Our theme verse at Family Policy Alliance® is from the book of Daniel (11:32): “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”
It’s amazing what happens when we faithfully do that. Sometimes the results are very encouraging – even in the midst of chaos around us.
In fact, that aptly describes this month’s election. The pundits had predicted all along that it would be a bad year – maybe even a disaster – for those of us who care about life, family, and religious freedom.
But with your help – and with that verse from Daniel on our lips – Family Policy Alliance stood firm and took strategic action on key races where voter data and on-the-ground reports indicated that we could have an impact. You helped make possible more than a million communications with voters in those targeted races!
And the results were encouraging. On a night that brought lots of sobering news, Family Policy Alliance won nearly two-thirds of targeted races. Since most of those were state-level races that don’t get as much attention, let me share a few highlights of how your support for Family Policy Alliance paid dividends.
Electing Statesmen
As you may know, our sister organization, Family Policy Foundation®, trains on-the-rise Christian legislators and candidates at the annual Statesmen Academy®. Some of those Statesmen alumni need help winning difficult elections.
This year, we provided assistance – ranging from mailers to digital ads to phone calls – in 17 key Statesmen races. Thankfully, we won 14 of those races. That’s an 82 percent win rate!
Of course, many Statesmen didn’t need our help and won their elections. So all combined, more than 50 trained Statesmen alums will be serving in key elected positions in January!
Big Wins in the States
But your support also allowed us to invest in other key state-level races. For example, you may have heard about the very tight race for governor in Georgia. Democrat Stacey Abrams received massive support from Hollywood for her ultra-progressive agenda. Her victory would not only have meant bad news for the people of Georgia, but it would have been a big national win for the pro-abortion and anti-religious freedom agendas.
Family Policy Alliance of Georgia® jumped in early during a primary runoff – helping conservative Brian Kemp when he still badly trailed the moderate Republican. After he won the primary, we continued our support – helping him pull out a come-from-behind victory, avoiding a runoff by just two-tenths of a percent!
Your support also helped pave the way for a host of strategic wins in a number of other states. That means pro-family champions will be headed to state capitols in Bismarck, Boise, Columbia, Santa Fe, St. Paul, Topeka and more.
Surprising Beauty in Ashes
In some cases, what the media may have reported as good news for the Left actually had a surprising twist. For example, despite Family Policy Alliance of Kansas® winning 9 of 15 races, the overall media narrative was that Republicans had big losses in the state House.
But a closer look shows that 15 of the 18 Republicans who lost their House seats had voted against the Adoption Protection Act. That was the FPA-supported legislation that was the biggest religious freedom victory in the country this year. So much for the idea that pro-family, pro-life and pro-freedom laws are bad politics!
Improving the U.S. Senate
You also helped us engage in several U.S. Senate races – most notably in North Dakota, where Family Policy Alliance’s on-the-ground presence made our work especially strategic.
Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota® identified 35,000 pro-life North Dakotans who are inconsistent about getting to the polls, especially in non-presidential years. They reached those voters with live phone calls from volunteers, with mailers, and with targeted digital ads that featured a strong video exposing the radical pro-abortion record of the incumbent senator, Heidi Heitkamp.
The result was a resounding win for Kevin Cramer, who previously served on the board of the organization that became Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota. Pro-lifers around the nation will benefit from having a new pro-life champion in the U.S. Senate!
Facing Attacks and Tough Challenges Head On
Naturally, those engaged in this arena will face strong opposition. For example, Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico was directly attacked by the Democratic Party of New Mexico and labeled “Far-Right Social Crusaders.” The reasons they gave? We support protecting the religious freedom of adoption agencies, and we oppose drag queen storytimes for children in libraries.
But we turned these attacks into victories by publishing these statements. As a result, we received an outpouring of support from Christian Democrats who publicly rebuked their own state party for attacking our organization and Christian values.
Of course, we know that there will be plenty of challenges in this coming year – in Washington, D.C., and in many state capitols. But we know that, just as with this year’s election, our job as the people of God is to “stand firm and take action.”
It was for such a time as this that Focus on the Family allowed Family Policy Alliance to spin off as an independent organization – to be able to grow and to more effectively take action. Will you continue to stand with us – or join us for the first time – as we move into 2019?
After all, as this election showed, good things happen when we stand firm and take action.
