Welcome to Team Thursday, when we spotlight an exciting organization.
I confess I stan David Hogg, one of the Parkland high school shooting survivors who founded March for our Lives in 2018. The busy young man has already graduated from Harvard, and last year, with Kevin Lata, the campaign manager for 26-year-old Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, founded a new organization @LeadersWeDeserv. They support young (30 and under) candidates, focusing on state legislative offices. As far as I know they are the only group specifically focused on this niche. I expect they will kick ass.
Leaders We Deserve is taking a more conciliatory approach to the Democratic Party establishment than groups like Justice Democrats and Sunrise Movement. They say on their website, “We value intergenerational coalitions – our aim is not to replace the Democrats who currently stand with us in the fight.” Rather than challenging Democrats in primaries, they plan to focus on open seats in “safe” Democratic districts.
The group calls out the strategic necessity of their mission. An NBC News story notes that “part of the group's hope is that helping young people gain elected office now will ensure those same people remain in office and run for higher office in the decades to come, shaping the country's leaders to better reflect those whom they represent.”
Hogg spoke wisdom in his keynote speech at the 2023 PR Week conference (he was named the PR Week Communicator of the Year in 2019). He noted that “what the NRA and right wing understand a lot more than liberals do is statistics do not change people’s minds — stories do.” Hogg invited the audience to partner with his organizations to continue to create impactful PSAs, such as March for Our Lives’ Generation Lockdown. An excellent plan, and I look forward to seeing results from Leaders We Deserve.
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