Let's try something new. Usually when we write to Blue America members, we're asking you to consider a candidate, most often one we just endorsed. Well, we've been vetting a large number of congressional candidates for the last few months and this past week we endorsed 4 of them, Robin Wilt in the Rochester, New York area, Nabilah Islam in the suburbs north of Atlanta, Tomas Ramos in the Bronx and Jim Harper in northwest Indiana. Each of the 4 is the most progressive candidate running in their race. Robin, Tomas and Jim are in safe blue districts. Nabilah is running in a swing district from which the Republican incumbent is retiring.

Let's start with Nabilah. "My mother worked for years at a warehouse picking up boxes and putting them on trucks," she told me. "Her low wages forced her to work longer hours. Those long hours eventually took a toll on her body, a toll so grave that she ended up herniating two discs in her back, a toll that nearly took her out of the workforce. Much worse than that, her employer and insurer at the time, decided they did not want to pay for one of her surgeries after it was already performed, leaving my family in a financial situation so dire that we were forced to sue the insurance company in order for the procedure to be paid for. Had that lawsuit not been successful, who knows where my family and I would be today."

No person, no family, should be put in a situation like that. America is the wealthiest country in the world and health care is a basic human right. We need to do more than fix the broken ACA that’s been gutted by Donald Trump and the GOP and we must do more than expand Medicaid. Individuals should never fall between the coverage gap and income should not preclude you from quality care. We need a universal healthcare system that affords every single American basic, comprehensive, quality coverage. Regardless of age, gender, or whether you have a pre-existing condition or not. Only sick people profit off of sick people. Healthcare, or the lack thereof, is such a deeply personal issue to me. When I am elected to be the next congresswoman from Georgia's 7th district, I vow to work tirelessly, to make sure every single person in this district, across Georgia and across the country has healthcare through a Medicare for all single payer system.

Tomas Ramos, the progressive running in the Bronx district right next to AOC's, also spoke with us about his mother. "I grew up seeing my mother struggle to pay for me to get a quality education so I know that education is out of reach if you cannot pay for it. That is why I am running-- to alleviate student debt for millions of Americans and to bring trade schools back to our communities. I saw my father deported and the toll that took on my family. That is why I am running. To reform our horrific immigration policies that have torn our families apart. I’m running to end the school to prison pipeline, fully fund our public education and fight for medicare for all."

Robin Wilt was a DNC Bernie delegate and was elected to the Brighton town council. She told us that she's "running to bring sweeping progressive change to not only the people of Rochester and Monroe County, but to the entire country. One of my biggest concerns that I plan to address in Congress is health care in America."

Health care is a human right. I have been active in the fight for universal, single-payer healthcare since observing how the Army’s single-payer system made it possible for my brother to recover and thrive after being severely injured in Iraq. For over a decade, I worked hard with other single-payer activists to encourage Louise Slaughter to co-sponsor Medicare for All. When my opponent took over Louise’s seat, our district lost a co-sponsor of Medicare for All. We must take this seat back and get our district back on track with its progressive values. When I am elected to Congress, I will immediately sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1384, Expanded and Improved Medicare For All. Besides making every American eligible for Medicare, H.R. 1384 would expand Medicare to cover dental and vision services, mental health, and substance abuse treatment, and long term care.

Indiana's first district is more like an extension of Chicago than a part of Penceland. The district has been the domain of centrist Democrat Pete Viscolsky, who's retiring. Obama won the district with over 60% both times he ran and even Hillary beat Trump 54.1% to 41.5%. Over a dozen Democrats are running but Jim Harper, who ran a credible race for Secretary of State in 2018-- and won decisively in all three counties that make up IN-01, Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties-- is the most progressive as well as the most electable.

He told us that "as a public defender, I am committed to criminal justice reform. I have seen how the war on drugs has ravaged communities and disproportionately impacted communities of color. During my time in the New Orleans public defender’s office, for instance, one client was sentenced to twenty years in prison simply for possessing a small amount of marijuana. Instead of continuing to support his family, my client was forced to spend years in prison for activity that is legal in many states. In Congress, I will fight to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty, and end private prisons. But these reforms are just the beginning. Despite attempts to reform our sentencing laws, the United States still has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This is both immoral and counterproductive. I will work to reform our sentencing laws to decrease our record-high incarceration rate in the world and prioritize treatment and alternatives to incarceration. I will also support increased funding for public defender systems to ensure that the right to counsel applies to everyone."

So four really good candidates this week. Is there one who you really connect with? You can also split your contribution-- evenly or otherwise-- between all four candidates at the Blue America 2020 congressional ActBlue page.