Americans for Democratic Action

10/19/2026

Time and again, we have had high hopes for Texas but have, ultimately, faced disappointment. Somehow, this year feels different with Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico leading in the polls and incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s race currently falling within the margin of error.

So, we dare to hope and turn our attention today to Texas’ 23rd Congressional District where the April resignation of scandal-riddenRepresentative Tony Gonzales (R) left both an opening and an opportunity even though the district voted for the President by a 15-point margin in 2024. Into the breach, stepped Brandon Herrera (R) who had bested Gonzales in the March primary and Katy Padilla Stout (D). Current polling shows Herrera leading by merely 2 points.

READ HERE: https://adaction.org/spotlight-on-democracy/

Herrera, a gun “rights” advocate seems to think jokes about the Holocaust are funny and misogyny is a virtue. He is a fi****ms manufacturer with a YouTube show featuring his views on gun policy and where he dubs himself the AK guy. His show ran a series recreating the assassinations of public figures, including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Abraham Lincoln. He collaborated with Kyle Rittenhouse on Rittenhouse’s own show. That would be enough to send shivers up one’s spine but there’s more. He is a member of the Sons of the Confederacy whose website says, “Vindicating the cause since 1896 The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a fraternal heritage organization whose mission is to defend the Confederate soldier's good name, protect his history, and emulate Southern virtues.” They also promote white supremacy. Someone please tell them that war is over. In addition, he is yet another pro-gun advocate who also claims to be “pro-life.” He proudly touts his support by and for the President.

Padilla Stout is a former teacher and lawyer who focuses on child welfare and education law. She is a member of the Bexar County Child Welfare Board which works to support vulnerable children. She wants to improve the Affordable Care Act. She would work to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and center environmental and energy policies on established climate science. She is pro-choice. She would support and expand the Voting Rights Act. She opposes the war in Iran. She says “Y’all means ALL” when queried about LGBTQ+ rights. We don’t know but don’t believe she would find the Holocaust funny.

We said this is a study in contrasts. A look at the records and policy statements makes that fact abundantly clear.

DONATE TO ADA'S VOTER CONTACT PROGRAM TODAY! https://adaction.org/elections

10/14/2026

We hope you'll consider this invitation from the ADA SoCal chapter:

Americans for Democratic Action of Southern California Presents
🍸COCKTAILS & CANDIDATES🍸

Three online ZOOM gatherings, on the road to the November 2026 midterm elections, for Democrats, progressives, and all who care about our fragile American republic and our imperiled one world civilization.

THREE THURSDAY NIGHTS
October 15, October 29, November 12, 2026
7-9 PM Pacific Time

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89478724907?pwd=1iYrwXWOYb1mRR94dRrsaCb0IEEmcS.1

10/12/2026

In a year of races high on hope for real progress but with razor-thin polling margins, Michigan stands close to the front of the list. It is a true study in contrasts which, sadly, has been marred with overt racism: Islamophobia aimed at the Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers’ refusal (as of this writing) to disavow a student campaign coordinator who publicly defended the infamous "I love Hi**er" Young Republicans group chat where participants referred to Black people using racial slurs, joked about gas chambers, and called r**e "epic."

READ HERE: https://adaction.org/spotlight-on-democracy/

El-Sayed is a Rhodes scholar and epidemiologist who earned a doctorate in public health. He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Wayne County's Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services and is using his expertise to make supporting Medicare for All a campaign priority. He supports sending aid to Ukraine in its battle with Russia and opposes the war with Iran. He would abolish ICE and prosecute rogue agents. He supports workers’ rights to organize free from harassment and would vote for the PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act.

He calls for the tougher enforcement of environmental laws and wants guard rails put on the development of artificial intelligence. He is pro-choice and supports LGBTQ+ rights. He supports America’s engagement in the World Health Organization, the Conference of Parties, and the Paris Agreement to address both the climate crisis and global health challenges. His endorsements by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and other liberal activists are well known. We also take our guidance from ADA stalwarts former Representatives Andy and Sander Levin from Michigan.

El-Sayed’s opponent is former Republican Representative Mike Rogers whose lifetime ADA voting record is 6%. Rogers served in Congress from 2001-2015. He is the master of close races winning his 2000 race by only 111 votes. He lost his Senate bid in 2024 by about 20,000 votes even as the President was carrying the state by 80,000 votes. We’re hoping for a repeat performance with the President front and center on his campaign website. He is anti-choice and praised the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Despite his state’s proximity to Canada, he initially said he supports the President’s tariffs.

And, just to underscore his antipathy to our northern neighbor, he opposed construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge joining Detroit and Windsor and supported the President’s threats to keep it from opening. He also supports the President’s war with Iran and says the President has the authority to continue the war without Congressional approval. He supports building the wall on the Southern border and believes that immigrants are responsible for increases in crime. He would gut the Affordable Care Act. During his time in Congress, he consistently voted against LGBTQ+ rights. He voted against the 2007 Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which aimed to prevent workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. He voted to limit enforcement of the Clean Water Act. The rest of his record is predictably far right.

Clearly, the differences between the two candidates are stark. Retaining this seat in the Democratic column is essential to recapturing a liberal Senate majority.

DONATE TO ADA'S VOTER CONTACT PROGRAM TODAY! https://adaction.org/elections

10/07/2026

Because of Donald Trump’s disastrous stewardship of our economy, the Social Security Board of Trustees estimates that Social Security’s trust funds will now run out in 2032. That date will come after Donald Trump has left the White House.

Senators, on the other hand, serve six-year terms―which means that this year’s class of Senators will have a say in how we stop an over 20 percent cut to Social Security’s earned benefits. This election season, we need EVERY Senate candidate to go on the record. Will they support Social Security cuts, or will they tax the rich?

Click here to send a message to every candidate running for the Senate this year -support Social Security! bit.ly/4efhvIu

As a reminder: Social Security currently has a $2.6 trillion trust fund, amassed over the years when the amount Americans paid in with every paycheck exceeded the amount that was paid out in benefits. In years when benefits exceed contributions, the trust fund covers the difference. This is crucial, because by law, Social Security cannot―and does not―add even a penny to the deficit.

This shortfall has been a long time coming. In 1983, a bipartisan reform prepared for the decades-away retirement of the large baby boom generation by building up Social Security’s trust funds. Those politicians knew that baby boomers would retire eventually―but they didn’t know that income inequality would become a yawning chasm, where virtually all income gains went to people earning above the $184,500 cap on Social Security contributions. This chasm is what we didn’t plan for―not the surge in retirements.

That’s why the solution to the looming crisis isn’t benefit cuts―it’s making the wealthy finally pay their fair share.

Scaremongers want you to think that when the trust fund is exhausted, Social Security is ‘bankrupt’―but that’s a lie. As long as people are paying into Social Security, which happens automatically with every paycheck, Social Security will be able to pay about 75% of promised benefits. Of course, that’s not good enough. And it doesn’t have to be if the uber-wealthy start paying their fair share.

One way or another, someone will have to pay. Almost half of today’s Social Security beneficiaries say that they rely on those benefits for all or most of their income.
The ultra-wealthy know that this is looming―which is why they’re spending so much money backing Super PACs that will try to elect candidates who pledge never to tax them.

This election season, we need EVERY Senate candidate to go on the record. Will they support Social Security cuts, or will they tax the rich?

Click here to send a message to every candidate running for the Senate this year - Support Social Security! bit.ly/4efhvIu

10/06/2026

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10/05/2026

Twenty-two years ago, Thomas Frank wrote, What’s the Matter with Kansas, a book about the rise of conservatism in Kansas. Now, two decades later, we are asking the same question but with a potentially different answer as we focus on this year’s Senate race.

READ HERE: https://adaction.org/spotlight-on-democracy/

We will admit we are skeptical. After all, a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate election in Kansas since 1932. And, mega-churches make us very skittish. But, who are we to discount the views of last year’s James Wechsler awardee Jim Acosta, the Cook Report and many others who believe that this unlikely pick up is, indeed, a potential for turning a red seat blue.

The person who may be poised to achieve the unlikely is Adam Hamilton, the senior pastor of Resurrection United Methodist Church, the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States. Despite long odds, some current polls actually show him leading the incumbent Senator Roger Marshall (R) by a slim margin. He is campaigning to strengthen the right to organize and eliminate corporate loopholes. He wants to reverse the cuts to Medicaid and restore the ACA subsidies that hold premiums down. He is strongly pro-choice and his church’s website has a section devoted to LGBTQ+ rights. It has also sponsored KC Pride Fest. He says that his first priority in Washington would be ending the war in Iran which his opponent has supported. He strongly criticizes broad trade tariffs, characterizing them as an extra tax on Kansas families and farmers that drive up inflation and living costs.

Contrast that with Roger Marshall the incumbent Republican Senator whose lifetime record in both the House and Senate is 1.5%! He was a Member of the U.S. House from 2017 until 2021 when he moved to the Senate. Marshall, who campaigns as ‘Doc Marshall,’ is an OB/GYN who has gained recent notoriety because he reportedly sued more than 700 patients for unpaid bills – some as little as $100. Of those sued, 81 were arrested according to the New York Times. His net worth is purported to be between $3 and $9.8 million. The publicity and the downward pull of his endorsement by the President are creating an opening that was unexpected. He has voted more than 10 times against resolutions seeking to remove the US from the war with Iran. He voted against programs to help struggling families while supporting spending money on the President’s gilded ballroom. He supports the President on tariffs claiming that patriotic farmers will support the tariffs despite their downside. He believes “life begins at conception” and opposes a woman’s right to choose her own health care options. He also wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He appears obsessed with transgender rights (or lack thereof). He opposes gun control legislation. He is strongly pro-ICE and pro-border wall, and opposes a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. He supports “right to work” laws and opposes increasing the federal minimum wage.

You get the picture. Fingers crossed that the current optimism is warranted.

In the meantime, if you are one of Senator Marshall’s constituents, please let him know how you feel.

✅ 479A Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, Phone: 202-224-4774

✅ 921 Larue Street, Suite C, Garden City, KS 67846, Phone: 620-765-7800

✅ 400 State Ave, Suite 230, Kansas City, KS 66101, Phone: 913-549-1570

✅ 7011 W. 121st Street, Suite 100, Overland Park, KS 66209, Phone: 913-879-7070

✅ 402B North Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762, Phone: 620-404-7016

✅ 204 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite 1, Salina, KS 67401, Phone: 785-829-9000

✅ 800 SW Jackson Street, Suite 600, Topeka, KS 66612, Phone: 785-414-7501

✅ 100 S. Market, Suite 102, Wichita, KS 67202, Phone: 316-803-6120

09/30/2026

The threats to the very concept of democratic self-government are real and accelerating. And, despite the law, Trump and his MAGA followers are rigging the 2026 elections to remain in power. Trump has repeatedly threatened to deploy armed federal agents to the polls on Election Day and now others in his administration are echoing those threats.

Federal law has restricted the deployment of troops or armed federal personnel to polling places since the Civil War era, but the rule of law hasn’t stopped Trump in the past. We must push back against him usurping the law again. Our democracy is at stake!

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE PETITION CALLING ON CONGRESS TO PASS THE
PROTECT OUR POLLS!
https://adaction.org/petitions/

Democratic lawmakers are working to block Trump’s authoritarian attempt to intimidate voters by introducing the Protect Our Polls Act, legislation that limits the President’s ability to deploy the military or federal law enforcement to polling places or to seize election material. This would apply to any attempt to send in the federalized National Guard, active-duty troops, or federal law enforcement, including ICE and the FBI. Sign the petition below calling on members of Congress to keep our elections safe by passing the Protect Our Polls Act.

If the recent SCOTUS victory on mail-in voting shows us anything it is that grassroots momentum coupled with legal and moral authority can win! The right to vote is the fundamental right from which all of our rights are derived as Americans, and free and fair elections are the foundation of our democratic republic. Click here to add your name today!

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE PETITION CALLING ON CONGRESS TO PASS THE
PROTECT OUR POLLS
https://adaction.org/petitions/

09/29/2026

Join us next week! ADA annual awards reception.

We are the nation’s most experienced organization committed to liberal politics, liberal policies, and a liberal future.

09/28/2026

Spare Her The Shame

In a now-deleted Tweet, Minnesota’s Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya said, “I’m embarrassed to say I live in Minnesota. This state has gone so far left it’s amazing any of the snow still sticks.” In other comments, she is also reported to have said she is considering moving to Tennessee or Florida. That’s bad enough but there’s more.

READ HERE: https://adaction.org/spotlight-on-democracy/

Tafoya is facing Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Tafoya is a former sports broadcaster who covered the NFL, the Olympics and professional basketball. Since leaving broadcasting in 2022, she has made a career as a conservative political consultant who routinely trashes Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and Representative Ilhan Omar (D) but not limiting herself to them. She casts herself as a pro-choice Republican but supports the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. She says she would vote to confirm strict-constructionist, conservative federal judges. She thinks any further common sense gun control laws violate the US Constitution. She supports the President’s war with Iran and says to those decrying higher gas prices resulting from that war that “they should take one less trip to Starbucks.” A central issue in her campaign is keeping transgender women from participating in women’s sports.

The contrast with the Democratic nominee Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan couldn’t be greater. Despite her Irish sounding name, Flanagan is an Ojibwe activist who has devoted her life to public service. She served in the Minnesota House from 2015-2019 when she became Lt. Governor. She won a seat on the board of Minneapolis Public Schools in 2004. While in college, she worked on former ADA president Paul Wellstone’s campaign. She was the executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund in Minnesota. Her liberal stance on issues of concern to all of us is outstanding. She is in favor of abolishing and replacing ICE. She is in favor of Medicare for All, but in the meantime, would support continuing and expanding Obamacare. She is staunchly pro-choice and in favor of allowing women to make their own maternal and reproductive health care choices. She is working to increase the minimum wage and strongly supports the PRO Act to bolster the rights of workers to organize. She wants to rebuild our ties with our NATO allies and supports Ukraine in their fight against an unjust invasion by Putin. She strongly opposes the war with Iran. She pledges to reverse the cuts to Head Start made by the current Administration and promises to work to expand the program. She supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and will work for passage of the Equality Act to protect the LGBTQ+ community. She has been endorsed by a wide range of unions and liberal activists.

We repeat: The choice is clear. We need to make sure that Flanagan becomes the next Senator from Minnesota and that Tafoya has the opportunity she wants to move to Tennessee or Florida.

DONATE TO ADA'S VOTER CONTACT PROGRAM TODAY! https://adaction.org/elections

09/23/2026

Billionaires have built their extreme wealth on the backs of working people.

And because of Donald Trump's Big Ugly Bill, they're getting tax breaks while the rest of us see health care cuts.

This is a problem that will ultimately need a nationwide solution. But California has an opportunity right now to lead the nation and show how it can be done and show how it can be done.

This November, Californians have the chance to pass our country's first billionaire tax, Proposition 40. EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIVE OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA, CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE FIRST BILLIONAIRE TAX! bit.ly/4xL4LR1

Prop 40 is a one-time, emergency 5% tax on Californians worth more than $1 billion — just about 200 people who, between them, hold a combined $2 trillion. The billionaire tax collected will be used to protect Californians' access to health care.

As Senator Bernie Sanders says, "It should be common sense that the billionaires pay just slightly more so that entire communities can preserve access to life-saving medical care. Our country needs access to hospitals and emergency rooms, not more tax breaks for billionaires."

Representative Ro Khanna agrees: "It's a matter of values. We believe billionaires can pay a modest wealth tax so working-class Californians have Medicaid."

We need to build momentum for a billionaires' wealth tax across the country. First, we'll help to pass it in California. Then, we'll take our fight nationwide!

Will you join Sen. Sanders and Rep. Khanna and sign on as a grassroots co-sponsor of Prop 40 — the first billionaire tax? Add your name to our petition today and join the fight! bit.ly/4xL4LR1