We Won. Three Times Over!!!

Friends,

Primary season has been in full swing for a while, but last week was a big week for Square One candidates.

While much of the country went about their Tuesday — making dinners, watching a game, wrapping up the school year with a concert or a ceremony — three extraordinary candidates, with campaigns that knocked doors, showed up for their communities, and refused to back down, won their races. And Square One is proud to have been with them every step of the way.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate.

Win #1: Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07)

Rebecca didn’t run a conventional campaign — she ran her campaign. Instead of the usual playbook, she organized meet-and-greets at playgrounds, meeting families where they actually are. She leveraged her leadership training from her military service and wrote a campaign charter that set the tone for her team from Day One. When dark money attacks came in at the end because the GOP started getting scared about facing her in the general, she was unflappable because of the organizing and relationship building in which her team had invested. She had already told voters who she was. They believed her, and they voted for her.

NJ-07 will be one the most competitive House races in the country this fall. Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up. In addition, incumbent Tom Kean Jr. has been absent from Congress for months, missing over 100 votes. The district voted for Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill last year, and ousted two Republican incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade. Rebecca is exactly the candidate to make it three.

Win #2: Marni von Wilpert (CA-48)

Marni won this race the old-fashioned way: by showing up. Her team ran one of the strongest ground games we’ve seen yet this cycle, knocking an enormous number of doors and having real conversations with voters. Marni didn’t wait for opportunities — she created them. When Rep. Darryl Issa announced his retirement (the same week that Square One announced our endorsement of her), this seat became even more competitive and Marni’s team was already poised for it. Tuesday night’s decisive victory for Marni was the payoff for months of relentless work.

CA-48 is now one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities. Redistricting through Prop 50 shifted the district’s partisan baseline toward Democrats, and Kamala Harris would have won this district by about three points. It is a big reason Rep. Issa decided to retire rather than run. Cook Political Report rates the seat as Lean Democratic, and with Marni heading into the general election, we feel good about where we stand.

Win #3: Randy Villegas (CA-22)

We’ve competed in a version of this California seat before, so we were eager to get back into the fight after the passage of Prop 50 last fall made it more competitive. We came back because we believe a Democrat can win in the Central Valley, and also because Randy gave us a reason to believe. He had a clear vision, centered his values on the campaign trail, and wasn’t afraid to throw out the old playbook when the moment called for it. Randy has been fearless about demonstrating who he is, and he understood that being positioned as the underdog meant that his campaign operation needed to be a serious endeavor from the outset. Even as the results were slow to trickle in, the proof was in the pudding: Randy’s campaign maintained their lead with every drop of votes. That kind of conviction is rare. It’s also, as Election Day proved, what wins.

CA-22 is now one of the most closely watched races in the country. This is a majority-Latino district that Democrats have fought for before, and redistricting has put it within reach. Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up, and Randy — a professor, school board trustee, and Central Valley native running on an economic populist message — is exactly the kind of candidate who can win it come November.

Three candidates. Three victories. One incredible primary night across the country.

None of this happened without YOU: the donors, volunteers, and believers who said yes when it mattered most. Thank you.

These three races — NJ-07, CA-48, and CA-22 — are ones that we must flip to help Democrats regain control of the House in November. Rebecca, Marni, and Randy join Denise Powell in NE-02 (another Square One candidate who recently won her primary) as Democratic nominees in the fight for the majority. Square One has and will continue to have their backs. Can you contribute to Square One today so that our team can keep the momentum going and provide these extraordinary candidates with our signature hands-on, high-impact support?

Let's Keep Up the Momentum

We’re so grateful for your support. Be sure to celebrate our shared victories from last week: take a breath, feel good, and know that this work is worth it.

Onward,

Samantha Slaton

National Political Director, Square One

Share