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Democrats, NewDEALers Emerge Victorious from Tuesday’s Elections

Democrats fared well in this week’s elections in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and beyond. Ohio voters successfully passed Issue 1, enshrining the right to an abortion into the State Constitution, while Kentuckians voted to send incumbent Governor Andy Beshear to a second term with a larger margin of victory than four years ago. Beshear triumphed over Trump-endorsed, anti-abortion candidate Daniel Cameron in an election indicative of Americans’ desire for commonsensical, moderate leaders. In Virginia, Democrats retained control of the Senate and gained control of the House in a rebuff of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, with five NewDEAL Leaders re-elected to continue their work in Richmond – Senator Aaron Rouse and Delegates Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Mark Sickels, and Kathy Tran. In total, 21 NewDEAL Leaders celebrated wins on Tuesday night, including Eddie Melton who was elected Mayor of Gary, IN, and Raj Mukherji who won his campaign for the New Jersey Senate. You can view all NewDEAL Leader election results here and be sure to check out our latest snapshot on Medium for more analysis.

New Technical Assistance Resource to Help Communities Unlock Federal Funds

The Milken Institute recently announced its Community Infrastructure Center platform. The initiative connects communities to federal and non-federal funding sources as well as project readiness tools that can help communities develop investment-ready projects. The platform is working to accelerate the development of a robust pipeline of shovel-worthy community infrastructure projects, focusing especially on underserved rural, urban, tribal, and environmental justice communities with capacity challenges. Since the platform’s rollout at the beginning of 2023, it now has 250 individual communities using the tool and includes a portfolio of over 2,500 climate and infrastructure projects. Learn more about the Milken Institute’s Community Infrastructure Center platform here.

NewDEALers in the Spotlight

New Commitment to Close the Digital Divide in Columbus

This week, NewDEAL Leader Franklin County, OH Commissioner John O’Grady joined Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther to announce a $20.2 million commitment to the Smart Columbus initiative. The funding will expand access to affordable, reliable internet and ensure that Columbus citizens have the digital skills they need to thrive. The program aims to distribute 10,000 devices and increase internet access for over 80,000 underserved households. “Empowering underserved residents with affordable digital access to health care, financial management, and job opportunities represents significant steps forward to generational and impactful progress in Franklin County,” Commissioner O’Grady said. Read more here.