This is how it's done.

[RandySF]

BUILD THE BENCH: http://www.emergeamerica.org/buildthebench


In the case of Illinois, a number of Democrats who just won got a boost from a program launched by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) called Build The Bench. It’s an all-day boot camp that offers nuts-and-bolts details for running a successful campaign. Bustos came up with the idea last year when she noticed a dearth of new Democratic candidates for Congress, and decided the best way to help build up her party’s ranks was at the local level.

She’s held two boot camps in her district so far ― The Huffington Post attended one of them in March ― and she’s already seeing tremendous payoff. Twelve Build The Bench alumni ran for local seats in this election cycle, and eight of them won. A ninth alum, Rita Ali, is currently down by one vote in her race for Peoria City Council.

“I am incredibly proud that the majority of our graduates who were on the ballot in April municipal elections won their races,” said Bustos. “If we want to be successful in the heartland, we need to connect Democratic candidates for office at all levels with the best practices, skills and expertise needed to run winning campaigns.”

Chemberly Cummings and Arlene Hosea are among the Build The Bench alumni who recently won races. They both made history by becoming the first black members of Normal Town Council and Normal Township Trustee, respectively. That is no small feat in a predominately white, Republican region of the state.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-grassroots-trump-elections_us_58efd21de4b0bb9638e270c1?sec3kkytkfz4lhaor&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[zentrum]

1. Fantastic.

The ACLU also has boot camps for political action. And I think the Sierra Club. And Bernie Sanders doesn't quite have boot camps but is organizing at the small local level.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. Illinois Democrats are also not afraid to talk seriously about legalizing Marijuana.

http://wgntv.com/2017/04/12/illinois-lawmakers-push-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana/

East Coast politicians, take note.

[Cha]

3. 8 of 12 people who attended IL Rep. Cheri Bustos "Build the Bench" bootcamp won their races

Link to tweet

Cheri Bustos!