This week, congressional candidate Pramila Jayapal shocked Washingtonians from both coasts with her decisive first-place finish in Washington State’s primary election. Although Pramila initially trailed the front runner by 25 points, on August 2nd she earned 40% of the vote — qualifying her for the top-two general election in November. Pramila’s vision inspired our 270 team from the beginning. It has been our honor to help launch and execute her extraordinary, people-powered, and values-driven campaign.
When we started working with Pramila in early 2016, she was committed not just to running a congressional campaign, but to building a movement. From our first meeting with Pramila to her most recent victory, one thing has remained clear: Pramila is a special candidate — the type of candidate, in fact, who asks paid media firms in pitch meetings, “but what if I want to spend all our resources on organizing and field?”
We helped Pramila build a campaign that included gorgeous TV ads, a smart digital strategy, a brand and logo as unique as Pramila herself, and a mail campaign that reached thousands of voters. But we also strived to honor her commitment to meeting people where they already were.
Pramila’s victory was powered by the work of individual supporters who engaged with her campaign through field work, online fundraising, and digital organizing. For a congressional campaign in a crowded primary, her results are astounding:
40,000 individual donors giving an average of $25 each, for a total of $1,527,956 raised
71,000 doors knocked (30,755 doors during GOTV alone) by a team of 1,000 active volunteers and six full-time field organizers working in three offices across the district
10,929 new social media followers gained since April, translating into both online and offline action
Like 270, Pramila takes an organizer’s lens to her work, and has been on the front lines of major progressive fights in Washington state for decades. The 7th Congressional District, which includes Seattle and surrounding suburbs, is pushing the boundaries on progressive economic ideas like the minimum wage and paid sick leave. It makes sense, then, that this district has rallied so wholeheartedly behind Pramila and her mission. For decades, Pramila has fought for progressive issues like Seattle’s $15 minimum wage, expanding reproductive healthcare in the state senate, and immigrant and civil rights. Her relationships run deep with so many with progressive, women’s, and labor organizations after years of supporting their causes — and they played a key role in her campaign by contributing money, time, and political power to help her win.
So what’s next? Washington’s primary is a top-two system, which means that the top two candidates will advance to the general election, regardless of party. Ballots are still being counted this week, but Pramila’s next two opponents are both Democrats who earned about 20% of the vote on election night, respectively. As we wait to learn who Pramila’s general election opponent will be, the campaign and the 270 team are turning our attention to the next phase of the campaign. We’re ready to focus on what all of us love to do best: meeting people where they are.
Field Organizer Leigh Friedman shows off her canvass training best practices
