It’s been a month since the Capitol insurrection, but each day, news on what happened and who was involved prior to the riots continues to surface. At least 57 local elected Republicans attended the “Stop the Steal” Trump rally that occurred moments before the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, according to HuffPost. As of this report, only two of the 57 elected officials have resigned: West Virginia delegate Derrick Evans, who filmed himself storming the Capitol, and Jorge Riley, a Republican leader in Sacramento.
Because most of the others have refused to vacate their positions or take responsibility for their involvement in the Capitol riots, Run For Something, an organization dedicated to helping diverse people run for local and state office, is encouraging individuals to run against every official who was confirmed to be at the Trump rally. “16 GOP members of state houses, 4 state senators, 6 county commissioners, 7 city council members, 2 mayors, 3 school board members, 2 prosecutors & more all attended the 1/6 insurrection - if you run against any of them, @runforsomething will help,” Amanda Litman, co-founder of the organization, said on Twitter.
"Thousands of people looked at the January 6th insurrection and said, 'That's not democracy,'” Litman told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
Within hours of its feature on the Maddow Show, Litman announced that more than 1,000 people signed up with the organization to run for office. At the start of the year, at least 6,554 others signed up for Run For Something’s pipeline in wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, CNN reported. While it is not guaranteed these people will run, the mere interest in running for office shows the growing concern for change.
"We need to win local office because it's not enough to win the House, Senate and White House," Litman said noting that change occurs at all levels. "Progress happens locally," Litman said.
According to Litman, the organization’s mission is to recruit “new inspiring leaders who make a meaningful impact on peoples' lives.” But that's not all; she added that “it's also about harm prevention. By working in even the reddest of states, our candidates can stop the worst of the worst.”
Prior to its feature on the show, Run For Something shared on its website that its new class of 2021 candidates was made up of 63% women, 63% BIPOC, and 25% LGBTQ. The organization is rapidly growing its reputation of successfully electing progressive individuals to office. In 2017, the organization notably supported more than 30 progressives who were elected into office, and that was the same year it was founded in response to Trump's inauguration. It has since supported over 450 young candidates in all 50 states. The organization stands by inclusivity and encourages everyone to run for office despite what their resume may hold.
Learn more about the organization and how you can run if interested here. Let’s turn this country in the right direction and remove corrupt and xenophobic Republicans from office.