Special to The Truth
Women make up 51 percent of our population, yet there are only a handful of states
whose legislatures reflect that with fair representation: Nevada and
Arizona state Senates are more than 50 percent women, as are Nevada, Colorado
and New Mexico state House delegations. Other states still have a long
way to go—some, egregiously far.
Vote Run Lead Action , the 501(c4) arm of the country’s largest
nonprofit training resource for women to run for political office and win,
believes it is well past time to see women as the majority of our elected
officials. The organization’s goal is nothing short of women holding 51 percent
of seats in state legislatures nationwide—and the organization knows the
path to that reality starts with women learning how to run for office and
manage successful campaigns. Vote Run Lead Action’s RUN/51 Summit,
November 17–19 in Detroit, Michigan—the first and only national
training event fully dedicated to sending women to our nation’s
statehouses—is where this vital training will happen, one year out from
Election Day 2024. The Summit will draw hundreds of women who are
interested in running for state House or Senate seats, or who have already
declared their candidacy, and those who want to manage these candidates’
campaigns. The RUN/51 Summit will give participants the tools, resources
and know-how to pursue public office—and win! Participant registration is
open now through October 30 at voterunleadaction.org/run51-summit.
“A core belief that drives our approach is that you are already enough to
do this important work of running and winning,” said Erin Vilardi, CEO
and founder of Vote Run Lead Action. “We only ask women to bring their
skills, passion and drive, and we bring the tools, experience, confidence
and community to help them learn everything they need to know about running
for office. What’s good, what’s hard, how to handle the money, what it
means to manage a campaign, the realities of campaigning—all of these
topics are covered. We have incredible speakers who have either run for
office themselves or worked directly on successful campaigns. It’s going
to be an exciting event and one that we hope inspires even more women to
run for office.”
The organization has proudly helped 55,000 women and gender-expansive
people run for office, with a successful track record of nearly 70 percent of
alumni who made the 2022 ballot winning their races. However, more women
are needed in our statehouses today than ever before. Pivotal legislation
that governs women’s bodies, education, immigration and so much more is
being battled out in our statehouses. Electing women can really make a
difference against these attacks on our democracy.
Vote Run Lead Action seeks to transform the face of power in this country
in 2024, and it starts in Detroit with the RUN/51 Summit.
Two tracks will be offered, for candidates and campaign managers. Keynote
speakers (to be announced soon) will share stories of running for office
and winning. Workshops will include:
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