Ahead of the 2022 midterms, we survey the landscape of key races in battleground states and discuss why they matter, as well as which exciting candidates to watch. We explain how Democrats can break the “midterm curse” and why investing in voters of color across the South and Southwest is the way to win next year.

We also dive into a brief commentary on sports and racial justice as we discuss the recent resignation of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Turns out you can’t “End racism” with a backlog of racist emails.

REFERENCES:

One Arizona - @OneArizona

Montserrat Arrendondo - @Montsevida8

LUCHA Arizona - @LUCHA_AZ

Alex Gomez - @Gomez_Alex07

Tomas Robles - @TomasRobles14

Stacey Abrams - @staceyabrams

Rafael Warnock - @SenatorWarnock

Bee Nguyen - @BeeForGeorgia

Cheryl Beasley @CherylBeasleyNC

Val Demings - @valdemings

Lina Hidalgo - @LinaHidalgoTX

Mandela Barnes - @TheOtherMandela

Articles

The Nation // Steve Phillips – Primary Krysten Sinema - She’s Actively Alienationg the Very Voters that Make Up the Coalition that Elected Her https://thenation.com/article/politics/primary-kyrsten-sinema/

Democracy in Color // Fola Onifade – Black Candidates Will Help Democrats Win These 4 Swing Senate Seats in 2022 https://democracyincolor.com/blog/2021/7/28/black-candidates-will-help-democrats-win-these-4-senate-seats-in-2022

The New York Times // Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman - Raiders Coach Resigns After Homophobic and Misogynistic Emails https://nytimes.com/2021/10/11/sports/football/what-did-jon-gruden-say.html

CNN // Steve Almasy with contributions from Jill Martin and Jason Hanna – Jon Gruden has resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after reports of homophobic, racist and misogynistic emails https://cnn.com/2021/10/11/us/nfl-jon-gruden-homophobic-misogynistic-emails-spt/index.html

“SNL” - White Like Me with Eddie Murphy https://youtube.com/watch?v=l_LeJfn_qW0