Sunrise Announces Expansion of Ambitious Field Program to Elect Green New Deal Champions Into Seven More Swing States

Today, the Sunrise Movement announced that it will expand its field program targeting establishment Democrats and vulnerable Republicans to an additional seven states this spring, bringing it to a total of ten. The program, which will hire state directors in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Montana, California, and Georgia, is the latest ramp-up of Sunrise's ground game in the Democratic primaries, which is already underway in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Colorado.

"In 2016, voter turnout was at a 20-year low, but in 2018, young people powered turnout to a 100-year high," said Ahmed Gaya, Field Director of the Sunrise Movement. "From the climate strikes to record turnout in local elections, it's clear that young people are fired up. Young Green New Deal voters could determine who wins in key races in 2020.

Field organizers will talk with hundreds of thousands of voters about the Green New Deal and ask them to commit to vote for 'Green New Deal champions.' Organizers also will mobilize young people for massive climate strikes around Earth Day and throughout the year. So far, Sunrise has endorsed primary challengers Jessica Cisneros (TX-28) and Andrew Romanoff (CO-Sen). On a national level, Sunrise recently announced its endorsement process for the 2020 presidential elections, and hubs across the country will also canvass and organize youth voters over the next year.

In 2018, young people with the Sunrise Movement put the Green New Deal on the national agenda and permanently changed the conversation on climate policy in this country with their sit-in at Nancy Pelosi's office. Since then, the climate crisis has spiked to the top of the national agenda, becoming a top concern of Democratic primary voters, and a recent Cook Poll shows that public support is building behind a Green New Deal in PA, MI, WI, and MN, with 67% of swing voters in these states supporting the policy agenda.