SUNRISE LAUNCHES SWING STATE MOBILIZATION TO PROTECT SCOTUS, FLIP SENATE, DELIVER A NEW PRESIDENCY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Zina Precht-Rodriguez, press@sunrisemovement.org

Washington, DC — At early dawn this morning, hundreds of Sunrise organizers in North Carolina and Washington, DC descended upon the homes of Senators Tom Tillis (NC) and Lindsay Graham (SC), demanding that they delay their vote on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee until a new president is sworn in. The actions kick off an over-the-weekend shift in Sunrise’s strategy to double down on targeting Senate Republicans in key swing states and mobilize enough young voters to flip the Senate and White House blue in 2021.

Lindsay Graham, not known to be an early riser, was awakened this morning by more than 100 Sunrise organizers outside his home in DC. Sunrise activists also showed up bright and early at Senator Tillis’ house in North Carolina, demanding that he let the voters decide the next Supreme Court Justice. Rather than face his constituents, Tillis called the cops and fled the scene. Upcoming actions this week will be targeting Senator Toomey of Pennsylvania on 9/22, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado on 9/23 and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin on 9/23, and potential Supreme Court nominee Barbara Logoa of Florida on 9/23.

“Our generation’s demands for a more just and equitable future will be upheld or struck down by sitting justices — everything from abortion to segregation, transgender rights to climate change, big money in politics to same-sex marriage,” said Aracely Jimenez, Deputy Communications Director. “We only need four Republicans to do the right thing and stick to the McConnell precedent. We must do everything in our power to hold vulnerable Republicans and Senate Democrats accountable and prevent an appointment to the bench before Biden is sworn in.”

Within moments of the news of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death on Friday evening, Sunrise immediately mobilized to secure Ginsberg’s dying wish: that no Supreme Court Justice be nominated before a new president is sworn in. That night Sunrise launched a call-in tool where thousands of constituents have called their Senators, demanding that they hold to the McConnnell rule established in 2016 of demanding no SCOTUS confirmation until the next inauguration. Dozens of local Sunrise chapters in key states joined an emergency call over the weekend to plan actions this week to show up at as many Senators’ homes as possible and demand they not sleep — Democrat or Republican — until they’ve done everything in their power to oppose and delay a vote on a Supreme Court nominee.

In addition, Sunrise is doubling down on their commitment to make sure young voters cast their votes in swing states, including Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Today, Sunrise announces a new commitment to reach over a million young voters in swing states through a postcards program, send more than a million texts, call an additional half million, and reach one hundred thousand through targeted ads.

“We went head to head with McConnell before — when he rushed to bring the GND up for a vote and we made him back down,” Zina Precht-Rodriguez, Deputy Creative Director said. “There’s more of us now, tens of thousands more. We can do it again, and make his Republican colleagues defect against him.”

Sunrise’s SCOTUS mobilization comes just a week after their announcement of a new slate of national endorsements. With the SCOTUS developments upping the stakes of the election, Sunrise is shifting eyes towards Senate elections in swing and red states alike.

“This moment is a critical opportunity — not only to activate every young voter in swing states but also to catapult emergent Green New Deal champions running for Senate into the spotlight and secure upsets in red states,” Michelle Weindling, Sunrise’s Electoral Campaigns Coordinator remarked. “Over the next seven weeks, we’re going all in for underdog champions like Marquita Bradshaw in Tennessee, Paula Jean Swearengin in West Virginia and tight races like Mark Kelley’s in Arizona. With the Supreme Court in freefall, there’s no telling what kind of wins we can get in states that were once deemed untouchable.”