This week, we’re celebrating four years of The Guerrilla Politic, and what a wild ride it has been! We’ve empowered people to run for office or make a difference in their communities with professional, curated marketing. We’ve given grassroots campaigns and organizations the tools to compete with competitors bankrolled by corporate donors. Most importantly, we’ve mobilized voters, candidates, and activists and, in a time of political and social turmoil, refused to let despair win. There have been so many unbelievable moments over the past four years, but some of my favorite include:
Watching and helping Mallory McMorrow and Kelly Breen, two amazing women, flip heavily contested seats in historically red districts.
Helping the Western Wayne Democratic Club gain members and elect Democrats in critical races
Supporting Gwen Markham’s successful bid for Oakland County Commissioner
Raising thousands of dollars with MI List to benefit pro-choice Democratic candidates
Launching Unite Here Local 24’s newly designed website just before COVID struck and watching it become a critical hub for union employees throughout the pandemic
I’m proud of how far we’ve come, but I’m more excited about where we’re going next. This year, we launched 360-degree campaign management services and brought on some amazing staff with experience leading campaigns across Michigan. We’ve also expanded our list of nonprofit clients and helped ambitious organizations fight for social justice in our state and beyond. Of course, we’re still focused on getting more women into government (especially after seeing a significant decrease in women candidates during COVID), supporting candidates from underrepresented communities, and giving candidates and organizations affordable access to the professional marketing they need to get ahead. That’s what got us where we are, and it’s what we’ll keep doing as long as the incredible candidates and organizations keep knocking.
We’ve learned a lot over the past four years, but the most important lesson for all of us is that there’s never a good time to get complacent. We have a Democrat in the White House, but Republicans in state and local offices across the U.S. are working hard to suppress the vote and gerrymander their way to “victory” in 2021 and 2022. The world has changed in ways I could never have imagined in 2017, yet the key goals for progressives remain the same: build our bench of talented candidates/campaign staff/activists, energize voters, and preserve our democracy one office at a time. Getting more people engaged and passionate about these issues is the only real path forward, and it’s been a core part of our mission since day one.
TGP was once just an idea, and now we’re honored to be playing an important role in helping to make our world better. If you’re compelled to run for office or address a challenge in your community and need support, get in touch.
If you want to join us in championing Democratic contenders throughout Michigan, consider donating to The Party Politic, a political action committee dedicated to raising funds for down-ballot candidates. Thank you for the support and for your business over the past four years, and stay tuned—we’ve got big things planned for the next four!