This is the most important thing we can do right now

By focusing on Arizona, we’re testing our theory that news junkies can help save democracy.

Photo by ben gursky.

We launched earlyworm in February to test a basic proposition. 

We believe that the people who consume the most news could help rebuild democracy by providing them an action they and others can take to fight for their freedoms, every day. Basically, we want to connect journalism to activism to overcome the feeling of hopelessness that too often comes from following the news closely. 

We do this by making democracy a daily thing. And it’s not just about emptying your wallets. This weekend, for instance, we’re promoting an in-person voter registration effort in Arizona along with a chance to virtually phonebank for reproductive rights from anywhere or just a chance to join our Flipping Arizona Giving Circle. We believe doing any of these things or just spreading the word about them doesn’t just matter. It’s the antidote to despair.

You can find a daily way to do democracy at erlywrm.com or by following us on Bluesky, Threads or even Twitter, if need be. You can also follow the RSS feed.

Those who want to do more and help grow the work we’re doing are invited to join the earlyworm society. 

This is where we are gathering 2,024 earlyworms – those of us who are obsessed with the news and making progressive change – who can act as a kind of a strikeforce for sharing the right news and actions that people can take as the election nears. Members also help support the podcast and the work we’re doing to bring the right news and actions to as many people as possible.

In March, we decided that in addition to all of this above (plus the “How are you feeling about democracy?” podcast, Project 2024, and a crucial new audio project that we’ll be announcing soon) we would focus on Arizona, specifically flipping both statehouses.

This goal represents the best use of our precious time and efforts for so many reasons:

• Arizona is a key swing state, maybe the key-est swing state.
  Joe Biden became only the second Democratic presidential candidate to win this state since 1952. And unlike Georgia, the second red state Biden flipped, Arizona elected Democrats statewide in 2022, but just barely.

• Arizona has a must-win US Senate race and Krysten Sinema won’t be in it, which is nice

• Arizona has a 15-week abortion ban that voters have a chance to erase off the books, and this the first time voters have had a chance to do this since Dobbs.

• Republicans only have a one seat advantage in both statehouses.
  That means by flipping just two seats, Democrats will have a trifecta in the state and a chance to make real change in January.

This was enough to make Arizona our focal point. And then came the reinstatement of the 1864 abortion ban in the Grand Canyon state. The rage was palpable. 

Jessica Valenti told us why:

​​For a minute, I'm like "Why is everyone so upset about this ban over all others?" And of course, it's 1864. They're not hiding the misogyny. It's so clear. Yes, we want to go back to a time when women didn't have a right to vote, when you had no say over anything, not even your own body.

The reaction was so immense that even Trump and his Mini-Me Kari Lake turned against the ban. After three failed attempts, it appears the ban will be repealed leaving Arizona with a 15-week ban. And we believe that a big reason Arizona’s Republican legislators were willing to do that is because of people like you, the kind of person who reads this far into a blog post about doing everything we can to avoid regret in 2024.

As Melissa Walker at the States Project explained:

We've been in Arizona for a while. We've been trying to flip both chambers in Arizona. In 2018, we were able to flip four statehouse seats that brought Phoenix to the closest balance of power since 1966. And it has remained tantalizingly close since then we are one seat away from a tie two seats away from a flip in each chamber in Arizona. In 2024 we are going after both of those chambers. There's a slim path to do it, but we see the path and we think it's possible. 

And because of people like you, our Giving Circle has already raised over half of our goal of contributing $2,024 to help flip both of Arizona’s houses this November.

And if we can meet that goal by Memorial Day, we’re going to go all out and set a goal of raising $20,024 to make sure we do everything we can this year to rebuild democracy in Arizona and America. Because Arizona Republicans are going to be doing everything they can to ratfuck the progress they know voters want.

And the sooner you can give, if you can give, the better. Because as Ellen Malcolm, the founder of EMILY’s List said, "Early Money Is Like Yeast”.

We’ve been asked what the money will go to. And the subtext of that question is, we think, “How is this better than just giving to a candidate or Biden/Harris?” 

Here are two big reasons the Giving Circle money we’re raising for Arizona is so strategic and effective not just for these races but to improve Democratic performance throughout the state.

• It will help fund a door knocking challenge that gets candidates off the phone and in direct contact with voters. It’s been so successful that the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is launching its own challenge.

• We’re helping candidates hire local press specialists months earlier than they normally would, if they would at all.

Mellisa Walker explained why this matters:

Most state legislative campaigns do not have the resources to hire staffers to get them featured in local media outlets. But our data from 2022 has shown that such staffers can help get increased coverage in local press, which powers name recognition.

Also, the more energy and resources we apply to these crucial down ballot races, the more off-footed the RNC/Trump Crime Fund and local Republican groups will be. They will have plenty of money that will flood into ads late in the election. But by building capacity now to do the real things campaigns do to actually win, we are making sure our money and time matters.

In the future, we’ll let you know more about how our money is being spent along with introductions to the candidates and their vision for a New Arizona. This will be our overarching focus, as we also deliver news, actions, and media that will bring more people into this effort. 

We hope you agree that this is the most important thing we could be doing right now. If you agree, please join our Giving Circle and consider it your own. Invite friends and family to join our effort. Or just spread the word. It all matters.

And doing things that matter is all we can do.