Since 2018, our Jewish votes and voices helped elect a new generation of reformers and radicals. We sent Rep. Jamaal Bowman to Congress. We sent progressives to Albany, like Julia Salazar and Zellnor Myrie, to establish a Democratic majority in the State Senate. We elected a cohort of visionary leaders to the New York City government, including NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and NYC Council superstars like Tiffany Cabán, Sandy Nurse, Shahana Hanif, and Lincoln Restler.
And again this year, we are so proud and grateful to our candidates: From anti-war veteran Brittany Ramos DeBarros to care champion Yuh-Line Niou, both of whom ran principled and inspiring campaigns for Congress; to our fierce allies in Albany, Senators Gustavo Rivera and Robert Jackson; to organizers and State Senate candidates David Alexis and Kristen Gonzalez who electrified New Yorkers with game changing policy agendas – The Jewish Vote candidates ran campaigns with heart, hustle, and so much joy.
As we celebrate our work and process the results, we also have to take seriously how aggressively a handful of billionaires and corporate Democrats are panicking over our victories. This year they flooded campaigns with dark money, using SuperPACs and social media. They fear-mongered incessantly about our candidates, deploying racist dog whistles to try to discourage New Yorkers from fighting back as they, and the candidates they’re backing, block the healthcare, housing, and safety New Yorkers desperately need.
But we know better.
Throughout this summer and into November, we’re coming together to protect our champions in office, and elect new progressive leaders to join them.
Together, we’ve knocked doors, made calls, textbanked, talked with neighbors, wrote op-eds, rallied, and donated. That’s why – in spite of extreme voter suppression (like last minute changes to primary dates and district maps), dark money attack ads, and self funded candidates – we’ve continued to build a more powerful Jewish Left.
We helped to win incredible victories in State Senate primaries for Kristen Gonzalez, Robert Jackson, Gustavo Rivera, and Jabari Brisport! We re-elected Members of Congress Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez!
We defended and reelected *all* of our progressive Assembly Members.
We supported visionary, first-time candidates like Brittany Ramos DeBarros and David Alexis – movement leaders whose bold, progressive stances have defined the conversation about what New Yorkers need in 2022. Their growth in experience, values and skills throughout this cycle strengthen our movement and will for years to come.
In the NY-10 primary, our endorsee Yuh-Line Niou remains in a very close race with thousands of absentee ballots still to be counted. Regardless of what happens next, in the face of a multi-millionaire opponent and secretive attack groups funded by AIPAC and real estate moguls, this campaign mobilized a powerful grassroots coalition aligned around meeting our needs and confronting the overlapping crises of this moment together.
We are shaping the conversation – in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago – about our values and the widely-held stances of progressive Jews across New York. In just a few short years of organizing, we have transformed the playing field, blunting the impact of both antisemitic political attacks and bad-faith accusations of antisemitism by giving them the sunlight and rebuke they deserve.
And through it all, we’re growing, as our supporters and our opponents elevate and invoke TJV and our movement, more and more New Yorkers sign up to follow, donate, volunteer and join our membership (6,000 strong and counting)!
More than ever, our community knows that “the Jewish Vote” is a vote for good healthcare, for climate protection, and for racial and economic justice.
A special note of appreciation goes out to intrepid JFREJ members who volunteered hundreds of hours on The Jewish Vote’s Steering Committee, on our Endorsement Team, on numerous campaign teams across the city, and to everyone who phonebanked, text-banked, canvassed, tabled, and supported our candidates across NYC. Time and again, we heard from our candidates about how loved and supported they felt by TJV and about our impact on their campaigns. And that’s because of JFREJ's incredible members.
We have so much gratitude for all the candidates who sought our endorsement — especially those who earned our support — whether or not they won their races. By centering bold policy solutions, and forging powerful coalitions, these are the allies we ultimately need in office to co-govern and transform New York together.