This morning I want to tweet a bit about Alaska! Our largest state is rarely in the national political news, but there has been enormous turmoil there in the past few years. Some things we heard about, and some we didn't. 
The overwhelming, ongoing crisis in Alaska, years ahead of the lower 48, is climate change. It is destroying native communities, upending the state's economy, even disrupting the 2020 census. Anchorage saw a 90 degree heat wave last summer. climate.gov/news-features/…
Another ongoing crisis is the state's governor, who has been trying to gut public education in the state, slashing the University of Alaska's budget by 41%. Governor Dunleavy is now the subject of a recall effort that cuts across the political spectrum. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Alaska is also deeply affected by a problem you will find all across rural America—a lack of adequate mental health care, especially crisis care. These facilities concentrate in the cities, which means agonizing choices for caregivers. adn.com/opinions/2018/…
Finally, Alaska has the highest rate of sexual violence in the country. 59% of women in the state report they have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence in their lifetime. usatoday.com/in-depth/news/…
These are the problems. Alaska is also one of the most beautiful, wildest places in the world, and astonishingly diverse—you'll find 100 languages spoken in the Anchorage school district, in part because of refugee settlement there. It is full of remarkable indigenous communities
This state is represented in Congress by an 86-year-old climate denialist, who has in the past assaulted a staffer, and made the crudest remarks about women, a man who has served so long (he assumed office in 1973) that he is barred from chairing any committees by term limits.
It's been one of the great honors of my life to work with Alyse Galvin, who is running to defeat Young. Like the majority of Alaskans, Galvin is an independent, has had to work for a living, is not a politician by nature. She put a dent in Young in 2018 and will beat him in 2020.
I guarantee you you will never hear about this race in the coming weeks. Our political news will remain consumed with a Presidential primary we have no way to affect. But this race, and three others like it on the Great Slate, are ones where *you can actually do something*.
Alaska also has a Senate seat up in 2020. It's more of a challenge than the House seat, but it's not unreachable. In this year of political turmoil in Alaska, we need to be bold! Alyse has an experienced, effective statewide campaign—there's only the one district in Alaska!
People who come out to vote for her will vote for a Democratic Senate majority, too. But to get those votes, she needs money. This is where we come in—every few hundred bucks mean hours not spent on the phone, hours she can spend doing the work in a physically enormous district.
The Great Slate has four races like this—rural, challenging, winnable, and unlikely to get national attention. This is a total hipster fundraising opportunity. Before you read your next article about Bernie or Bloomberg, please give to the Great Slate! secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
And if you're interested in Alaska politics, follow @AlyseGalvin on Twitter! She's friendly, she's enormously well-informed, she can tell you all kinds of things about the state. And it's a family-run campaign; there are many Galvins, each nicer than the last!
@AlyseGalvin Finally, I just want to give this for context. All of us working on the Great Slate will spend the entire spring, summer and autumn fighting to raise about $5M for these campaigns—the same amount that Bloomberg just spent on a single week of Google ads. washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…
@AlyseGalvin We raised almost $20,000 today for these candidates! What a great night! Remember, celebrate your candidate, destroy your enemies on political Twitter, but give money down the ticket where it can work the most good. secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
