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September 28, 2026
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NEW POLITICS BACKS 20 MORE SERVANT LEADERS IN DOWNBALLOT RACES NATIONWIDE

New Politics has now endorsed over 100 state and local candidates on the ballot in November. These servant leaders are military veterans, AmeriCorps alumni, educators, and public servants who have spent years leading in their communities.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Aly Ferguson
aly@newpolitics.org; 480-363-6465

New Politics has now endorsed over 100 state and local candidates on the ballot in November

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 28, 2026) — New Politics today announced its endorsement of 20 more candidates for state and local offices across the country in the November elections. The candidates are running for seats ranging from local school boards and city councils to state legislatures and statewide office. These servant leaders are military veterans, AmeriCorps alumni, educators, and public servants who have spent years leading in their communities.

The 20 endorsed downballot candidates are:

  • Julia Gusse, Arizona House of Representatives (LD-16)
  • Chelsea Byers, City Council, West Hollywood, At-Large (CA)
  • Michael Glavan, School Board, San Luis Coastal Unified, Area 2 (CA)
  • Andrae Gonzales, California State Assembly (AD-35)
  • Nisha Lodhavia, Delaware State Senate (SD-15)
  • Linsey Grove, City Council, St. Petersburg, 6th District (FL)
  • Victor Sims, School Board, Polk County, 3rd District (FL)
  • Bentley Hudgins, Georgia House of Representatives (HD-90)
  • Elisa Lassiter, Georgia House of Representatives (HD-40)
  • Nikhil Wagle, Iowa State Senate (SD-47)
  • Chris Mann, Kansas Attorney General (KS)
  • Adam Moore, Kentucky House of Representatives (HD-45)
  • Jessica Bradley Rushing, Massachusetts House of Representatives (6th Plymouth)
  • Khristian Silvis, Michigan House of Representatives (HD-84)
  • Patrick Leahy, Nebraska State Senate (LD-6)
  • Josh Livingston, Nebraska State Senate (LD-8)
  • Vanessa Ordoñez, Sheriff, Doña Ana County (NM)
  • Chris Johnson, Pennsylvania House of Representatives (HD-200)
  • Sonja Ogletree Satani, South Carolina House of Representatives (HD-98)
  • Zach Robinson, County Council, Salt Lake County, At-Large (UT)

With this slate, New Politics is supporting over 100 downballot candidates on the ballot in November, following endorsements in April, May, and July. 

Emily Cherniack, Founder and Executive Director of New Politics, released the following statement:

“Each one of these servant leaders answered the call to serve before they ever considered running for office. They’ve led in uniform, in classrooms, in national service, and in their communities, always putting the mission ahead of themselves. Our democracy needs more of that leadership right now, especially in the places where the decisions that shape daily life are made. New Politics is proud to stand behind each of them.”

About New Politics

New Politics is an organization that revitalizes American democracy by recruiting, developing, and electing leaders across the ideological and political spectrum who have committed their lives to serving their communities and our country, either through military service, national service organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, or by demonstrating strong service-based leadership in their community. New Politics’ support includes strategic advising and training in all aspects of a candidate’s campaign, such as fundraising, communications, organizing, hiring, and team building. New Politics has raised over $40 million to support over 475 candidates, successfully electing more than 200 of them to office, from Congress to School Board. Learn more at newpolitics.org.

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