vox--2020-06-09--A criminal justice expert’s guide to donating effectively right now

One of the most common questions I have been asked in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests against police violence is : “ How can I help ?
” It ’ s a natural question as some of the largest and most persistent acts of civil disobedience in years are taking place in dozens of cities across the country .
And while the question of what being a good member or ally to movements for racial justice means is vast and beyond the scope of this short article , I think it ’ s possible to say a bit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person who worries about the trajectory of criminal justice in America donate money ?
Chloe Cockburn , the program officer for criminal justice reform at the Open Philanthropy Project , has thought harder about that question than just about anyone .
Open Philanthropy is an effort , backed by the nearly $ 14 billion fortune of Cari Tuna and her husband , Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz , to identify the most efficient , highest bang-for-the-buck philanthropic investments possible regardless of cause area .
Open Phil believes that criminal justice reform is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there with fighting global poverty or preventing mass pandemics , and that reducing mass incarceration in particular should be a high priority .
The sheer size of the American carceral state means that even a 10 percent reduction in the number of people in prison or jail could over time spare millions of people from living under truly abhorrent conditions .
Cockburn has put together a very useful set of recommendations for donations in the wake of the George Floyd protests , first on a Twitter thread and then in more detail in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with me .
Note that Cockburn does not by any means intend the list below to be exhaustive ; an organization not being listed does not mean that organization is ineffective .
But these are groups for which she , as a professional grant-maker with deep experience in this area , can vouch for as of this writing .
( If you ’ re a large donor interested in talking through these issues , Cockburn also provides tailored recommendations ; you can reach her through Open Philanthropy . )
The Movement for Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear that which of the groups on her list is a “ top pick ” will depend on a donor ’ s specific goals : whether they want to just reduce incarceration , build alternatives to incarceration , or elect more progressive prosecutors .
But “ without knowing anything else , ” she writes , “ I ’ d say Movement for Black Lives , based on their strategic leadership , commitment to regranting to local efforts , and legitimacy as a movement anchor ” would be a top pick for donations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100 member organizations , each focusing on different aspects of the civil rights and criminal justice reform movements , such as Color of Change , the Black Movement Law Project , the Black Lives Matter Network , and dozens of smaller local and regional groups that might otherwise struggle to receive funding .
Donations to M4BL through ActBlue are regranted to these member organizations based on need , which allows for greater targeting efficiency .
At a national and regional level , Cockburn also recommends : • Black Voters Matter Fund , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters in the South for races on every level from local to federal • Showing up for Racial Justice , which organizes white people to do anti-racist advocacy • the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls , a self-advocacy group organizing female-identified people who ’ ve been through the penal system • Survived and Punished , which organizes survivors of domestic and sexual violence who have been incarcerated or targeted by law enforcement • the Fund for Black Newspapers , which supports small black newspapers ( like the Atlanta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name two represented on its board ) • and the Highlander Center , which trains racial justice organizers in the South and Appalachia .
What unifies these donations is their role in supporting a broader racial justice movement , as opposed to narrowly fighting for specific outcomes like , say , abolishing bail .
Those specific causes are important too , but as Cockburn and Open Phil have written , State and local groups doing movement-building and organizing work If you want to fund county-level organizing work , donating to national organizations that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cockburn also recommends a number of smaller local groups that might be appealing causes for people in those specific cities or regions .
Many of these groups are working on defunding the police and redirecting local money to social services ; if that ’ s a cause you support , these might be attractive groups : • JusticeLA , a coalition in Los Angeles that Cockburn notes has “ scored huge wins in the past year around canceling a multi-billion dollar jail contract ” and are “ currently fighting to reduce the multi-billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Roses Community Fund , another coalition but in Philadelphia , also focused on cutting police budgets • Voice of the Experienced , a Louisiana-based grassroots group led by formerly incarcerated people ; if you want to support incarcerated self-advocacy , JustLeadershipUSA is a good national group doing similar work • and the Texas Organizing Project , which is fighting to defund the police , reinvest in social services , and oust Dallas ’ s police chief after police brutality toward protesters .
Investing in restorative justice and other large-scale transformations “ Defunding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much if that money doesn ’ t go back into investing in alternatives that can contribute to community safety through other means .
Two groups Cockburn recommends that are working on organizing for “ restorative justice , ” an umbrella term for non-carceral approaches to preventing and healing from crime , violence , and victimization , are : • Life Comes From It , a “ grant-making circle ” that distributes funds to grassroots restorative justice groups , including “ indigenous peacemaking ” groups in Native American communities • and Spirit House , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ runs a program called “ Harm Free Zone , ” seeking to “ reduc [ e ] and eventually eliminat [ e ] community reliance on law enforcement ” by “ uncovering and restoring intervention practices , existing within distinct communities , to prevent or intervene in incidents of interpersonal conflict and state violence ” If you identify as a police abolitionist and are interested in more radical approaches toward rethinking criminal justice , these might be valuable groups to invest in .
It ’ s not a restorative justice group exactly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Food and Justice Alliance .
As the name implies , the group is focused on food justice issues , but takes a very broad view of that mandate as part of a more comprehensive agenda of building black power over land and food production , and pursuing initiatives like restorative justice .
If you ’ re more electorally minded , writes Cockburn , you could consider donating to the campaigns of progressive prosecutors .
District and county attorneys have an incredible amount of flexibility in deciding whether or not to bring charges , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which pleas to offer , which sentences to pursue , and on and on .
Many scholars of criminal justice , like Fordham ’ s John Pfaff , argue that prosecutorial discretion , and in particular a rise in tough-on-crime prosecutors , has been the main driver of mass incarceration .
“ Analyzing data from state judiciaries , [ Pfaff ] compared the number of crimes , arrests , and prosecutions from 1994 to 2008 , ” Vox ’ s German Lopez writes .
“ He found that reported violent and property @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all crimes also fell .
But one thing went up : the number of felony cases filed in court .
Prosecutors were filing more charges even as crime and arrests dropped , throwing more people into the prison system .
Prosecutors were driving mass incarceration.
” One major force fighting mass incarceration in recent years has been the rise of prosecutors explicitly committed to reducing prison populations , including Larry Krasner ( now district attorney of Philadelphia ) , Chesa Boudin ( now district attorney of San Francisco ) , and Rachael Rollins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Massachusetts , which includes Boston ) .
Cockburn thus recommends a number of groups working on DA campaigns , trying to get more Krasner/Boudin/Rollins-style prosecutors in office where they can seek lower sentences and stop prosecuting low-level offenses : • Real Justice PAC , a political action committee that works on district attorney races across the country • Citizen Action of New York , which is working to elect a progressive prosecutor in Albany • Michigan Liberation , a statewide network that is among other initiatives fighting to elect a progressive prosecutor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Florida-based group working on two local DA races currently .
If this area interests you , you can consult Real Justice PAC or Color of Change ’ s Winning Justice Project ( another prosecutor elections group ) to see if anti-mass incarceration candidates are running in your city or county .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

One of the most common questions I have heard friends ask in the 18 months since the George Floyd protests against police violence is: “How can I help?”
While the question of what being a good member or ally of movements for racial justice means is vast and beyond the scope of this short article, I think it’s possible to say a bit about a narrower question: Where should a person who worries about the trajectory of criminal justice in America donate money?
Chloe Cockburn has thought harder about that question than just about anyone. Until recently, Cockburn was the program officer for criminal justice reform at the Open Philanthropy Project, a foundation-like organization backed by the nearly $14 billion fortune of Cari Tuna and her husband, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. It seeks to identify the most efficient philanthropic investments possible regardless of cause area.
More recently, Cockburn and colleagues launched a group called Just Impact Advisors, which will make grants to criminal justice groups and advise donors interested in the issue. It is a continuation and expansion of her work at Open Philanthropy, trying to find the most effective organizations that are reducing the number of people in prisons and jails. It’s currently backed by a $50 million gift from Open Philanthropy. Suffice it to say, Cockburn has a lot of experience making tough choices about where to donate significant sums of money to try to fight mass incarceration.
Cockburn put together a very useful set of recommendations for donations in the wake of the George Floyd protests last year, first on a Twitter thread and then in more detail in a memo to donors that she shared with me last summer. For this year’s giving season, I reached back out to her this month for her updated list of recommendations.
Note that Cockburn does not by any means intend the list below to be exhaustive; an organization not being listed does not mean that organization is ineffective. But these are groups for which she, as a professional grant-maker with deep experience in this area, can vouch for as of this writing. (If you’re a large donor interested in talking through these issues, Cockburn also provides tailored recommendations; you can reach her here.)
Many of these groups got an influx of attention and money in the summer of 2020 — which makes now a good time to give, since they’re now getting less attention and might be in greater need of funding than they were 18 months ago.
State and local groups doing movement-building and organizing work
Most criminal justice policy is made at the state and city level, meaning that state- and city-level organizations are often best situated to change the system. To that end, Cockburn recommends a number of small local groups that might be appealing causes for people in those specific cities or regions.
The Black Lives Matter local organizations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Louisville, Kentucky, also fit under this grouping.
Investing in restorative justice and other large-scale transformations
One way to reduce incarceration is to invest in alternatives to the traditional prison system. Two groups Cockburn recommends that are working on organizing for “restorative justice,” an umbrella term for non-carceral approaches to preventing and healing from crime, violence, and victimization, are:
Life Comes From It, a “grant-making circle” that distributes funds to grassroots restorative justice groups nationwide, including “indigenous peacemaking” groups in Native American communities. “The fund accepts donations of any size, and grants are often small ($5,000-$25,000), meaning your contributions make a real difference,” Cockburn says. “They are the only practitioner-led national fund providing this type of support to restorative-based solutions.”
Spirit House, a group based in North Carolina that runs a program called Harm Free Zone, which seeks to “reduc[e] and eventually eliminat[e] community reliance on law enforcement” by “uncovering and restoring intervention practices, existing within distinct communities, to prevent or intervene in incidents of interpersonal conflict and state violence”
It’s not a restorative justice group exactly, but Cockburn also recommends the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. As the name implies, the group is focused on food justice issues, but it takes a very broad view of that mandate as part of a more comprehensive agenda of building Black power over land and food production, and pursuing initiatives like restorative justice.
Cockburn also recommends a number of groups that are piloting alternatives to traditional criminal justice systems, like “violence interrupting,” in which community members seek to intervene and deescalate conflicts before they become violent or deadly. Cockburn recommends giving to the Community-Based Public Safety Collective, which grew out of the Newark Community Street Team in Newark, New Jersey, and now supports local groups around the country working on violence interruption and other alternatives. (The effectiveness of violence interrupters is actively debated, and part of what these groups are doing is experimenting with new methods that might be more effective.)
Electing more progressive prosecutors
If you’re more electorally minded, writes Cockburn, you could consider donating to the campaigns of progressive prosecutors. District and county attorneys have an incredible amount of flexibility in deciding whether to bring charges, whether to offer plea bargains, which pleas to offer, which sentences to pursue, and on and on. Many scholars of criminal justice, like Fordham’s John Pfaff, argue that prosecutorial discretion, and in particular a rise in “tough on crime” prosecutors, has been the main driver of mass incarceration.
“Analyzing data from state judiciaries, [Pfaff] compared the number of crimes, arrests, and prosecutions from 1994 to 2008,” Vox’s German Lopez writes. “He found that reported violent and property crime fell, and arrests for almost all crimes also fell. But one thing went up: the number of felony cases filed in court. Prosecutors were filing more charges even as crime and arrests dropped, throwing more people into the prison system. Prosecutors were driving mass incarceration.”
One major force fighting mass incarceration in recent years has been the rise of prosecutors explicitly committed to reducing prison populations, including Larry Krasner (now district attorney of Philadelphia), Kim Foxx (district attorney of Cook County, Illinois, including Chicago), Chesa Boudin (district attorney of San Francisco), and Rachael Rollins (currently district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which includes Boston).
Cockburn thus recommends a number of groups working on DA campaigns, trying to get more Krasner/Boudin/Foxx/Rollins-style prosecutors in office where they can seek lower sentences and stop prosecuting low-level offenses:
The Working Families Party, whose state-level affiliate parties work on prosecutors’ races and endorse progressive candidates around the country
Real Justice PAC, a political action committee that works on district attorney races across the country
Action St. Louis, which is working on the reelection effort of progressive St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell
If this area interests you, you can consult Real Justice PAC or Color of Change’s Winning Justice Project (another prosecutor elections group) to see if candidates against mass incarceration are running in your city or county.
The Movement for Black Lives and other national organizations
For donors with more national interests, Cockburn recommends giving to the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), “based on their strategic leadership, commitment to regranting to local efforts, and legitimacy as a movement anchor.”
M4BL is a network of more than 100 member organizations, each focusing on different aspects of the civil rights and criminal justice reform movements, such as Color of Change, the Black Movement Law Project, the Black Lives Matter Network, and dozens of smaller local and regional groups that might otherwise struggle to receive funding. Donations to M4BL through ActBlue are regranted to these member organizations based on need, which allows for greater targeting efficiency.
At a national and regional level, Cockburn also recommends:
What unifies these donations is their role in supporting a broader racial justice movement, as opposed to narrowly fighting for specific outcomes like, say, abolishing bail.
Those specific causes are important too, but as Cockburn and Open Philanthropy have written, “the expansion of what is politically possible cannot be achieved without mobilizing a large base of directly impacted people — for example, people convicted of crimes, people who have spent time in jail and/or prison, crime victims, their families, and their communities. We think that building this constituency must be done from the ground up, hence our attention to county-level organizing work.”
Update: This story was originally published in 2020 and has been updated throughout for 2021.


vox--2020-06-09--The devaluing of black property has led to the devaluing of black lives

Black communities , long denied the opportunity to own property , now stand at the center of a national debate about the destruction of property .
Following the police killings of several unarmed black people , retailers from Minnesota to Atlanta have been looted , smashed , and burned down during otherwise peaceful protests , drawing accusations ranging from foreign interference to radical antifa takeovers .
Yet while the origins of this theft and destruction have fueled much speculation , the urban riots in the 1960s show that it is not without precedent for people who are dispossessed to dispossess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American culture has wrestled with these difficulties of living in segregated neighborhoods where people own neither property nor businesses .
This is Jay-Z appealing to young black drug dealers on “ The Story of O.J.
” : “ Please don ’ t die over the neighborhood that your mama rentin ’ .
” On “ Nas Album Done , ” Nas bemoans the fact that unlike in wealthier whiter neighborhoods , where generational transfers are common , “ In the hood , shit ain ’ t passed down through blood.
” Far beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living as a black person in the American economy was televised in the killing of George Floyd — a commercial interaction that ended in homicide .
The danger of being a second-class shopper , the inability to own a home , the hurdles to starting businesses , and the setbacks in garnering wealth are all tied together .
“ The same attitude that would lead an officer to kneel in the back of the neck of someone under their custody , under their supposed care , are the same attitudes harbored by bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Andre M. Perry , a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution , told me .
To chat through the way these long-running inequities impact America ’ s civil unrest — and to explain some policy prescriptions for how we can see our way out — I spoke with Perry , who ’ s also a scholar-in-residence at American University and the author of Know Your Price : Valuing Black Lives and Property in America ’ s Black Cities .
A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through your book last night .
And one of the things that I thought was interesting was where you wrote that “ black communities ’ economic and community development goals have always been tied to our civil rights , for good reason.
” And I was just wondering how you were thinking about that idea at this moment .
Oh , at this moment , it ’ s become clear it ’ s impossible to separate social justice from economic justice .
There ’ s nothing that says a black person doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a police officer kill a person in the middle of the street in broad daylight .
The police are supposed to protect and serve .
When you look at the rate in which black people are killed — more than two and a half , or approximately two and a half times what their percentage in the population would suggest — it ’ s not surprising to learn that the black families earn [ just over ] half as much as their white peers .
It ’ s not surprising to see that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 46 percent compared to white homeownership with 79 percent .
The point is that the social justice issues we face are inextricably linked to the economic system that we work and live in .
The same attitude that would lead an officer to kneel in the back of the neck of someone under their custody , under their supposed care , are the same attitudes harbored by bank lenders , real estate agents , appraisers .
It ’ s the same attitude that corporate execs have .
So for us to address these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have to deal with structural racism that undergirds so many different sectors in our lives .
Right , one of the things that you mention there is the fact that most black people do not own a home .
I know you also write about how , for black people who do own homes , many of their assets are undervalued .
I was wondering how you ’ re thinking about the relationship between property and people who don ’ t own property at this moment .
You know , for so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land controlled so much of our political system .
Landowners feel the privilege to dictate policy .
There ’ s also a sense of entitlement that this is their community .
This is , “ I get to dictate what I want to do in this community based on the fact that I own land , own property.
” Blacks have been systematically denied housing and discouraged to have housing for generations .
Going back to the 1930s , when black-majority cities were redlined , deemed unworthy of investment .
That same feeling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lending practices that would not have blacks become homeowners .
And the heirloom of redlining is still with us today .
A lot of my studies examine the housing crisis in black-majority communities and compare them to housing prices in majority-white communities .
We found that after controlling for education , crime , walkability , and many other metrics you might find on Zillow , homes in black neighborhoods are devalued by 23 percent .
About $ 48,000 per home , about $ 156 billion in lost equity .
Now , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start businesses and to send their kids to college .
In fact , that would have paid for more than 4 million black-owned businesses , based on the average startup costs that blacks had to start businesses .
They would have funded more than 8 million four-year degrees at a public institution .
It ’ s the money that people use to uplift themselves .
So throughout history , black people have been denied housing opportunities and have been subjected to predatory lending and other unsavory practices that have really disenfranchised them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a lot of this frustration comes from not having an ability to influence policy .
And a lot of that starts with a lack of homeownership .
I was wondering if you could speak to the devaluation of black businesses as well .
I know you did a report looking at that .
The devaluation goes beyond housing .
We also did a study examining businesses in black communities .
To get a sense of the quality , we scraped Yelp data from all businesses and compared those in black-majority communities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar finding : Businesses owned by people of color in black-majority neighborhoods actually scored higher on Yelp , but received less revenue because of the neighborhood ’ s perception .
People will bypass quality in black neighborhoods simply because it ’ s the black neighborhood .
Now , our elders used to have the thing that says our ice is just as cold .
And they knew that if you don ’ t reward quality in the neighborhood , you distort the market in a way that suppresses economic mobility in it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the neighborhood are lost because of racism .
More importantly , there ’ s an overarching loss in investment in black neighborhoods because of housing , because of a lack of business investment there .
Municipalities seem to mirror that lack of investment .
You don ’ t see regular garbage pickup and proper lighting and beautification in areas that are black majority .
What I try to do , though , is say , “ Hey , these assets are not broken .
They are underinvested in .
They are devalued.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are valued more than they are priced , so are our black lives .
We are devalued , but in actuality , our value is high .
The goal of my research is 1 ) to point out the assets we should be investing in , and then 2 ) to pinpoint where devaluation is happening so we can eradicate the drag of racism on the market .
How does that work ?
How do we correct the pricing on black life and property ?
Well , obviously you can ’ t wave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and raise them automatically , because it would price people out of being able to purchase a property .
People living in devalued areas , a lot of them are renters .
If we increase the price of homes , they wouldn ’ t be able to afford to purchase the home .
Housing prices would spike , and folks would be priced out .
So the goal is to invest in people first , meaning to provide low-interest home loans to people whose parents did not own a home .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealth issue .
You know , we should be providing homeowners who live in devalued areas with microloans so they can make up for the loss in the discretionary funding to help fix up their property .
Also in business — and this is something that ’ s pressing right now — we ’ ve got to figure out a way to make sure the PPP [ Paycheck Protection Program ] loans that went to white businesses but neglected to get to 95 percent of black businesses , we ’ ve got to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief to black-owned businesses and financial institutions that are more likely to work with black-owned business .
I did want to ask you about a historical precedent .
You write in your book about the 1967 riots that happened in Detroit following the police raid .
You wrote , “ Black Detroiters set the city ablaze , proclaiming that their lives matter.
” I was wondering if you see any parallels today and how are you thinking about , you know , the property damage that ’ s been happening during the civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter less than the property that they are surrounded by , you never provide incentives not to burn something down .
So when people say , “ Don ’ t burn down the goods , businesses , services in your local neighborhood.
” They ’ re missing the point of why people are protesting .
The very fact that you have to say that means that they — the property , the goods , the services , the businesses — are so undervalued that the people around them are not respected .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get killed en route to that firm or service ?
So it ’ s sad , it is absolutely sad , but it is a reality that black people aren ’ t heard until something is burning down .
If you really want to stop the burning , we need to create programs and services and investment and build black people up .
I was also curious if you ’ ve been following the kind of discourse that ’ s been happening around the destruction of black-owned businesses .
I know it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for mayors , from Minnesota to Atlanta .
Do you have any thoughts on that ?
You know , again , I think when it comes to looting and protests when it gets to that point , you got to ask the deeper question : Why ?
Nobody wants to see businesses burn , scorched , destroyed .
No one .
So the question is , “ Why are people willing to burn something down ?
” And that ’ s where my devaluation research comes into play .
It ’ s that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are not giving them a reason to not burn it down .
When property is valued more than people , you ’ re not giving folks a reason not to burn it down .
And so the goal is to respect people .
And you respect people by restoring the value that ’ s been extracted by racism .
So I guarantee you [ that ] if we said , “ You know what ?
In black communities , we ’ re going to make sure that residents and renters are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property in the area .
We ’ re going to give entrepreneurs low-interest business loans so they can help deal with Covid and start new businesses.
” It would be less likely there would be burning .
But instead , when you say in response , “ I ’ m going to jail you , ” you ’ re really incentivizing a protest .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Black communities, long denied the opportunity to own property, now stand at the center of a national debate about the destruction of property.
Following the police killings of several unarmed black people, retailers from Minnesota to Atlanta have been looted, smashed, and burned down during otherwise peaceful protests, drawing accusations ranging from foreign interference to radical antifa takeovers. Yet while the origins of this theft and destruction have fueled much speculation, the urban riots in the 1960s show that it is not without precedent for people who are dispossessed to dispossess others.
More recently, popular African American culture has wrestled with these difficulties of living in segregated neighborhoods where people own neither property nor businesses.
This is Jay-Z appealing to young black drug dealers on “The Story of O.J.”: “Please don’t die over the neighborhood that your mama rentin’.” On “Nas Album Done,” Nas bemoans the fact that unlike in wealthier whiter neighborhoods, where generational transfers are common, “In the hood, shit ain’t passed down through blood.”
Far beyond rap songs, the painful reality of living as a black person in the American economy was televised in the killing of George Floyd — a commercial interaction that ended in homicide. The danger of being a second-class shopper, the inability to own a home, the hurdles to starting businesses, and the setbacks in garnering wealth are all tied together.
“The same attitude that would lead an officer to kneel in the back of the neck of someone under their custody, under their supposed care, are the same attitudes harbored by bank lenders, real estate agents, appraisers,” Andre M. Perry, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, told me.
To chat through the way these long-running inequities impact America’s civil unrest — and to explain some policy prescriptions for how we can see our way out — I spoke with Perry, who’s also a scholar-in-residence at American University and the author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.
Aaron Ross Coleman
To start, I was looking through your book last night. And one of the things that I thought was interesting was where you wrote that “black communities’ economic and community development goals have always been tied to our civil rights, for good reason.” And I was just wondering how you were thinking about that idea at this moment.
Andre Perry
Oh, at this moment, it’s become clear it’s impossible to separate social justice from economic justice. There’s nothing that says a black person doesn’t belong in an economy like having a police officer kill a person in the middle of the street in broad daylight.
The police are supposed to protect and serve. When you look at the rate in which black people are killed — more than two and a half, or approximately two and a half times what their percentage in the population would suggest — it’s not surprising to learn that the black families earn [just over] half as much as their white peers. It’s not surprising to see that black homeownership [in Minneapolis] is 46 percent compared to white homeownership with 79 percent. The point is that the social justice issues we face are inextricably linked to the economic system that we work and live in.
The same attitude that would lead an officer to kneel in the back of the neck of someone under their custody, under their supposed care, are the same attitudes harbored by bank lenders, real estate agents, appraisers. It’s the same attitude that corporate execs have. So for us to address these systemic issues, we’re going to have to deal with structural racism that undergirds so many different sectors in our lives.
Aaron Ross Coleman
Right, one of the things that you mention there is the fact that most black people do not own a home. I know you also write about how, for black people who do own homes, many of their assets are undervalued. I was wondering how you’re thinking about the relationship between property and people who don’t own property at this moment.
Andre Perry
You know, for so long in the country, who owns land controlled so much of our political system. Landowners feel the privilege to dictate policy. There’s also a sense of entitlement that this is their community. This is, “I get to dictate what I want to do in this community based on the fact that I own land, own property.”
Blacks have been systematically denied housing and discouraged to have housing for generations. Going back to the 1930s, when black-majority cities were redlined, deemed unworthy of investment. That same feeling that blacks are too risky has led to lending practices that would not have blacks become homeowners. And the heirloom of redlining is still with us today. A lot of my studies examine the housing crisis in black-majority communities and compare them to housing prices in majority-white communities.
We found that after controlling for education, crime, walkability, and many other metrics you might find on Zillow, homes in black neighborhoods are devalued by 23 percent. About $48,000 per home, about $156 billion in lost equity. Now, that’s the money people use to start businesses and to send their kids to college. In fact, that would have paid for more than 4 million black-owned businesses, based on the average startup costs that blacks had to start businesses. They would have funded more than 8 million four-year degrees at a public institution. It’s the money that people use to uplift themselves.
So throughout history, black people have been denied housing opportunities and have been subjected to predatory lending and other unsavory practices that have really disenfranchised them. And so when these police incidents occur, a lot of this frustration comes from not having an ability to influence policy. And a lot of that starts with a lack of homeownership.
Aaron Ross Coleman
I was wondering if you could speak to the devaluation of black businesses as well. I know you did a report looking at that.
Andre Perry
The devaluation goes beyond housing. We also did a study examining businesses in black communities. To get a sense of the quality, we scraped Yelp data from all businesses and compared those in black-majority communities and in white-majority spaces. We found a similar finding: Businesses owned by people of color in black-majority neighborhoods actually scored higher on Yelp, but received less revenue because of the neighborhood’s perception. People will bypass quality in black neighborhoods simply because it’s the black neighborhood.
Now, our elders used to have the thing that says our ice is just as cold. And they knew that if you don’t reward quality in the neighborhood, you distort the market in a way that suppresses economic mobility in it. Those revenues that should be going to the neighborhood are lost because of racism. More importantly, there’s an overarching loss in investment in black neighborhoods because of housing, because of a lack of business investment there. Municipalities seem to mirror that lack of investment. You don’t see regular garbage pickup and proper lighting and beautification in areas that are black majority.
What I try to do, though, is say, “Hey, these assets are not broken. They are underinvested in. They are devalued.” Just like the homes in black neighborhoods are valued more than they are priced, so are our black lives. We are devalued, but in actuality, our value is high.
The goal of my research is 1) to point out the assets we should be investing in, and then 2) to pinpoint where devaluation is happening so we can eradicate the drag of racism on the market.
Aaron Ross Coleman
How does that work? How do we correct the pricing on black life and property?
Andre Perry
Well, obviously you can’t wave a magic policy wand at housing prices and raise them automatically, because it would price people out of being able to purchase a property. People living in devalued areas, a lot of them are renters. If we increase the price of homes, they wouldn’t be able to afford to purchase the home. Housing prices would spike, and folks would be priced out.
So the goal is to invest in people first, meaning to provide low-interest home loans to people whose parents did not own a home. And that way, you can get at this wealth issue. You know, we should be providing homeowners who live in devalued areas with microloans so they can make up for the loss in the discretionary funding to help fix up their property. Also in business — and this is something that’s pressing right now — we’ve got to figure out a way to make sure the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loans that went to white businesses but neglected to get to 95 percent of black businesses, we’ve got to figure out a way to provide direct relief to black-owned businesses and financial institutions that are more likely to work with black-owned business.
Aaron Ross Coleman
I did want to ask you about a historical precedent. You write in your book about the 1967 riots that happened in Detroit following the police raid. You wrote, “Black Detroiters set the city ablaze, proclaiming that their lives matter.” I was wondering if you see any parallels today and how are you thinking about, you know, the property damage that’s been happening during the civil unrest.
Andre Perry
As long as black lives matter less than the property that they are surrounded by, you never provide incentives not to burn something down. So when people say, “Don’t burn down the goods, businesses, services in your local neighborhood.” They’re missing the point of why people are protesting. The very fact that you have to say that means that they — the property, the goods, the services, the businesses — are so undervalued that the people around them are not respected.
What good is a business if you can get killed en route to that firm or service?
So it’s sad, it is absolutely sad, but it is a reality that black people aren’t heard until something is burning down. If you really want to stop the burning, we need to create programs and services and investment and build black people up.
Aaron Ross Coleman
I was also curious if you’ve been following the kind of discourse that’s been happening around the destruction of black-owned businesses. I know it’s been a common point of discussion for mayors, from Minnesota to Atlanta. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Andre Perry
You know, again, I think when it comes to looting and protests when it gets to that point, you got to ask the deeper question: Why? Nobody wants to see businesses burn, scorched, destroyed. No one. So the question is, “Why are people willing to burn something down?”
And that’s where my devaluation research comes into play. It’s that if people aren’t respected, you are not giving them a reason to not burn it down. When property is valued more than people, you’re not giving folks a reason not to burn it down.
And so the goal is to respect people. And you respect people by restoring the value that’s been extracted by racism. So I guarantee you [that] if we said, “You know what? In black communities, we’re going to make sure that residents and renters are going to get low-interest mortgage loans to buy property in the area. We’re going to give entrepreneurs low-interest business loans so they can help deal with Covid and start new businesses.” It would be less likely there would be burning. But instead, when you say in response, “I’m going to jail you,” you’re really incentivizing a protest.


vox--2020-06-09--Nevada primaries: Democrats are playing defense in two competitive House races

Republicans are eyeing Nevada ’ s primaries on June 9 for opportunities to unseat a pair of Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns .
There aren ’ t any statewide positions up for grabs this election cycle in Nevada .
But a couple of House races could prove competitive : Republicans are targeting the historically swingy District 3 , as well as District 4 , one of Nevada ’ s largest congressional districts .
The incumbent Democrats , Susie Lee and Steven Horsford , first have to win primaries against a handful of challengers .
But they have also both received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Frontline Program , which aims to help vulnerable candidates defend their seats — now and in the general election , assuming they win their primaries .
Nevada has shifted almost entirely to mail-in voting in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus , though it will still have some in-person polling locations .
That makes turnout difficult to predict , but more Nevada voters have already cast their ballots in this year ’ s primaries than they did in 2016 .
Roughly 19 percent of active registered voters submitted their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in voting or in-person early voting , according to data from the Nevada Secretary of State ’ s Office .
Nevada has voted blue in three of the last four presidential elections , but it ’ s a battleground state this year .
Just a few months ago , Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders captured a sweeping victory in the state ’ s Democratic presidential presidential primary , buttressed in part by the state ’ s many Latino voters .
Those voters could be key to keeping the state blue , but they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative population .
Nevada polls close at 7 pm PT .
Vox will have live results provided by Decision Desk .
Here ’ s what you need to know about the state ’ s races .
Lee , a first-term member of Congress , has managed to amass a sizable pot of $ 2 million in campaign contributions — well above what her three major GOP rivals have raised .
But while she is in a position of relative financial strength , her district , which encompasses the area south of Las Vegas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And on the eve of the primaries , she has come under fire for pushing the Trump administration to offer small business loans to the gaming industry as part of its coronavirus relief efforts — a measure that benefited her husband ’ s business .
The Daily Beast reported Monday that her husband , who owns a casino that incurred significant losses as businesses were forced to shut down , consequently received two federally backed small business loans amounting to a total of $ 5.6 million .
A spokesperson for Lee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had “ no influence over the decision to file the application [ for the loans ] , and she had no influence over whether or not that application was approved or denied.
” Democrats have held the district since 2016 , when Lee ’ s predecessor and now Nevada ’ s junior US Sen. Jacky Rosen narrowly won , flipping the district for the first time in six years .
Lee , a former nonprofit manager in Las Vegas , managed to continue that winning streak in 2018 , bolstered by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lee doesn ’ t have much of an edge this year in terms of Democratic voter registrations , which are just 3 percent above GOP registrations .
And President Donald Trump narrowly won the district in 2016 , suggesting that voters ’ preferences don ’ t strictly align with a particular party .
She is also facing two primary challenges , one from Dennis Sullivan , a US Navy veteran and newcomer to politics who has criticized her education policy , and the other from Tiffany Ann Watson , a self-described “ socially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has advocated against a ban on semi-automatic weapons .
The GOP field is more crowded with six candidates : Brian Nadell , a professional poker player ; Corwin Newberry , who worked in the apparel industry for decades ; Mindy Robinson , a reality television star ; Dan Rodimer , a former professional wrestler ; Dan Schwartz , the former Nevada state treasurer ; and Victor Willert , a former school principal .
Rodimer , who was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , and Schwartz are leading the pack , having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign funds .
Rodimer has sought to paint Schwartz as a liberal in disguise , even though Schwartz says he supports Trump and Second Amendment rights and opposes federal funding for abortions .
To keep his seat in District 4 , Horsford will have to fend off five primary challengers , some of whom called on him to drop out of the race after he admitted to having a prolonged extramarital affair with a former intern for then-Nevada Sen. Harry Reid .
Republicans are hoping that the infighting among Democrats will clear the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Horsford , a former state senator and executive at the Culinary Workers Union , the largest union in the state , has not indicated any intention to drop out of the race .
Some of his Democratic opponents have said that the affair is a personal matter that does not necessarily impact his ability to serve voters .
But others — including Gabrielle “ Brie ” D ’ Ayr , a US Navy veteran and former candidate for the Nevada State Assembly — have suggested that it is disqualifying .
Eight Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bingham , an investor and entrepreneur ; Leo Blundo , a restaurant owner and the current Nye County commissioner ; Jim Marchant , a former Nevada assemblyman ; Charles Navarro , a US Navy veteran ; Sam Peters , an Air Force veteran who started his own insurance business ; Randi Reed , who works in commercial real estate ; Lisa Song Sutton , a small business owner and former Miss Nevada ; and Rebecca Wood , another small business owner .
No clear frontrunner has emerged .
It ’ s not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ representative has been mired in scandal .
Ruben Kihuen , who held the seat from 2017 to 2019 , decided not to run for reelection amid sexual misconduct allegations brought by a woman staffer on his campaign .
Then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had asked him to resign .
Reid ’ s former intern , Gabriela Linder , told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Horsford had “ offered her financial support , introduced her to political connections and filmed a segment for her young son ’ s YouTube show using his congressional staff.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ affair on Twitter and the podcast Mistress for Congress .
In the podcast , she claims that the affair began in 2009 and lasted more than a decade .
Horsford has not contested her claims .
“ It is true that I had a previous relationship outside of my marriage , over the course of several years , ” he told the Review-Journal .
“ I ’ m deeply sorry to all of those who have been impacted by this very poor decision , most importantly my wife and family .
Out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , I ask that our privacy is respected.
” District 4 spans North Las Vegas as well as large swaths of rural land .
Horsford first held the seat from 2013 to 2015 , losing it to a Republican before reclaiming it again in 2018 .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Republicans are eyeing Nevada’s primaries on June 9 for opportunities to unseat a pair of Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns.
There aren’t any statewide positions up for grabs this election cycle in Nevada. But a couple of House races could prove competitive: Republicans are targeting the historically swingy District 3, as well as District 4, one of Nevada’s largest congressional districts. The incumbent Democrats, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford, first have to win primaries against a handful of challengers. But they have also both received funding from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Frontline Program, which aims to help vulnerable candidates defend their seats — now and in the general election, assuming they win their primaries.
Nevada has shifted almost entirely to mail-in voting in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, though it will still have some in-person polling locations. That makes turnout difficult to predict, but more Nevada voters have already cast their ballots in this year’s primaries than they did in 2016.
Roughly 19 percent of active registered voters submitted their ballots as of Friday, either through mail-in voting or in-person early voting, according to data from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.
Nevada has voted blue in three of the last four presidential elections, but it’s a battleground state this year. Just a few months ago, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders captured a sweeping victory in the state’s Democratic presidential presidential primary, buttressed in part by the state’s many Latino voters. Those voters could be key to keeping the state blue, but they’re up against an aging, increasingly conservative population.
Nevada polls close at 7 pm PT. Vox will have live results provided by Decision Desk. Here’s what you need to know about the state’s races.
District 3
Lee, a first-term member of Congress, has managed to amass a sizable pot of $2 million in campaign contributions — well above what her three major GOP rivals have raised. But while she is in a position of relative financial strength, her district, which encompasses the area south of Las Vegas, could still turn red in 2020. And on the eve of the primaries, she has come under fire for pushing the Trump administration to offer small business loans to the gaming industry as part of its coronavirus relief efforts — a measure that benefited her husband’s business.
The Daily Beast reported Monday that her husband, who owns a casino that incurred significant losses as businesses were forced to shut down, consequently received two federally backed small business loans amounting to a total of $5.6 million. A spokesperson for Lee, however, told the Daily Beast that she had “no influence over the decision to file the application [for the loans], and she had no influence over whether or not that application was approved or denied.”
Democrats have held the district since 2016, when Lee’s predecessor and now Nevada’s junior US Sen. Jacky Rosen narrowly won, flipping the district for the first time in six years. Lee, a former nonprofit manager in Las Vegas, managed to continue that winning streak in 2018, bolstered by a blue wave in the midterms.
But Lee doesn’t have much of an edge this year in terms of Democratic voter registrations, which are just 3 percent above GOP registrations. And President Donald Trump narrowly won the district in 2016, suggesting that voters’ preferences don’t strictly align with a particular party.
She is also facing two primary challenges, one from Dennis Sullivan, a US Navy veteran and newcomer to politics who has criticized her education policy, and the other from Tiffany Ann Watson, a self-described “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” Democrat who has advocated against a ban on semi-automatic weapons.
The GOP field is more crowded with six candidates: Brian Nadell, a professional poker player; Corwin Newberry, who worked in the apparel industry for decades; Mindy Robinson, a reality television star; Dan Rodimer, a former professional wrestler; Dan Schwartz, the former Nevada state treasurer; and Victor Willert, a former school principal.
Rodimer, who was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Schwartz are leading the pack, having each raised more than $600,000 in campaign funds. Rodimer has sought to paint Schwartz as a liberal in disguise, even though Schwartz says he supports Trump and Second Amendment rights and opposes federal funding for abortions.
District 4
To keep his seat in District 4, Horsford will have to fend off five primary challengers, some of whom called on him to drop out of the race after he admitted to having a prolonged extramarital affair with a former intern for then-Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. Republicans are hoping that the infighting among Democrats will clear the way for them to recapture the seat.
Horsford, a former state senator and executive at the Culinary Workers Union, the largest union in the state, has not indicated any intention to drop out of the race. Some of his Democratic opponents have said that the affair is a personal matter that does not necessarily impact his ability to serve voters. But others — including Gabrielle “Brie” D’Ayr, a US Navy veteran and former candidate for the Nevada State Assembly — have suggested that it is disqualifying.
Eight Republicans are competing to unseat him: Rosalie Bingham, an investor and entrepreneur; Leo Blundo, a restaurant owner and the current Nye County commissioner; Jim Marchant, a former Nevada assemblyman; Charles Navarro, a US Navy veteran; Sam Peters, an Air Force veteran who started his own insurance business; Randi Reed, who works in commercial real estate; Lisa Song Sutton, a small business owner and former Miss Nevada; and Rebecca Wood, another small business owner. No clear frontrunner has emerged.
It’s not the first time that District 4’s representative has been mired in scandal. Ruben Kihuen, who held the seat from 2017 to 2019, decided not to run for reelection amid sexual misconduct allegations brought by a woman staffer on his campaign. Then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had asked him to resign.
Reid’s former intern, Gabriela Linder, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Horsford had “offered her financial support, introduced her to political connections and filmed a segment for her young son’s YouTube show using his congressional staff.” She has also spoken about the affair on Twitter and the podcast Mistress for Congress. In the podcast, she claims that the affair began in 2009 and lasted more than a decade.
Horsford has not contested her claims.
“It is true that I had a previous relationship outside of my marriage, over the course of several years,” he told the Review-Journal. “I’m deeply sorry to all of those who have been impacted by this very poor decision, most importantly my wife and family. Out of concern for my family during this challenging time, I ask that our privacy is respected.”
District 4 spans North Las Vegas as well as large swaths of rural land. Horsford first held the seat from 2013 to 2015, losing it to a Republican before reclaiming it again in 2018.


vox--2020-06-09--5 races to watch in Tuesday’s West Virginia election

Once upon a time , West Virginia was a Democratic stronghold .
It was one of just a few states that preferred President Jimmy Carter over challenger Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election , and the state had two Democratic senators as recently as 2015 .
But those days are long gone .
On Tuesday , Democrats are set to choose which of their candidates will try to retake two positions currently held by Republicans : the governor ’ s mansion , and one of the state ’ s US Senate seats .
West Virginia Gov .
Jim Justice — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican Party in 2017 , at a time when Democrats in most of the country were gearing up for major electoral victories in the next midterm election — will face a primary of his own .
Whichever Democrat wins the Senate primary will face a steep uphill battle to unseat Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito this fall .
President Donald Trump crushed Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 40 points in 2016 .
It is a testament to the political skill of Sen. Joe Manchin , a right-leaning Democrat who has held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not up for reelection this year , that his political career remains alive even as his state transforms into one of the reddest in the nation .
Tuesday ’ s West Virginia primary won ’ t just reveal much about how Democrats hope to weather the challenges facing them in the Mountain State , however .
It will also reshape the state ’ s highest court .
Three of the state ’ s five state Supreme Court seats are up for grabs Judicial elections are always a fraught enterprise .
Most voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little about the judges in their state .
And judges are supposed to follow the law without partisan favor , rather than being loyal to the constituencies that got them their job .
In West Virginia , state Supreme Court elections are especially worrisome .
In 2004 , coal baron Don Blankenship essentially bought a seat on the state Supreme Court for $ 3 million .
Blankenship spent that much to elect his preferred candidate to the state ’ s highest court , after which the justice went on to strike down a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s company .
( The US Supreme Court later ruled that the justice should have recused himself , effectively requiring the state Supreme Court to rehear the case . )
Moreover , in 2016 the state made its judicial races “ nonpartisan.
” In practice , that doesn ’ t mean that political parties are indifferent about who wins this election .
It simply means that the ballot will not inform voters which party each candidate prefers .
But because these races are nominally nonpartisan , there is no primary election to choose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winners of Tuesday ’ s races will join the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia , the state ’ s highest court .
It is unusual for so many seats to be up for grabs at once , but it ’ s the result of a scandal that forced three justices to resign in 2018 ( the details of this scandal , which include a $ 32,000 couch , can be found here ) .
The state ’ s Republican Party endorsed three candidates : incumbent Justice Tim Armstead , Fifth Judicial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kris Raynes .
The Republican State Leadership Committee ’ s Judicial Fairness Initiative has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect these candidates .
Meanwhile , a rival group called ReSet West Virginia has spent similar sums of money supporting a different ticket of candidates : incumbent Justice John Hutchison , former Justice Richard Neely , and 13th Judicial Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit .
Incumbent Gov .
Jim Justice , a billionaire former Democrat who switched to the GOP after he took office , attracted two reasonably serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primary .
But neither one seems to have caught fire .
A recent poll showed Justice winning his primary with over 53 percent of the vote .
Meanwhile , the Democratic primary contest resembles , at least on the surface , the cultural divide between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-VT ) , the top two contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination .
Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango , whom Manchin endorsed , plays the role of the establishment favorite .
Salango ’ s strongest opponent , meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A recent poll showed Salango winning with just over 30 percent of the vote , while Smith received a little more than 27 percent support .
The poll also found more than a quarter of the electorate undecided , with three long-shot candidates winning about 14 percent of the vote in total .
The Democratic primary also features a three-way race between former state Sen. Richard Ojeda , former South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb , and activist Paula Jean Swearengin for the party ’ s US Senate nomination .
Whoever prevails , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult race .
Capito , the incumbent Republican , clobbered her Democratic opponent by nearly 28 points in 2014 .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Once upon a time, West Virginia was a Democratic stronghold. It was one of just a few states that preferred President Jimmy Carter over challenger Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election, and the state had two Democratic senators as recently as 2015.
But those days are long gone.
On Tuesday, Democrats are set to choose which of their candidates will try to retake two positions currently held by Republicans: the governor’s mansion, and one of the state’s US Senate seats. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice — who switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 2017, at a time when Democrats in most of the country were gearing up for major electoral victories in the next midterm election — will face a primary of his own.
Whichever Democrat wins the Senate primary will face a steep uphill battle to unseat Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito this fall. President Donald Trump crushed Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 40 points in 2016. It is a testament to the political skill of Sen. Joe Manchin, a right-leaning Democrat who has held statewide office for nearly two decades and is not up for reelection this year, that his political career remains alive even as his state transforms into one of the reddest in the nation.
Tuesday’s West Virginia primary won’t just reveal much about how Democrats hope to weather the challenges facing them in the Mountain State, however. It will also reshape the state’s highest court.
Three of the state’s five state Supreme Court seats are up for grabs
Judicial elections are always a fraught enterprise. Most voters who aren’t practicing attorneys know little about the judges in their state. And judges are supposed to follow the law without partisan favor, rather than being loyal to the constituencies that got them their job.
In West Virginia, state Supreme Court elections are especially worrisome. In 2004, coal baron Don Blankenship essentially bought a seat on the state Supreme Court for $3 million. Blankenship spent that much to elect his preferred candidate to the state’s highest court, after which the justice went on to strike down a $50 million verdict against Blankenship’s company. (The US Supreme Court later ruled that the justice should have recused himself, effectively requiring the state Supreme Court to rehear the case.)
Moreover, in 2016 the state made its judicial races “nonpartisan.” In practice, that doesn’t mean that political parties are indifferent about who wins this election. It simply means that the ballot will not inform voters which party each candidate prefers.
But because these races are nominally nonpartisan, there is no primary election to choose each party’s candidate. The winners of Tuesday’s races will join the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the state’s highest court. It is unusual for so many seats to be up for grabs at once, but it’s the result of a scandal that forced three justices to resign in 2018 (the details of this scandal, which include a $32,000 couch, can be found here).
The state’s Republican Party endorsed three candidates: incumbent Justice Tim Armstead, Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge Lora Dyer, and Putnam County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kris Raynes. The Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiative has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect these candidates. Meanwhile, a rival group called ReSet West Virginia has spent similar sums of money supporting a different ticket of candidates: incumbent Justice John Hutchison, former Justice Richard Neely, and 13th Judicial Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Both parties will pick gubernatorial nominees
Incumbent Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire former Democrat who switched to the GOP after he took office, attracted two reasonably serious challengers in the state’s Republican primary. But neither one seems to have caught fire. A recent poll showed Justice winning his primary with over 53 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the Democratic primary contest resembles, at least on the surface, the cultural divide between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the top two contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango, whom Manchin endorsed, plays the role of the establishment favorite. Salango’s strongest opponent, meanwhile, is community organizer Stephen Smith.
A recent poll showed Salango winning with just over 30 percent of the vote, while Smith received a little more than 27 percent support. The poll also found more than a quarter of the electorate undecided, with three long-shot candidates winning about 14 percent of the vote in total.
Democrats will pick a US Senate candidate
The Democratic primary also features a three-way race between former state Sen. Richard Ojeda, former South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb, and activist Paula Jean Swearengin for the party’s US Senate nomination.
Whoever prevails, however, is likely to face a very difficult race. Capito, the incumbent Republican, clobbered her Democratic opponent by nearly 28 points in 2014.


vox--2020-06-09--The 6 most competitive primaries in Georgia, briefly explained

Some Republicans in Georgia are warning that 2020 is the year the longtime red state could turn blue .
“ Here ’ s the reality : The state of Georgia is in play , ” Sen. David Perdue ( R ) warned Republican activists on a “ Women for Trump ” call obtained by CNN in late April .
“ The Democrats have made it that way.
” Perdue should know ; he ’ s up for reelection in a Senate race that is looking more competitive by the week .
Perdue isn ’ t getting primaried , but Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenges him in the fall .
There won ’ t be any action in Georgia ’ s other , highly watched Senate special election — that race will go down to the wire with an all-party primary on November 3 .
But in addition to the Senate race , there are four other interesting US House primaries playing out around the state .
Georgia has long been a Republican stronghold , but Democrats made gains in 2018 by flipping the Sixth Congressional District , which encompasses Atlanta ’ s northern suburbs , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of winning the governor ’ s race .
And Georgia is a desirable target for Democrats in 2020 .
Not only does it have a strong African American voting bloc and moderate suburban white voters who are trending more Democratic , it also has two Senate races up for grabs this year and a smaller , less expensive media market than states like Florida and Texas .
Democrats will still have to spend and organize heavily to make the state truly competitive in the fall , but they could get a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process .
Georgia polls close by 8 pm ET .
Shortly after , Vox will have live results provided by Decision Desk .
Here ’ s what you need to know about each of the state ’ s races .
Who ’ s the Republican ?
Sen. David Perdue , a former CEO of companies including Reebok and Dollar General .
Perdue is a conservative ally of President Donald Trump and is running unopposed .
Who are the Democrats ?
Former congressional candidate and media executive Jon Ossoff , former Columbus , Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate for lieutenant governor Sarah Riggs Amico .
Other candidates include civil rights attorney Maya Dillard Smith , Tricia Carpenter McCracken , James Knox , and Marckeith DeJesus .
Ossoff has been leading Democratic fundraising and at least one primary poll , but he ’ ll still have to clear 50 percent of the vote in order to avoid an August 11 runoff .
What are the odds ?
Cook Political Report rates this race Lean Republican .
What ’ s the state of play ?
Out of the two Senate races in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected to be easier for Republicans to win .
Perdue is a known entity with Georgia Republicans and largely votes in line with Trump ’ s agenda .
But new polling has shown a tightening race with Ossoff as the hypothetical Democrat ( a recent poll showed he ’ s leading the Democratic field ) .
An early May poll from a Republican firm showed Perdue leading Ossoff by just 2 points , following another Republican poll showing Perdue with a 6-point lead .
These polls have caused Cook Political Report to recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lean Republican .
The Democratic primary has yet to play out , and Perdue has the upper hand in terms of fundraising .
But this is still a race to watch .
Who are the Republicans ?
Incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins are the top Republicans to watch , but others in the GOP field include Derrick Grayson , Annette Davis Jackson , A. Wayne Johnson , and Kandiss Taylor .
Who are the Democrats ?
The DSCC has backed Rev .
Raphael Warnock , the senior pastor of Ebenezer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate to watch is Matt Lieberman , the son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman .
Other Democratic candidates include Deborah Jackson , Jamesia James , Tamara Johnson-Shealey , Joy Felicia Slade , Ed Tarver , and Richard Dien Winfield .
What are the odds ?
Cook Political Report rates this race Lean Republican .
What ’ s the state of play ?
There ’ s an extra dash of weirdness in this special Senate election to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson ( R ) .
Rather than a straightforward Republican-versus-Democrat primary contest on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-party primary on Election Day , November 3 .
The presence of Doug Collins , a Trump ally in the US House of Representatives , could be a massive thorn in Loeffler ’ s side .
If no one wins a majority in November , the election could go to a January runoff where the top two candidates would compete .
Add to all of this that Loeffler is getting heavy scrutiny for earlier allegations that she dumped millions in stock and subsequently bought stock in a teleworking company after being briefed on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has said the stock sales were made without her knowledge ) .
Loeffler is extremely wealthy and is so far self-funding her campaign .
But with an uncertain economy that ’ s left millions out of work , that could be a liability as much as an asset .
On the Democratic side , Warnock and Lieberman are seen as the top contenders , with Warnock reporting fundraising around $ 1.5 million in April , just a few months since he entered the race in January .
Who are the Republicans ?
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lucy McBath in 2018 , is back running for her old seat .
Other Republicans include Mykel Lynn Barthelemy , Blake Harbin , Joe Profit , and Paulette Smith .
Who is the Democrat ?
Rep. Lucy McBath , who flipped the district blue in 2018 .
McBath was a gun control activist before running for Congress ; her 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012 .
What are the odds ?
Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up .
What ’ s the state of play ?
Handel is considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the November election ( McBath is running unopposed ) .
The Sixth Congressional District was Georgia Democrats ’ big win in 2018 , and it signified how the politics of the suburbs around Atlanta are shifting in Democrats ’ favor .
Handel is fairly conservative ; she ’ s a prominent anti-abortion advocate in the state and recently endorsed Collins ’ s Senate bid .
McBath , meanwhile , has cut a fairly moderate profile and focused on issues including gun control and veterans ’ issues in the House .
Who are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a large number of Republicans are vying to replace him .
Executive Lynne Homrich , state Sen. Renee Unterman , and businessman Mark Gonsalves are considered the most competitive .
Others in the race include Lisa Babbage , Zachary Kennemore , Rich McCormick , and Eugene Yu .
Who are the Democrats ?
Carolyn Bourdeaux , the Democratic candidate who came within around 500 votes of beating Woodall in 2018 , is running again , but she has some real competition in the primary field .
Other Democratic candidates include state Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Romero , former Fulton County Commission chair John Eaves , activist Nabilah Islam , and entrepreneur Rashid Malik .
What are the odds ?
Cook Political Report rates this race a toss-up .
What ’ s the state of play ?
Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall after his razor-thin victory in 2018 , Woodall announced he wouldn ’ t seek reelection in 2020 .
That leaves this seat in Atlanta ’ s suburbs open , with a whole host of Democrats and Republicans running .
Top candidates in both parties are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women running for congressional seats .
This election will be another test of Democratic strength in the Atlanta suburbs , which will be a key one for the party to win if it hopes to take back the White House and US Senate .
Health care is likely to be a continued issue in this district , especially in a state that did not fully expand Medicaid .
Who are the Republicans ?
There ’ s a large field of nine Republicans for this open seat , including state Sen. John Wilkinson , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state Reps. Kevin Tanner and Matt Gurtler .
Other candidates include Michael Boggus , Andrew Clyde , Maria Strickland , Ethan Underwood , and Kellie Weeks .
Who are the Democrats ?
Business owner Brooke Siskin , veteran Devin Pandy , and retired minister Dan Wilson .
What are the odds ?
Cook hasn ’ t rated this district , but it ’ s considered safely Republican .
What ’ s the state of play ?
This is an open race , after Rep. Doug Collins announced he ’ d pursue the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district is considered pretty safely Republican , so the primary battle on the GOP side will be the one to watch .
Current state representatives and senators including Wilkinson , Tanner , and Gurtler , as well as Broun — who served in the US Congress from 2007 to 2015 — are likely the most competitive candidates .
Many candidates are running on their records of trying to cut government spending and promising to limit the size of government in Washington , per a recent virtual debate hosted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the race could go to a runoff election on August 11. Who are the Republicans ?
Former Georgia schools superintendent John Barge , state Rep. Kevin Cooke , attorney Clayton Fuller , former state Sen. Bill Hembree , neurosurgeon John Cowan , and businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene .
Other candidates include Ben Bullock , Andy Gunther , and Matt Laughridge .
Who is the Democrat ?
Businessman Kevin Van Ausdal .
What are the odds ?
Cook hasn ’ t rated this district , but it ’ s considered safely Republican .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
This is another open district with the surprise announcement from incumbent Rep. Tom Graves that he wouldn ’ t seek reelection in 2020 .
Much like the Ninth Congressional District , this one in northwestern Georgia is considered pretty conservative , and Democrats probably won ’ t spend a lot of effort on flipping it .
The Republican primary is pretty competitive , with current and former state legislators running , along with businesspeople in the state .
A few candidates were initially running for Georgia ’ s Sixth and Seventh District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district after Graves announced his retirement .
All candidates are fairly Trump-friendly and have promised to side with the president on policy issues ; if there ’ s been a hot-button issue , it ’ s mostly been the question of candidates moving to the district to run there .
Again , if there ’ s no clear winner , this race could head to a runoff election on August 11 .
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Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
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Some Republicans in Georgia are warning that 2020 is the year the longtime red state could turn blue.
“Here’s the reality: The state of Georgia is in play,” Sen. David Perdue (R) warned Republican activists on a “Women for Trump” call obtained by CNN in late April. “The Democrats have made it that way.” Perdue should know; he’s up for reelection in a Senate race that is looking more competitive by the week.
Perdue isn’t getting primaried, but Tuesday’s elections will decide which Democrat challenges him in the fall. There won’t be any action in Georgia’s other, highly watched Senate special election — that race will go down to the wire with an all-party primary on November 3. But in addition to the Senate race, there are four other interesting US House primaries playing out around the state.
Georgia has long been a Republican stronghold, but Democrats made gains in 2018 by flipping the Sixth Congressional District, which encompasses Atlanta’s northern suburbs, and with Democrat Stacey Abrams coming within 1.4 percent of winning the governor’s race. And Georgia is a desirable target for Democrats in 2020. Not only does it have a strong African American voting bloc and moderate suburban white voters who are trending more Democratic, it also has two Senate races up for grabs this year and a smaller, less expensive media market than states like Florida and Texas.
Democrats will still have to spend and organize heavily to make the state truly competitive in the fall, but they could get a lot of bang for their buck in the process. Georgia polls are scheduled close by 7 pm ET, but could be extended to account for long lines in some precincts. Shortly after, Vox will have live results provided by Decision Desk. Here’s what you need to know about each of the state’s races.
Georgia US Senate race
Who’s the Republican? Sen. David Perdue, a former CEO of companies including Reebok and Dollar General. Perdue is a conservative ally of President Donald Trump and is running unopposed.
Who are the Democrats? Former congressional candidate and media executive Jon Ossoff, former Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, and 2018 candidate for lieutenant governor Sarah Riggs Amico. Other candidates include civil rights attorney Maya Dillard Smith, Tricia Carpenter McCracken, James Knox, and Marckeith DeJesus. Ossoff has been leading Democratic fundraising and at least one primary poll, but he’ll still have to clear 50 percent of the vote in order to avoid an August 11 runoff.
What are the odds? Cook Political Report rates this race Lean Republican.
What’s the state of play? Out of the two Senate races in Georgia, Perdue’s was initially expected to be easier for Republicans to win. Perdue is a known entity with Georgia Republicans and largely votes in line with Trump’s agenda. But new polling has shown a tightening race with Ossoff as the hypothetical Democrat (a recent poll showed he’s leading the Democratic field).
An early May poll from a Republican firm showed Perdue leading Ossoff by just 2 points, following another Republican poll showing Perdue with a 6-point lead. These polls have caused Cook Political Report to recently move the race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. The Democratic primary has yet to play out, and Perdue has the upper hand in terms of fundraising. But this is still a race to watch.
Georgia US Senate race special election
Who are the Republicans? Incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins are the top Republicans to watch, but others in the GOP field include Derrick Grayson, Annette Davis Jackson, A. Wayne Johnson, and Kandiss Taylor.
Who are the Democrats? The DSCC has backed Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Another Democratic candidate to watch is Matt Lieberman, the son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman. Other Democratic candidates include Deborah Jackson, Jamesia James, Tamara Johnson-Shealey, Joy Felicia Slade, Ed Tarver, and Richard Dien Winfield.
What are the odds? Cook Political Report rates this race Lean Republican.
What’s the state of play? There’s an extra dash of weirdness in this special Senate election to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson (R). Rather than a straightforward Republican-versus-Democrat primary contest on Tuesday, there will instead be an all-party primary on Election Day, November 3. The presence of Doug Collins, a Trump ally in the US House of Representatives, could be a massive thorn in Loeffler’s side. If no one wins a majority in November, the election could go to a January runoff where the top two candidates would compete.
Add to all of this that Loeffler is getting heavy scrutiny for earlier allegations that she dumped millions in stock and subsequently bought stock in a teleworking company after being briefed on the coronavirus in the Senate (Loeffler has said the stock sales were made without her knowledge). Loeffler is extremely wealthy and is so far self-funding her campaign. But with an uncertain economy that’s left millions out of work, that could be a liability as much as an asset. On the Democratic side, Warnock and Lieberman are seen as the top contenders, with Warnock reporting fundraising around $1.5 million in April, just a few months since he entered the race in January.
Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District
Who are the Republicans? Former Rep. Karen Handel, who lost to Lucy McBath in 2018, is back running for her old seat. Other Republicans include Mykel Lynn Barthelemy, Blake Harbin, Joe Profit, and Paulette Smith.
Who is the Democrat? Rep. Lucy McBath, who flipped the district blue in 2018. McBath was a gun control activist before running for Congress; her 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012.
What are the odds? Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
What’s the state of play? Handel is considered the Republican frontrunner to face McBath in the November election (McBath is running unopposed). The Sixth Congressional District was Georgia Democrats’ big win in 2018, and it signified how the politics of the suburbs around Atlanta are shifting in Democrats’ favor. Handel is fairly conservative; she’s a prominent anti-abortion advocate in the state and recently endorsed Collins’s Senate bid. McBath, meanwhile, has cut a fairly moderate profile and focused on issues including gun control and veterans’ issues in the House.
Georgia’s Seventh Congressional District
Who are the Republicans? With Rep. Rob Woodall retiring, a large number of Republicans are vying to replace him. Executive Lynne Homrich, state Sen. Renee Unterman, physician and veteran Rich McCormick, and businessman Mark Gonsalves are considered the most competitive. Others in the race include Lisa Babbage, Zachary Kennemore, and Eugene Yu.
Who are the Democrats? Carolyn Bourdeaux, the Democratic candidate who came within around 500 votes of beating Woodall in 2018, is running again, but she has some real competition in the primary field. Other Democratic candidates include state Sen. Zahra Karinshak, state Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero, former Fulton County Commission chair John Eaves, activist Nabilah Islam, and entrepreneur Rashid Malik.
What are the odds? Cook Political Report rates this race a toss-up.
What’s the state of play? Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall after his razor-thin victory in 2018, Woodall announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2020. That leaves this seat in Atlanta’s suburbs open, with a whole host of Democrats and Republicans running. Top candidates in both parties are women, showcasing the growing trend of women running for congressional seats. This election will be another test of Democratic strength in the Atlanta suburbs, which will be a key one for the party to win if it hopes to take back the White House and US Senate. Health care is likely to be a continued issue in this district, especially in a state that did not fully expand Medicaid.
Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District
Who are the Republicans? There’s a large field of nine Republicans for this open seat, including state Sen. John Wilkinson, former US Rep. Paul Broun, and state Reps. Kevin Tanner and Matt Gurtler. Other candidates include Michael Boggus, Andrew Clyde, Maria Strickland, Ethan Underwood, and Kellie Weeks.
Who are the Democrats? Business owner Brooke Siskin, veteran Devin Pandy, and retired minister Dan Wilson.
What are the odds? Cook hasn’t rated this district, but it’s considered safely Republican.
What’s the state of play? This is an open race, after Rep. Doug Collins announced he’d pursue the US Senate seat. The large, northeastern district is considered pretty safely Republican, so the primary battle on the GOP side will be the one to watch. Current state representatives and senators including Wilkinson, Tanner, and Gurtler, as well as Broun — who served in the US Congress from 2007 to 2015 — are likely the most competitive candidates. Many candidates are running on their records of trying to cut government spending and promising to limit the size of government in Washington, per a recent virtual debate hosted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If there’s no clear winner, the race could go to a runoff election on August 11.
Georgia’s 14th Congressional District
Who are the Republicans? Former Georgia schools superintendent John Barge, state Rep. Kevin Cooke, attorney Clayton Fuller, former state Sen. Bill Hembree, neurosurgeon John Cowan, and businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Other candidates include Ben Bullock, Andy Gunther, and Matt Laughridge.
Who is the Democrat? Businessman Kevin Van Ausdal.
What are the odds? Cook hasn’t rated this district, but it’s considered safely Republican.
What’s the state of play? This is another open district with the surprise announcement from incumbent Rep. Tom Graves that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2020. Much like the Ninth Congressional District, this one in northwestern Georgia is considered pretty conservative, and Democrats probably won’t spend a lot of effort on flipping it. The Republican primary is pretty competitive, with current and former state legislators running, along with businesspeople in the state. A few candidates were initially running for Georgia’s Sixth and Seventh District races but switched to this more Republican-friendly district after Graves announced his retirement. All candidates are fairly Trump-friendly and have promised to side with the president on policy issues; if there’s been a hot-button issue, it’s mostly been the question of candidates moving to the district to run there. Again, if there’s no clear winner, this race could head to a runoff election on August 11.
Correction: An earlier version of this piece referred to Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), who represents Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, as Randall Woodall.