Fighting for Equal Representation
Throughout 2023, The Collective PAC will provide pertinent updates every month on our work to support Black candidates running nationwide, as well as results of key research projects and groundbreaking initiatives we’ll be undertaking as we work to increase Black political engagement, representation and power across all levels of government.
Groundbreaking Candidates
There’s no doubt that a record number of Black candidates ran for office on the local, state and federal level across the country during the 2021-2022 election cycle and we don’t see that trend slowing down anytime soon. These groundbreaking Black candidates represent a new generation of leaders that stand to reshape politics for years to come, and ran for office at a time when their voices and lived experiences are helping shape public policy that will improve the lives of all Americans.
To this end, The Collective PAC – the nation’s largest political action committee dedicated to increasing Black political engagement, representation, and power – will continue our work to change the face of power by closing the representation gap in Black elected leadership at all levels of government in 2023. This year we will have a particular focus on candidates running in statewide, state legislative, and mayoral races across the country.
The Collective PAC’s Investment and Impact
During the 2021-2022 election cycle, The Collective PAC contributed over approximately $700,000 to help elect our candidates through direct contributions to their campaigns. We also bundled over $333,823 for federal and statewide candidates from tens of thousands of our members and donors. The direct investments made to these campaigns were able to help our candidates establish and grow their voter outreach and engagement initiatives. Additionally, we highlighted our endorsed candidates through our email and social media platforms and worked directly with many of our candidates on earned media outreach and revamping their social media efforts.
In 2022, The Collective PAC organized 11 text banks with over 900 volunteers engaging in voter contact for some of our high priority races in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Through these organizing efforts, we were able to reach over 3.1 million Black voters, encouraging them to use their power at the ballot box.
January in Review
This past January we saw the historic inaugurations of Maryland’s first Black Governor, Wes Moore; Pennsylvania’s first Black Lieutenant Governor, Austin Davis; the first Black Attorneys General of Massachusetts and Maryland, Andrea Campbell and Anthony Brown, respectively; and Connectitut’s first Black State Treasurer, Erick Russel. January also saw the swearing in of the largest class of the Congressional Black Caucus in U.S. history
The Collective PAC collaborated with our partners from The Latino Victory Fund and AAPI Victory Fund to host the first-ever Tri-Caucus swearing-in and welcome reception for members of the 118th Congress on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. There were over 15 Members of Congress from the Black, Latinx, and AANHPI communities at the gathering. Several senior staff from the White House and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge were also in attendance.
The Work Ahead
So far this cycle, The Collective PAC has endorsed Virginia State Senator Jennifer McClellan for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District in February’s upcoming special election to fill the seat of the late Representative Donald McEachin. If elected, Senator McClellan will become the first Black woman to represent the commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Our ultimate goal is to endorse at least 100 Black candidates running for state and local office in 2023, as we work to expand Black representation across all levels of government. Specifically, our priority states for statewide and state legislative races are: Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia. We will also focus on several mayoral races in key major cities across the country including Chicago, Denver, Houston and Philadelphia. When we have elected officials who reflect and respect the diversity of our communities, we have a government that is more effective and more responsive to the needs of their constituents. We know that the ripple effect of this election as it pertains to the prowess of Black candidates, will be felt for years to come.
ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE PAC
The Collective PAC is working to create an America where Black people are equally represented at every level of government. The Collective PAC is strategically focused on creating a truly equitable democracy where our nation’s local, state, and federal governments have diverse and talented elected leadership and Black people are fully represented in positions of power to create the policies necessary to progress our communities forward. Over the past five years, The Collective PAC has successfully helped 423 Black candidates win elections across the United States.