[SEPTEMBER 9, 2020, PROVIDENCE, RI] - While we anxiously await the results of yesterday's primary election, the machine tallies across the state indicate overwhelming support for the majority of our 2020 Endorsed Candidates. We are more hopeful than ever about the future of Rhode Island with these remarkable women and male allies in office. The Women’s Caucus made its largest-ever investment in this primary race, contributing nearly $20,000 towards critical races across the state. Our 600+ members spent thousands of hours volunteering for our endorsed slate of candidates. We enthusiastically knocked doors, called, dropped literature, texted, held signs, talked to neighbors and friends, tweeted, shared, liked, etc etc for our 70+ endorsed and supported candidates. For too long, the institutions of political power in this state would not do the work to recruit, support, and engage women candidates and candidates of color. The neglect by the state Democratic party of these groups that are the backbone and strength of the party compelled the Women’s Caucus to take on the job. We are proud to have built a strong infrastructure to support these candidates to victories across the state. In November of 2019, we established the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus, an organization not affiliated with the official state Democratic party. It was a bold but necessary risk that was met with overwhelming enthusiasm, thousands of dollars in donations, and a surge of new members who were fired up against a political party that actively worked to disenfranchise its most active caucus. Instead of undermining the clout of the Women’s Caucus, the actions of the state party, as we have seen in this primary, strengthened us. We are thrilled at the prospect of meaningful change in Rhode Island with our supported and endorsed candidates serving in roles of leadership in this state. The Women’s Caucus helped usher in a truly Blue Wave in Rhode Island. Expect better and stronger victories in the general election and other elections to come, because we are leaving nothing and no one behind.
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