UPDATED: Endorsement Criteria for Alumni

Since Run for Something’s founding in January 2017, we’ve endorsed over 700 candidates for down ballot offices in 48 states plus DC. Every candidate we endorse meets our criteria and has run (or is currently running!) a campaign focused on their communities and bringing new people into the process. Our current endorsement criteria can be found here.

We’ve learned a lot through this process — what candidates need, what makes a great campaign, and most relevant now that we’ve got alumni in office, that the challenge of governing doesn’t end after your first election. This year, many of our early 2017 endorsed candidates are up for reelection (!!). In the last two years, many of them have tackled pressing issues in their communities and states. Great stories to get you fired up are here, here, and here.

We heard from many of our alumni that they still need our help in their next election, so we put our heads together and came up with a framework on how to continue supporting young candidates who are now serving as elected officials.

Will Run for Something endorse a candidate for their second term?

It’s a bit complicated — but generally speaking: Yes, if we endorsed them the first time around.

Run for Something generally only endorses first- or second-time candidates 40ish and under running for down-ballot office. We make one exception to this rule: In cases where a previously endorsed candidate is running for re-election for the first time. Here’s an example of how this could play out:

For example:

1. Candidate Penelope Smith ran for Bouvet Island School Board in 2016 and lost narrowly. She ran again in 2018 and won with the help of Run for Something. She is up for re-election in 2020 and will be eligible for the RFS endorsement because she is running for re-election to the same office and was a previously endorsed candidate.
2. Candidate Jen Young ran for Decatur City Council in 2017 with Run for Something’s support and won! Now Jane has been recruited to run for the Kansas State Legislature in 2020. Run for Something will support her in her race since we previously endorsed her.
3. Candidate Timon Cruz ran for state legislature in 2018 with Run for Something’s support. In 2022, he decides to run for Governor — given that this is a statewide election, Run for Something would not support him.

Why are we making this exception?

Run for Something’s mission is to get as many young people running and winning as possible. We know that building the Democratic bench doesn’t happen overnight and we are building lasting infrastructure to tackle this problem. We also know that historically, most candidates do not win the first time they run — meaning losing a race is going to happen and we want candidates to be okay with that. Our hope is that candidates will be brave enough to try again and to know that we’ll be there to support them in their first re-election.

What are the main criteria RFS is looking for in a re-endorsement or endorsing an incumbent to re-election?

In addition to our general criteria for endorsement, we are looking for answers to the following questions:

1. What has the candidate done to push forward the agenda on which they ran?
2. What have they accomplished in office? This doesn’t need to be monumental change — we want to know they are moving the ball forward.
3. Are they actively engaging with members of their community? Are they documenting anything online? Talking to the press? Putting forward legislation?
4. Have they done anything that contradicts with why they ran in the first place? If so, why?

We aim to be as transparent as possible with what we’re looking for and how we work with folks. If you have any questions about the endorsement process, just shoot us an email: hello@runforsomething.net

Elected officials running for re-election: Apply for a re-endorsement here.

Previously endorsed but running again as a non-incumbent? Apply for endorsement if you’re still a second-time candidate.