What advocates should know about running for the California Legislature with guest Kipp Mueller

Blueprint for California Advocates

English - March 23, 2022 05:11 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MB - ★★★★★ - 14 ratings
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Previous Episode: 9. Why advocates need to know about the Gann limit with guest Scott Graves

Next Episode: 11. Everything you always wanted to know about California budget advocacy* (*but were afraid to ask) with Senator Sydney Kamlager

In 2019, Kipp Mueller, a workers' and civil rights attorney, entered the race for California State Senate District 21, challenging incumbent and then Republican Senate Minority Leader Scott Wilk.

Encompassing northern Los Angeles county and parts of the High Desert, SD 21 was a Republican stronghold for over a decade but voter registration has been trending Democratic.

A "dogfight" of a campaign, millions of dollars were pumped into the race by both sides. Neck and neck on election night November 2020, it was three weeks before the election was declared for the incumbent.

In the end, Kipp Mueller lost by less than 1% of the vote.

I recently caught up with Kipp. Having cut his teeth as a 2020 candidate, he continues to practice as a civil rights attorney and was recently elected Region 10 Director of the California Democratic Party.

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes in grassroots campaigns, especially for a seat in the California Legislature. We discuss what it's really like to run for office and why even the smallest advocacy group should get involved in electing the next generation of California legislators.

Episode Breakdown:

2:30 - Every campaign has a tipping point

6:09 - These lessons for candidates are also lessons for advocates

10:02 - How you know a campaign stands a chance

17:44 - The Great Resignation in Sacramento creates Great Opportunity for advocates

19:13 - Why even small advocacy organizations can make an outsized impact on campaigns

Contact Kipp Mueller at [email protected].

Episode Transcript

Hosted by Kristina Bas Hamilton, founder of KBH Advocacy.

Support the Blueprint for California Advocates podcast so we can produce more content like this.

Find me on twitter at @kbashamilton.

This episode is sponsored by:

FastDemocracy is a streamlined and easy-to-use bill tracker that saves you time and allows you to focus on what really matters — advocating for policy. Visit fastdemocracy.com to learn more and don't forget to use the promo code BLUEPRINT.

Subtext helps you build genuine connections with your biggest supporters over text. Subtext is an award-winning texting platform that connects hosts with subscribers free from the chaos of social media and clutter of email.

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