Washington, DC – Last night, voters strongly supported candidates who advocate for principled American engagement in the world and promised to fight back against President Trump’s so-called “America First” policies, including his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and ban travel from certain Muslim majority countries. In particular, candidates who have dedicated their lives to protecting America’s national security – whether as diplomats, intelligence officers, or military service members, were voted into office across the country. Now, they will continue to serve in a new role: Congressperson.
Foreign Policy for America (FP4A) and our members are proud to have endorsed and supported these inspiring candidates. We knocked on thousands of doors in target districts, organized phone banks across the country and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our 19 endorsees. And our efforts paid off: more than half of our amazing endorsees won – and won big. They include Elissa Slotkin (MI-8) who served in the White House, CIA, Department of Defense, and Department of State over the course of her career; Jason Crow (CO-6) who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan; Joe Neguse (CO-2), the son of Eritrean refugees and who has devoted much of his career to fighting climate change (CO-2); Tom Malinowski (NJ-7), a former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) who was a helicopter pilot and Russia policy officer in the U.S. Navy; and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) who became the first of two Muslim women ever elected to Congress.
And Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), who served as a CIA operations officers for eight years, became the first Democrat to win her district in almost 50 years in one of the hardest fought races in the country. Spanberger is a strong opponent of the president’s travel ban targeting Muslim countries and championed a return to American leadership to combat climate change. In the final months of her race, FP4A mobilized hundreds of volunteers across her district and spoke with over 6,000 voters – more than the margin of victory in the closely fought race.
The success of these candidates, especially in some of the nation’s most conservative districts, demonstrates Americans’ rejection of President Trump’s racist and isolationist policies and their demand for a return to strong, principled global leadership. FP4A is building a network of Americans who stand up for principled foreign policy. By doing that, we are creating the political space for extraordinary leaders like the ones elected last night.
“Last night’s results were the final exclamation point on two years in which Americans resoundingly rejected Trump’s foreign policy. From Colorado to Michigan to New Jersey, voters rejected policies of fear and division and embraced candidates who championed traditional American values: openness to the world, empathy for the less fortunate, partnership with our democratic allies, and optimism about our shared future,” said FP4A’s founder and executive director Andrew Albertson.
We are excited about the role that these first-time candidates will play in stopping Trump administration policies that degrade American values and our international standing. We are confident that they will do what is right for this country by standing up for strong, principled foreign policy – and we will be there standing right by them.
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