RELEASE: TIRRC Votes Launches Statewide Campaign to Mobilize Immigrant Voters and Elect Progressive Champions to the State Legislature
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2020
CONTACT
Hamp Price, hamp@tirrcvotes.org
TIRRC Votes Launches Statewide Campaign to Mobilize Immigrant Voters and Elect Progressive Champions to the State Legislature
In first round endorsements, the group will work to elect Gabby Salinas (HD97) and re-elect Rep. Gloria Johnson (HD13) for state House of Representatives.
NASHVILLE — TIRRC Votes, an organization dedicated to building political power in immigrant and refugee communities, announced today its plans to organize and mobilize immigrant voters and their progressive allies across the state to head to the polls in support of progressive state legislature candidates in the November 3rd elections.
The group will be mobilizing voters in Shelby and Knox Counties by endorsing Gabby Salinas (HD97) and Rep. Gloria Johnson (HD13) for state House of Representatives. While the group plans to release more endorsements up and down the ballot in the coming weeks, these districts represent unique opportunities to elect pro-immigrant champions to the state legislature.
“At a time when immigrant and refugee families are facing unprecedented challenges due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it's more important than ever that we have progressive voices like Gabby and Gloria fighting for us on Capitol Hill,” said Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, executive director of TIRRC Votes. “The pandemic has laid bare the systemic inequalities Tennesseans face, from access to care and treatment to unemployment and economic relief. We proudly endorse these women because they will work tirelessly to advance policies that ensure all of our communities can thrive.”
Gabby Salinas, running to represent the open seat of House District 97, immigrated to Memphis from Bolivia as a young girl to receive life saving cancer treatment at Saint Jude's. Now a research scientist, Salinas is a fierce advocate for Medicaid expansion and access to care, in-state tuition for undocumented youth and access to opportunity for all immigrant families. If elected, Salinas will be the first progressive Latina elected to the Tennessee state legislature. TIRRC Votes endorsed Gabby in 2018 when she ran to unseat Senator Brian Kelsey in SD31. The organization expanded the electorate by reaching new and infrequent immigrant voters, helping Gabby to narrow the gap by less than 1,400 votes in a traditionally Republican district. By comparison, in 2010, his last competitive election before 2018, Senator Kelsey won by 15,862 votes.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, running for reelection in House District 13, was one of TIRRC Votes’s first endorsed candidates to win election in 2018. Immigrant youth launched a targeted campaign to unseat former Rep. Eddie Smith, an anti-immigrant incumbent, and elect Johnson, a staunch defender of public education, immigrant families, and progressive values. Gloria won her seat by 11 percent.
While the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the group’s ability to physically knock on doors, TIRRC Votes will be using an innovative combination of relational organizing, digital, phone, text, and mail to reach tens of thousands of voters across the state, including those who may be voting for the first time.
“TIRRC Votes has proven itself as one of the most powerful electoral machines in the state, capable of expanding the electorate, winning elections and closing gaps in tight races,” said Pratik Dash, civic engagement manager at TIRRC Votes. “By focusing on community organizing and power building, TIRRC Votes is building a movement of immigrant voters and progressive allies across the state that can turn the tide in Tennessee.”
TIRRC Votes launched in 2018 in response to the unrelenting assault on immigrant families. For the 2018 midterm elections, the new group developed a large-scale electoral mobilization program that engaged nearly 170,000 voters, made 36,000 phone calls and knocked on nearly 19,500 doors.
In 2019, TIRRC Votes invested in the Nashville municipal elections to elect the most progressive metro council in history. Twenty-one of the group’s endorsed candidates won their races, including the historic wins of Zulfat Suara, the first Black immigrant and Muslim to serve on the council, and Sandra Sepulveda, the first Latina elected to the council. A powerful team of more than 60 canvassers knocked on over 14,000 doors and contacted more than 42,000 voters in Nashville.