JAC's Top Races for 2020

Meet the Candidates JAC's Top Races for 2020

Most Endangered Incumbents for U.S. Senate

Senator Gary Peters D-MI

Senator Peters has long supported all of JAC’s issues. He led a bipartisan coalition urging the President to continue U.S. support of Israel in 2010, and signed a Congressional letter to President Obama explaining the necessity of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. He helped Planned Parenthood open a new office in his district, and has earned a 100 percent pro choice rating from NARAL. He has worked with representatives across party lines to fight for families, small businesses, good paying jobs, affordable health care, and many other crucial issues facing society today. Click here for more information about Gary Peters.

John Hickenlooper D-CO	Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper is running for the U.S. Senate for Colorado. A former geologist and brewer, he owned a small pub in Denver. As governor, he helped Colorado grow from 40th in the nation in job creation to the top economy in the country. He is running to bring people together to lower health care cost and prescription costs, keep families safe from gun violence, and combat climate change. He is a strong defender of JAC's issues. Click here for more information about John Hickenlooper.
Jon Ossoff D-GA	Jon Ossoff is running in his second bid to represent Georgia in Washington D.C. In 2016, he came close to winning GA-6's special election, and has now won the Georgia primary for the 2020 Senate race. A former national security staffer and aide to Rep. Hank Johnson, he is also CEO of an investigative journalism company focused on corrupt officials and organized crime. He is a strong supporter of JAC's issues and would be a welcome addition to the Senate. Click here for more information about Jon Ossoff.
Theresa Greenfield D-IA	Running to unseat anti-choice GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, Theresa Greenfield will protect JAC's issues in the Senate. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, she is no stranger to hard work. She later worked multiple jobs to put herself through college. She believes that health care is a human right, that it is time for the economy to work for the people, women have a constitutional right to make their own health care decisions, and that we cannot wait any longer to address climate change. She is a strong candidate whose leadership we need in the Senate. Click here for more information on Theresa Greenfield.
Sara Gideon D-ME	Sara Gideon is the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and is running for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Susan Collins. She is a strong supporter of JAC's issues, including women's reproductive rights, leading the fight in Maine to make sure women remain control of their health care decisions. She is running for the Senate because she believes too many politicians are focused more on special interests than the interests of the people they're supposed to represent. Click here for more information about Sara Gideon.
Steve Bullock D-MT	Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock is running for the U.S. Senate for the seat of first-term GOP Sen. Steve Daines. He was a two term governor of Montana. Prior to entering public office, he worked as a consumer protection, small business, and labor lawyer. He was elected Attorney Governor and brought the first legal challenge to Citizens United all the way to the Supreme Court. He is a strong defender of women's reproductive rights, supports all of JAC's issues and will be a strong ally in the Senate. Click here for more on Steve Bullock.
Jaime Harrison Candidate for SC	To Jaime Harrison, character always matters, doing what is right is a way of life, and making good on his debt of gratitude to South Carolina is a lifetime committment. Growing up the son of a teenage mom, raised by his grandparents in poverty, he worked to go to Yale and Georgetown Law schools on scholarship, he went back to SC to help other low-income students pursue their dreams of a college education. He is running to unseat incumbent GOP Senator Lindsey Graham. Click here to learn more about Jaime Harrison.

Most Endangered Incumbents for U.S. House of Representatives

Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell FL-26	Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell was elected in 2018 as the first Ecuadorian-American and first South American immigrant to Congress. Having lost her father to gun violence, she is a strong advocate for gun safety legislation. As a freshman in Congress, she serves on the House Judiciary, Transpporation & Infrastructure Committees. She is a fierce advocate for women's reproductive rights, earning a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood. Debbie won her race by less than 2 percent last cycle. She is in a tough race against the mayor of Miami/Dade county. This is an important seat and Debbie is key ally of JAC’s in Congress. Let’s make sure Debbie wins in November. Click here for more on Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Rep. Abby Finkenauer IA-1	Representative Abby Finkenauer has been a strong voice for JAC’s values ever since her election to Congress. She has continuously voted against gun bills that put innocent people in danger. Additionally, she has, and will always, vote no on bills that are hostile to abortion and women’s reproductive right. Outside of the legislative floor, she has traveled to Israel and continues to support the peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. Click here to learn more about Abby Finkenauer.
Xochitl Torres Small NM-2	Representing the largest non-at-large district in the country, a district bigger than the state of Florida, Rep. Torres Small began her public service working for Sen. Tom Udall as his first field representative in southern New Mexico. Her work with the residents there covered a wide range of issues including rural broadband, health care access, economic security, border security and water. She is a fierce defender of JAC's issues and champion of rural communities. Click here for more on Xochitl Torres Small.
Rep. Max Rose NY-11	Rep. Max Rose was elected to represent Staten Island and Brooklyn in 2018. A former platoon leader in Afghanistan, he brings a dedication to working for the public to his role in Congress. He is a strong proponent of JAC's issues. Following his service in the Army, he worked at a nonprofit operator of medical clinics around New York. Click here to learn more about Max Rose.
Rep. Elaine Luria VA-2	Rep. Elaine Luria served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and reached the rank of commander. After retiring from the military in 2017, she founded an arts and crafts business. Elaine uses her experience in the Navy and as a small-business owner to protect our country and create an economy that works for everyone – not just those at the top.  She is a pro-choice champion committed to expanding access to affordable, quality health care. Elaine is a strong advocate for women’s rights, and also strongly believes in a ban of assault weapons. Click here for more about Elaine Luria.

Challengers for U.S. House of Representatives

Alan Cohn Candidate for FL-15	Alan Cohn is an investigative journalist with three decades of experience taking on powerful people and corporations, exposing corruption, and uncovering the truth. His wide-ranging reporting has exposed police brutality coverips. environmental scandals, and corrupt politicians. He is running for Congress because he believes exposing corruption and wrongdoing was not enough and it is time to run for office and make policy changes to take on the issues important to us all. Click here to learn more about Alan Cohn.
Rita Hart  Candidate IA-2	Rita Hart is a life-long Iowan running for the seat of retiring Rep. Dave Loebsack, with Loebsack's backing. A former high school and junior high teacher, she was elected to the Iowa Senate in 202, where she was a champion for fully funding K-12 schools and expanding job training for IA workers. She and her family own a 200-acre corn and soybean farm. She is a strong proponent of JAC's issues, believing the U.S.-Israel relationship is vital to the national security interests of the U.S. Click here for more on Rita Hart.
Jill Shupp Candidate MO-2	State Sen. Jill Schupp is running to represent MO-2. A former elementary school teacher and later working at an advertising agency, she was elected in 2014 to MO State Senate. She believes that when we identify the vision, we can work to prioritze ow our policies and resources can work for what we value as a community, state, and nation. She is a strong supporter of women's reproductive rights, and all of JAC's issues. Her race is rated toss-up and her voice is needed in Congress. Click here for more on Jill Schupp.
Amy Kennedy Candidate for NJ-2	An educator by training, Amy has more than a decade of experience working in public schools in New Jersey. Her experiences as a teacher and as a mother of five propels her efforts and advocacy around social emotional learning and mental wellness for children and adolescents. Amy is running against an incumbent that was elected as a Democrat but switched parties when he refused to vote for Trump’s impeachment. Amy is battling for victory in a district that Trump won by five points. This is a critical race for the Dems to expand their majority in the House. Click here to learn more about Amy Kennedy.
Nancy Goroff Candidate for NY-1	A scientist, Nancy Goroff believes in science, using facts and evidence to solve problems and will take her experience to Washington, DC to represent Suffolk County. She is strong supporter of JAC's issues and will work to protect women's reproductive rights, education, responsible gun violence prevention, work against climate change, fix the immigration system and more. She is running against incumbent GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin. We need her scientific approach in Washington. Click here for more on Nancy Goroff.
Jackie Gordon Candidate for NY-2	Jackie Gordon is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who spent 29 years serving in the Armed Forces. In between her time as a battle captain and platoon leader serving in the Middle East, she worked as a guidance counselor for high schoolers in the New York public school system. She has spent 13 years serving on the Babylon Town Council, investing in the education and lives of her community. Jackie has a good chance to flip this long-time red seat blue. We need a fighter like Jackie who will stand up for JAC values in Congress. Click here to learn more about Jackie Gordon.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi NY-22	Bringing his bipartisan leadership to Congress in 2018, Rep. Brindisi has worked across the aisle to get things done, including having four bills signed into law. Prior to his election to Congress, he served in the NY State Assembly, where he earned a reputation for principled bipartisanship. While in the Assembly he authored and passed his '21st Century Education Initiative' to create a diploma pathway for high school students. He is a strong supporter of JAC's issues. Click here to learn more about Anthony Brindisi.
Wendy Davis Candidate for TX-21	A former State Senator who rose to national prominence for her 13-hour fillibuster on the floor of the Texas Senate in opposition to restrictive abortion measures. Now she is running to represent TX-21 and to unseat GOP incumbent Rep. Chip Roy, who won his seat in 2018 by just 2 points. She is a powerful advocate of JAC's issues and a needed voice in the U.S. House. Click here for more about Wendy Davis.
Sri Kulkarni Candidate for TX-22	A lifelong public servant, Sri Kulkarni is a national security expert whose career oversees was spent working to promote America's founding principles. He speaks 5 languages, and was commissioned a s U.S. Foreign Service officer, serving in Iraq, Israel, Russia, Taiwan, and Jamaica, promoting women's rights, free press, and religious tolerance. He is a strong supporter of JAC's issues. Click here for more on Sri Kulkarni.
Gina Ortiz Jones Candidate for TX-23	Gina Ortiz Jones is a former member of the Air Force who was deployed to Iraq. She is running to represent San Antonio in Congress. She ran for this seat in 2018, but was narrowly defeated by Rep. William Hurd (R-TX), who is not running for reelection. She was the director for investment at the Office of U.S. Trade Representative and as senior advisor for trade enforcement. She is a strong supporter of women's reproductive rights. Click here for more on Gina Ortiz Jones.
Candace Valenzuela Candidate for TX-24	Born and raised in El Paso, TX, Candace Venezula decided to enter public service when she became a mother. She became involved in local politics and ran for office for the first time in 2017 for the local school board, where she fought for fiscal transparency, expanding STEM education, vocational training, and coding academies in district schools. She is running for an open seat in TX-24 and is a strong advocate of JAC's issues. Click here for more on Candace Valenzuela.