Celebrating 13 Years of the NewDEAL!
5 min readMar 28, 2024
It’s our birthday! Today, we’re celebrating 13 years of the NewDEAL. Since 2011, we’ve been proud to support nearly 400 exceptional, pragmatic state and local elected officials, one in four of whom have risen to higher office. These forward-thinking leaders from across the country are tackling the most significant issues facing the American people. We remain committed to helping them develop and share the best pro-growth progressive policy ideas to expand economic opportunity.
In celebration of this milestone, here’s a look back on our Top 13 Moments from our 13th Year. As we look towards growing this work in year 14, we hope you will help empower our network. You can do so by donating to the NewDEAL, streaming and rating our podcast, and sharing our work with your network.
- NewDems and NewDEAL release Freedom Agenda. In November 2023, NewDEAL joined forces with the New Democrat Coalition to unveil our 2024 Freedom Agenda, a common platform for Democrats from city councilors to state legislators to Congress to fight to protect Americans’ fundamental freedoms and expand opportunities. Check out POLITICO’s coverage of the Freedom Agenda and this op-ed by NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan and New Democrat Chair Congresswoman Annie Kuster in The Hill.
- NewDEAL Leaders defend democracy. In observance of National Voter Registration Month this past September, NewDEALers New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Jefferson County, CO, Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez joined An Honorable Profession to share methods for expanding voting access and improving our elections amidst attacks on our system. Many of their points were highlighted in the NewDEAL Forum’s Democracy Playbook, which was featured by the Washington Post, POLITICO, and Newsweek.
- Four NewDEALers win Ideas Challenge awards. Oregon Representative Janelle Bynum, Georgia Representative Phil Olaleye, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver won NewDEAL’s biannual policy competition for ideas that make government work better by: supporting a stronger workforce, improving educational opportunities, protecting our elections, and maximizing the impact of Biden Administration funding. Learn more about the winning ideas here.
- NewDEAL Leaders take higher offices. NewDEAL alumnus Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, and five NewDEAL members of Congress — Robert Garcia (CA), Val Hoyle (OR), Seth Magaziner (RI), Jennifer McClellan (VA), and Brittany Pettersen (CO) — took their approach to new offices. Eleven more NewDEALers also began their tenure in higher offices, including Lieutenant Governors, Comptrollers, state senators, and mayors. In 2024, we look forward to NewDEALers continuing to dominate elections.
- Jaime Harrison celebrates An Honorable Profession’s 200th episode. In celebration of five years and 200 episodes of An Honorable Profession, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison joined co-hosts Debbie Cox Bultan and Ryan Coonerty to discuss his remarkable journey into politics, his vision for growing the Democratic Party, and what the party is doing to defend democracy and combat voter suppression efforts nationwide. Listen to the episode anywhere podcasts are found or watch the full interview here.
- First ever NewDEAL poll finds voters care about democracy and want leaders who get stuff done. At our 2023 Ideas Summit in Detroit, MI, CEO Debbie Cox Bultan unveiled new polling data showing a need to restore trust in government by getting results on the issues that matter most to people and strengthening our democracy. Read more about the polling here and be sure to watch the recordings of all the 2023 Ideas Summit plenary sessions.
- 2024 Legislative Preview inspires good governance. Alongside the State Democracy Action Fund, we kicked off 2024 with an empowering conversation with NewDEALer Democratic leaders in blue, purple, and red states. Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, and Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton covered the hot topics in their states for the year ahead, from methods for equitable education funding to safeguarding American democracy in an election year. Tune into the full conversation here.
- Annual D.C. conference puts NewDEALers front and center. NewDEAL Leaders from across the country joined us at the 13th Annual Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss solutions to major political and policy challenges. Speakers like MSNBC’s Symone Sanders, political strategist Olivia Julianna, Courier Newsroom’s Tara McGowan, and Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) led insightful conversations about innovative policy ideas, how Democrats can claim victory in 2024, and the best methods for refuting the barrage of misinformation facing Americans everyday.
- NewDEAL leads key discussions on artificial intelligence. As AI continues to solidify itself as an omnipresent challenge and tool, the NewDEAL has hosted conversations about how to best leverage and regulate the emerging tech. At our annual conference, NewDEALer New York Assemblymember Alex Bores joined experts to provide an overview of the potential threats and possibilities AI can bring to governing. In addition, the NewDEAL Forum published guidelines for mitigating the negative impacts of AI on elections, as well as principles for AI-focused legislation to protect our democracy.
- NewDEAL and NewDEAL Forum learn lessons for success in Detroit and New Hampshire. In May the NewDEAL hosted our annual spring meeting in Detroit, where conversations focused on issues like funding effective climate strategies, fostering opportunities for public service, and shoring up effective guardrails to defend our democracy in an election year. We dug deep into these same issues this past January, as the NewDEAL Forum hosted a regional roundtable in New Hampshire, convening Leaders and partners from across New England for practical, solutions-oriented policy discussions.
- 41 exceptional, rising leaders join the NewDEAL network. In the past year, we’ve welcomed two new classes of NewDEAL Leaders who represent some of the brightest and most engaged officeholders from around the nation. These Leaders are fierce education champions, committed climate defenders, and pragmatic public safety reformers leading in blue, red, and purple states across the nation. Click to learn more about the Winter 2023 cohort and the Summer 2023 cohort.
- Elected leaders gain key insights into federal climate funding. Thanks to information sessions and policy documents presented by the NewDEAL Forum’s Climate Policy Group, state and local leaders can now easily access crucial information on how to fund projects like carbon removal initiatives, electric vehicle manufacturing, and grid modernization practices to successfully integrate clean, renewable energy. The Climate Policy Group offers a comprehensive guide to leveraging federal funds available through the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and other Biden-era laws to make impacts in their community.
- Mayors swap ideas and share insights at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. NewDEAL was honored to host over a dozen mayors in D.C. during the U.S. Conference of Mayors at our annual January reception. Mayors in attendance included Kate Gallego (Phoenix, AZ), Cavalier Johnson (Milwaukee, WI), and Tishaura Jones (St. Louis, MO), who shared accomplishments from their cities and highlighted the ways NewDEAL has supported them in office.
As we look towards the year ahead, help us celebrate our 13th year with a donation to the NewDEAL. If you’re unable to donate at this time, you can still support us by sharing our work with your network, streaming our podcast, and leaving a five star review!
The NewDEAL is a 501c4 organization, Tax EIN # 27–3147985. Please note contributions or gifts to the NewDEAL are not tax-deductible.
