In 2018, the Kentucky governors race came down to two candidates: sitting Governor Matt Bevin (R) and challenger Andy Beshear (D). Bevin had spent some of the days of his campaign season bashing teachers, a majority of them women who went on strike for better pay and working conditions. Bevin made outrageous comments about them, blaming them for the physical and sexual abuse of children, and women across the state were outraged. In November of 2018, the ruby-red state of Kentucky got itself a brand-new Democratic mayor.
When women are angry in large numbers, things get done.
ActBlue, the Democratic Party's online fundraising platform, raked in over $20 million in the first 24 hours after the Supreme Court struck down Roe.
That number rose to over $51 million by Tuesday and surpassed $80 million by yesterday. https://t.co/UpieAVtb2t
— Axios (@axios) July 2, 2022
Democrats are hoping that same energy will carry over into the 2022 midterms, giving them the edge they need to codify Roe v Wade into law, a move that’s been proposed in fear for years but most believed would never truly be necessary. The blow to women’s rights from the SCOTUS decision to overturn the landmark case has put Republicans, the party responsible for the unfairly imbalanced Supreme Court, in the spotlight for their endless war on women.
Senator for the state of New York Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), who chairs the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, wrote in a post on Democracy Docket that:
‘Today, we are seeing those shortcomings on full display. At all levels of government, vicious attacks seek to unravel our civil liberties, starting first and foremost with the right to vote. Republicans have looked to gut the Voting Rights Act, weaponize the Supreme Court in shielding racial discrimination, obstruct voter protections in Congress and eviscerate electoral integrity at the grassroots level.’
Representative Cousins also reminded everyone of the words of the great John Lewis, warrior of the Civil Rights Movement and giant among men, who said that:
‘Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take.’
Twitter had a big reaction to the news about the Democrats’ fundraising success. Read some of their comments below:
