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Join Now39,000 Hawai’i MoveOn Members Help Keep Social Security Expansion Champion Brian Schatz in the Senate
HONOLULU — After a multi-week grassroots effort led by volunteers in Hawai’i, MoveOn members helped mobilize thousands of voters for Senator Brian Schatz in the state’s Democratic primary. Schatz, who ran on a strong progressive platform and his track record in the Senate championing Social Security, won the Democratic nomination last night by 1,769 votes — 115,401 for Schatz to 113,632 for his challenger.
MoveOn members opened an office in Honolulu and, over three weeks, MoveOn members and volunteers made more than 23,665 phone calls to progressive voters in Hawaii as part of an intensive get-out-the-vote push that ensured Senator Schatz’s victory. Before the primary, MoveOn’s 39,040 members in Hawai’i voted overwhelmingly to endorse Sen. Schatz based on his leadership on protecting and expanding Social Security, among other core progressive values.
Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, released the following statement in response to the primary results:
“MoveOn members in Hawai’i helped turn out thousands of voters to support Senator Brian Schatz, helping ensure we keep a progressive champion in the Senate. Voters mobilized around Senator Schatz’s support for expanding Social Security, leadership in the fight to tackle climate change, and his advocacy for marriage equality. This was the first major Democratic primary since the debate around chained CPI and we saw exactly what we knew to be true unfold: elected officials who have voted to cut Social Security will be held accountable by voters. In this crucial election year, progressive champions like Senator Schatz will have MoveOn members behind them.”
Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members have signed petitions calling for the protection and expansion of Social Security benefits and called Members of Congress to oppose cuts.