital firms in the tech world. Like, you don't expect all of your candidates to win the first time. It's about getting on the ballot, holding, you know, the opponents accountable, actually standing up for the values that most of us Believe in. It's about getting Democrats engaged and building the party out at a local level. Right. So that there is more likelihood of those values and those people winning in the future. Is that correct?
- [24:49]
Amanda Littman
Absolutely. Right. You know, I always say if our win rate was higher than about 55 or 60%, we wouldn't be taking big enough swings. I want to lose because I think as long as we're losing by less each time, that's how you eventually take an 8020 district to 6535, to 5545, to 5149. You know, especially right now this year when we've already seen incredible Democratic over performance. We've seen us flip deep red seats in state legislatures in Pennsylvania, Iowa and elsewhere. You know, all of that is to say anywhere can be competitive. So we should be fielding candidates everywhere because you never know what's going to happen. That to me is more important than like, oh, we only endorse in the easy wins or the most flippable races. No, I want to be everywhere. I want to be fighting everywhere. Because you know what? Beyond the political ramifications, people in those communities deserve a chance to make their voice heard. And too often, if run for something or one of our partners on the ground isn't recruiting in those races, nobody will run.
- [25:49]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. And honestly, how many Republicans run unopposed in elections all across this country? That should never happen.
- [25:55]
Amanda Littman
Never happen. And it's some. Anywhere between 50 and 70% of local races go uncontested any given year. That means there's only one candidate from a major party and more often than not, it's a Republican.
- [26:06]
Lee McGowan
Tell me what that number is again. How many races go uncontested?
- [26:09]
Amanda Littman
The numbers have ranged, but it's somewhere between 50 and 70% of local races go uncontested each year.
- [26:16]
Lee McGowan
Oh, my God. Yeah, it's wild. We need you more than ever. That is a ludicrous stat. I mean, look, I understand that it must be particularly hard for people to choose to run for office these days while we have, you know, a president sending out the FBI for his political enemies and we have an agent threatening sitting Congress members, you know, for what they say. And we're seeing everyone, including American citizens, right. Be stopped at the border and having their cell phones gone through to see if they said anything negative about the administration. It is a scary time for anybody, but it's a scary time to step forward and say, let me oppose this. What do you say to people who are feeling that kind of anxiety right now? Politics Girl has a new sponsor IQ Bar and I have to tell you these guys are taking their business of keeping us healthy healthy seriously. IQ Bar is the better for you Plant protein based snack made with brain boosting nutrients to refuel, nourish and satisfy hunger without a sugar crash. My son is currently trying to get gains which is a youthful way of trying to say rip up and he is on a self induced meal plan but he gets hungry mid afternoon and doesn't want to eat all the snacks that are available in vending machines at his school so he's taking IQ Bars with him as a go to instead of treats. IQ Bars are super low sugar high protein bars that actually taste real. My son and husband said that the flavors taste like the real thing and not the idea of a flavor with high quality ingredients that keep you physically and mentally fit. They are also gluten free, dairy free, soy and GMO free and have no artificial sweeteners. They come in nine flavors including mint, chocolate chip, chocolate, sea salt, banana nut, toasted coconut chip, lemon and blueberry. There is a reason they have over 20,000 five star reviews and I am seeing it with my own family so why not try it now for yourself? Right now IQ Bar is offering our podcast listeners 20% off all IQ Bar products which include their hydration mixes which I love and mushroom coffees plus free shipping. To get 20% off, text PG 2643, text PG to 64,000. That's PG 264000 message and data rates may apply. See Terms for details. So as I mentioned, a while back we had our trees trimmed and they were butchered. I understand that's what you have to do with trees and giant overgrown bushes, but my house is now naked and I feel like everyone can see in. I have taken to hanging a weird sheet on three of the kitchen windows because I feel like I'm in a fishbowl. So I'm thinking that we should probably put actual blinds in there, which inspires me to talk to you about three Day Blinds. Three Day Blinds are the leading manufacturer of custom window treatments in the US where you can choose from thousands of options that fit any budget or style and you can get actual samples so you won't have to be guessing about what your blinds will look like. Not handy? No problem. Their team handles all the heavy lifting, design measures, measurements, installation, and you can just sit back and leave it to the pros. Three Day Blinds have local, professionally trained consultants who have an average of 10 years of experience to provide you with expert Guidance on the right blinds for you in the comfort of your own home. Plus they will give you a free no obligation quote the same day. So whether you're looking for modern motorized blinds that sync with your smart home or chic roman shades that tie a room together or just something to block out the looky Lee, use three day blinds can help you out right now. Get quality window treatments that fit your budget with three day blinds. Head to three dayblinds.com politicsgirl for their buy one get one 50 off deal on custom shades, blinds, shutters and drapery for a free no charge, no obligation consultation. Just head to 3dayblinds.com politicsgirl one last time that's buy one get one 50% off off when you head to the number 3D a Y blinds.com politicsgirl I understand that it must be particularly hard for people to choose to run for office these days. What do you say to people who are feeling that kind of anxiety right now?
- [30:19]
Amanda Littman
Totally justified. Your anxiety is totally justified. It is absolutely scary. And we are going to give you as many resources as we can to prepare yourself. We've got guides on campaign security and safety trainings. We have partners who are doing even more in depth work to make sure that you know, we're going to keep your private address off the Internet. How can you protect your family? How can you protect your IRL and online security? All of that. We really want to make sure we've got your back and all that being true. It is a risk and we really want people to go in eyes wide open. You know, I never want to bullshit someone and say this is going to be easy or fun or like a trip to Disneyland. It will be hard. You are taking on risk. It is worth doing anyway. But you should go in eyes wide open about that.
- [31:06]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, in some ways that is like going to Disneyland. It is hard and you are taking a risk and you should go in with your eyes wide open. That it will be difficult, especially if you go with toddlers. But listen, you've just, you're talking about a guide and how you give people a guide. Like you've just written a book that I think is coming out May 13th. That's called When When We Are in Charge, the Next Generation's Guide to Leadership. So tell me what prompted you to write that book? Obviously you're already running Run for something. So what does the book offer us that we can get and read and learn and share with our younger friends?
- [31:36]
Amanda Littman
So the book when we're in Charge, which is out Wherever you get your books, May 13th is really a look at millennial and Gen Z leadership, not just in politics, but across every sector. What does it mean to actually be an authentic leader? What does it mean to show up online as a leader? What does it mean to create a workplace or a community that has really clear boundaries and expect for success and also work, life, integration? What does it mean to have ambition in this moment, knowing that the institutions around us are failing and we don't know what our futures are going to look like? How do you strive for what comes next? You know, it's my second book. I wrote a book back in 2017 about how to run for office, which I think right now I'm really glad to hear so many people saying, like, I'm listening to it. I'm reading it. It's so helpful.
- [32:20]
Lee McGowan
Tell people the name of that book.
- [32:21]
Amanda Littman
That book is Run for Something. A real talk guide to running, to Fixing the System Yourself. That's already available. When We're In Charge is the next step. It's not just about running for office. It's about leading wherever you are. And I think especially in this moment where everything feels so bad, the spaces that we can control, we should do everything possible to make them good and compassionate and humane. And When We're In Charge is a guide on how to do that.
- [32:45]
Lee McGowan
And I think one of the best things about your website, to me you have it bolded, is it says, throw everything you know about politics out the window because you are qualified to run for local office. So tell me, tell me what you meant by that and why you made that such a prominent statement in your literature.
- [33:01]
Amanda Littman
You know, thinking back over the last eight years, and this has been true, really, since Trump's first election, we have this preconceived notion of who can and should be a leader. We have this idea that it needs to be a rich, old white guy who can raise a lot of money, who sounds like a leader, who looks like a leader. We think that's the only kind of person who can run and win. And what we have seen over the last eight years is that as a group, that is aggressively not true. Now, I know that the presidential election that Trump has won have both times been against women. I know that's really scared some folks of thinking, well, we can't ever run a woman again. But that's aggressively not true. And we have seen that more. More than anything else, we actually don't know anything. I'm a professional political operative. And the thing that I repeat the Most is I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know necessarily what voters want. I don't know necessarily how they want to hear it. What I do know is that their neighbors, their community members, their friends, their peers are the best people to lead them and they are the best people to make the case to them about why they should show up and go to the polls. Run for something doesn't do voter contact. What we do is empower our candidates to do voter contact because we think if you are running for school board or state house or city council, you're the one that should have every possible resource you need to knock doors and talk to people about showing up up because you know how they're going to interpret it.
- [34:22]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. I mean, so the qualification is, do you care about improving your local community? Like, are you called to leadership? Do you want to help people? Right. It's not about the resume or how much money you already have. It's about putting people in the position who already care to win. You're putting them in the, in the place to win. Right.
- [34:43]
Amanda Littman
We know the questions we ask people when they're thinking about running are, do you have a problem you care about solving? Is there an office that would give you power to solve it? Can you connect? Why this office? Why should voters want you to win? Which is different than why you want to win. You want to win because winning is great and losing sucks. Voters want you to win because you're going to do something for them and then are you willing to do the work? Everything else, everything else is logistics and can be taught.
- [35:09]
Lee McGowan
This is incredibly important at the local level. I don't think people understand our government as well as they should by no fault of their own. Right. But if you look at even just 2020 alone, the work of state and local offices and officials was essential to our safety, to our well being, to millions of people in this nation. We just don't realize it because we spend so much time blaming the president or looking at Congress. Right. But it's these jobs that are happening at, you know, school boards and local places that are really holding back some of the worst. And also the ones if they're in the wrong hands can make some of the worst damage. And these jobs are more important than ever. And I don't think people realize how essential local offices are. We talk often about state offices and how important they are, but local offices as well.
- [35:55]
Amanda Littman
Let me give you a good example here. So in 2023, run for something Ran a really aggressive recruitment campaign to get people to run for the positions that actually oversee elections. Local election administrators, which is, you know, county commissions, county clerks, city clerks, that kind of thing. In Pennsylvania, Dauphin county, which is around Harrisburg, Penns state capital. We were trying to get someone to run for county commission, which in Pennsylvania, who oversees the election? Among a bunch of other things, we did cold calling and texting. We talked to this guy, Justin Douglas. Justin was the pastor of a church who had just been fired for being too welcoming to LGBTQ congregants in his community. He'd worked with the unhoused population in the area. He was in particular really fired up about how the county jail system had let a bunch of inmates die under their care. He thought it was really dangerous. And we were talking to him about running for office. Maybe he knew someone, maybe he was the right person. And ultimately we convinced him that his rage and his passion for this issue in particular about the criminal justice system was exactly what this county needed. So he ran for office. He was outspent, I think 10 to 1. He spent like $12,000, maybe. His opponents spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. He campaigned across the county. He did giant billboards listing up the names of the inmates who had died under the county's care. He left leaflets at people's homes saying, you know, the mayor in JAWS 1 was still the mayor in JAWS 2. Vote in your local election elections. He ultimately won on election night by about 140 votes, flipping control of the county commission from Republican to Democrat for the first time in over a hundred years. One of the first things he did when he got into office was expand language access to the polls. He started printing sample ballots in dozens of other languages that people in the community spoke. He opened up more dropboxes so people had more access to drop off their ballots going into the 2024 election. And of course, he changed the way that the county commission was overseeing the jail system to make it so it was more humane and more clear and less corrupt. He has been tackling these local cost of living issues, this local quality of life issues and democracy, all from this simple office that he spent $12,000 to.
- [38:04]
Lee McGowan
Win after being fired. Yeah, so that's how people have to look at it. Like where is your passion? Where do you want to put it? And if you need someone to, to help you direct it, you guys are an organization that will help them do that.
- [38:15]
Amanda Littman
Exactly right.
- [38:16]
Lee McGowan
And listen, people can contact you even if they don't want to run for office. Right. Or if they they know they're not going to run, but they want to support a first time candidate or they want to support people that are going to be doing this or they want to support building a progressive infrastructure in their state or local levels. How can they do that?
- [38:32]
Amanda Littman
So there's two other ways you can help us besides running for office though. I definitely encourage everyone to think about running running. One is you can volunteer. So we have a way. You can sign up on our website, you can help talk to potential candidates, you can get connected to volunteer with the local campaigns we've endorsed. We've got a mobilize page where you can find events, virtual canvases, phone banking, all kinds of ways you can help these races. It is so important and it's something we're really trying to do more of in the years to come.
- [38:57]
Lee McGowan
What's the website that they should be going to?
- [38:59]
Amanda Littman
Runforsomething.net and then you can click help and you'll find a way to help all of our campaigns. Campaigns. Second thing you can do is to give every dollar that people chip in to run for something goes to recruiting and supporting these candidates. You know, we are not funded by that. Many shadowy billionaires like to give us the money. But we are really trying to do a grassroots driven work to sustain this for as long as it needs doing, which you know, I love. I would hope for one day we no longer need to exist, but for now it's incredibly clear the demand for our work is higher than ever. Every dollar helps make it possible.
- [39:32]
Lee McGowan
Yeah. And I understand you partner with a lot of groups, right? I mean, your candidates have access to tons of resources and training and have networking mentors that they can work with who are experts in that field. And we're talking about groups like Swing Left and Arena and Summit and the National Democratic Training Committee and Latino Victory Project and Vote Run Lead. Right. And of course the state parties across the country, which we often forget about, that there are Democratic state parties all over the country that also know their districts and know their state and know the best way to reach out to people and probably already have door knocking campaigns going and that kind of thing.
- [40:05]
Amanda Littman
We work with basically any group that does stuff for local candidates we have a relationship with. Sometimes that looks like sending spreadsheets back and forth to help them find candidates to run. Sometimes that looks like connecting our pipeline to their program. Sometimes that looks like making sure that when they're doing endorsements they know about our candidates. Because we are often the first endorsement for a candidate that is for us, a Point of pride. We love being able to find talent and then help other people, give them money or get them volunteers. It's really fun. You know, for us, the big thing is about how can we leverage our national relationships on behalf of the school board and city council and state ledge races.
- [40:41]
Lee McGowan
That's great. I mean, honestly, if you think about, like, all the money that goes to places like Moms for Liberty who are, like, taking over those school boards, it's so nice to know that there's people on the other side working for the opposite of book banning and white Christian nationalism. Right. Let me ask you, do you think that with all the chaos and incompetence that we're seeing right now, in combination with, like, let's say, these empty chair town halls around the country that are happening with Republican leaders refusing to show up and face their constituents, do you think that that's proving something? Do you think that has something to do with why there's such a large influx of people who are looking to run for office? Because it's almost like we can now see in real time how out of touch so many of our leaders are. And maybe that's inspiring and motivating to people who are young and maybe interested in politics. Maybe this is actually as crazy as it is a great time to jump in, that people are actually desperate for fresh faces and genuine leadership. You know, they're looking for people who have character, who have charisma, who actually believe in something. You know, real leaders that actually care about the people. Do you think that it's possible at this time, should we make it through, that we might actually see some sort of political renaissance, that it might be a new way to do politics and we might end up better off for it?
- [42:00]
Amanda Littman
I think so. I think we're on the brink of a real transformational moment. You know, Trump's never going to be on the ballot again. As much as he says he wants to not allowed in the Constitution, I think we should keep saying that he will not be on the ballot again. We should not give in to this idea that, oh, they'll find a way. No, Trump's never going to run for president again. The rest of the Republican Party cannot get away with his bullshit. It's also important to note, and there is such an incredible bench of talent, both currently serving locally and also about to run locally, that are moving up the ranks and who are running for higher office already. These leaders, like, I've gotten to know some of the run for something candidates over the years, they will knock your Socks off. I mean, you've already gotten to know some of them. Sarah McBride from Delaware, Jasmine Crockett from Texas. You know, Emily Randall from Washington. Suha Subranyam from Virginia. They are just the best, and they are transformational. You know, Mallory McMorrow in Michigan. Run for Something alum. We were her very first endorser back in 2018. We have been with her since the beginning. Christian Menefee, who's currently running for Congress down in Texas. Lena Hidalgo, who's the Harris county executive down there. Ana Eskimani, who's currently running for mayor of Orlando, who's just unbelievably talented and so passionate. It is such a cool group of people who will make you feel good about government when, like, so much makes you feel bad and they genuinely give a shit and can show up in a way that connects with you. I think we're on the brink of something amazing. If we get to the other side.
- [43:33]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, well, that's it. If we can hold off the authoritarianism, we might just get a whole new crop of talent and a brand new way of doing American politics. Politics.
- [43:41]
Amanda Littman
That's right. We just got to get there. We can do it.
- [43:44]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, we just got to get there. Okay, well, listen, I want to thank you for joining us today. Amanda, before you go, remind people again how they can help you out, how they can get in touch with you if they want to run for office or if they want to help inspire young people who want to run for office.
- [43:56]
Amanda Littman
Okay, so three things you can do. You can run, and if you want to do that, the best place to go is runforwhat.net because you can look up the office you might be able to run for in 2025 or 2026. It probably is a little late for 2025, although in most places, some places it might not be. Definitely not too early for 2026. We know that people spend, on average, about 310 days in our pipeline before filing. So everyone who signs up right now, we're thinking about them as 2026 candidates. You go, you can look up what you want to run for. You'll start getting information from our team on how to think about what's next. It's not a promise, just raising your hand to say you want to learn more. Second thing you can do is volunteer. You go to runforsomething.net, look up all the information. You'll find out how to volunteer and plug in with our candidates and our team. Third thing you can do is donate runforsomething.net Again, you'll find the information on how to give every dollar goes a long way.
- [44:49]
Lee McGowan
Yeah, it certainly does. Thank you so much for having this organization, for writing your books, for still believing in our government and in democracy, because so many of us share that sentiment. And you let me know when there's a Run for Something mature. Sure. You know, for us oldies that still want to do it as well, anytime.
- [45:08]
Amanda Littman
Thank you for having me. And thanks to your listeners for, you know, being excited about what Run for Something does.
- [45:13]
Lee McGowan
Thank you, Amanda. We really, really appreciate people like you out here doing this work. So that was Amanda Lippman from Run for Something reminding us that more than anything, we don't know anything. That while our country is in the midst of chaos and crisis, the work doesn't stop. That 40,000 young people have already stepped up since election Day to say they want to run for office. And that number only continues to grow. That if we can hold off the Republicans illegal power grab, this moment in political history might just kickstart a whole new way of doing American politics, where our representatives actually represent us, where a new kind of leader hears the call and speaks to us in our language about our problems, because they are us. I want to thank Amanda for joining us today and you for caring enough about democracy to be here. Now go to runforsomething.net and see what you can do to help. Because no matter what we see, the American experiment is far from over. Until next week. Peachy. Out. Before you go, I just want to thank the premium members of this podcast and encourage you, if you're not a member, to consider supporting my work. Independent voices are the ones doing the work right now to bring you the trust truth in today's political landscape. And we do it at some cost to us. So if you aren't a member of Politics Girl Premium, Please go to politicsgirl.com and consider signing up. You will get this podcast ad free, along with my rants and bonus content sent directly to your inbox. So even if my work is silenced on social media, you will still get access to the truth and information you need. There's a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but also@politicsgirl.com and as always, please like and share this podcast so we can grow the audience. Because the more people who have access to real information, the more effective we can be at defeating these people. As always, thank you so much for your time and support. Politics Girl Podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan, in partnership with the Midas Media Network and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.