​
2020
​
ELECTIONS
​
PRIMARY
The Center for Racial and Gender Equity is pleased to announce its slate of endorsed candidates for the 2020 Democratic primary elections. Our selections are based on a rigorous racial justice assessment of the public records and campaign platforms of primary contenders in critical national, state, and local races. CRGE has determined that, if elected, the following candidates would effectively champion policies that promote equity, opportunity, and liberation for our communities.
For the office of
COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY
CRGE is pleased to endorse
Kim Foxx
During her initial term as Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx implemented a series of transformative policies to promote greater equity and justice in the local law enforcement system. Her visionary reforms have proven effective in curbing the criminalization of poverty, stemming the racially targeted prison pipeline, and fostering community safety. Foxx has also publicly resisted the divisive and racialized tough-on-crime rhetoric espoused by President Trump and the Fraternal Order of the Police, and leveraged her office to advance a powerful national narrative of fairness, inclusion, and liberation.
For the office of
ILLINOIS STATE SENATE, 13TH DISTRICT
CRGE is pleased to endorse
Robert Peters
Born and raised in Chicago’s South Side, Robert Peters began his public service career as a grassroots organizer, advocating for economic justice, police reform, and an end to racially targeted mass incarceration. In 2019, he was appointed to represent Illinois’ 13th state senate district. During his first session in Springfield, Peters successfully championed a series of progressive legislative measures, including a statewide minimum wage increase, a ban on private detention centers, marijuana legalization, and the abolition of predatory prison pay-to-stay laws. In the 2020 legislative session, Peters has vowed to continue the fight for racial justice and opportunity, by advocating for public divestment from institutions that disproportionately harm communities of color - like jails and prisons - and equitable re-investment in healthcare, schools, and high quality jobs.
For the office of
U.S. CONGRESS: ILLINOIS-CD 03
CRGE is pleased to endorse
Marie Newman
Marie Newman is a Chicago native and community advocate running for U.S. Congress to advance racial, gender, and economic justice in Illinois’ 3rd district. For more than 15 years, the interests of her fellow constituents have been actively undermined by the district’s Democratic incumbent, who has aggressively resisted criminal justice reform, police accountability, access to healthcare, and reproductive rights at the national level. Newman, by contrast, has vowed to champion policies that foster economic security, equitable access to healthcare, community safety, and assertive reform of the nation’s racialized court and prison systems.
For the office of
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
CRGE is pleased to endorse
Bernie Sanders
Throughout his political career, Bernie Sanders has fought tirelessly to advance his visionary national agenda for universal equity, opportunity, and justice. With the support of grassroots movements, Sanders has played an instrumental role in propelling a progressive shift within the Democratic party towards more fair and inclusive federal policies, including Medicare for All, tuition-free college, universal childcare, and living wage jobs.
As a 2020 presidential candidate, Sanders has put forth an ambitious policy platform to counter the nation’s staggering economic inequality and racial injustice. He offers voters a comprehensive policy roadmap for transformational economic redistribution, which would ensure that the nation’s wealthiest corporations and individuals pay their fair share, and promote robust public investment in universal healthcare, education, housing, and economic security programs. By countering the unjust capitalist systems that underpin persistent racial wealth and opportunity gaps in the U.S., Sanders’ policies would have resoundingly positive implications for communities of color across the country. Moreover, Sanders has issued a compelling plan to reverse the nation’s inhumane and racially targeted system of law enforcement through assertive police accountability and sentencing reform measures.
Sanders’ powerful campaign message of equity and justice has galvanized a broad base of grassroots support among Black voters in recent months. This steadily growing popularity in the national polls distinguishes Sanders from other progressive primary contenders, as the most competitive candidate to take on neoliberal Democratic frontrunners - such as Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg - in the primary race, and to unseat President Trump in the general election.