Update 807 — 2024 Candidate Endorsements:
For Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, New York
The 2024 federal election primary season is nearing an end. Polls continue to show the presidential race and majorities in the U.S. House and Senate up for grabs. 20/20 Vision is delighted to announce our third set of Congressional endorsements for the cycle. Today, we offer endorsements from among primary nominees in Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York races.
Our endorsements are based on the candidates’ leadership potential and progressive economic policy vision, with a premium on critical flip opportunities for challengers and holds by key incumbents. Some are included in the Biden 18, the set of House districts Biden won in 2020. All of them deserve your consideration for political and financial support — which they receive in the maximum allowable amount from us — along with an honorable mention.
And happy Labor Day weekend, all…
Best,
Dana
Senate
Jacky Rosen D-NV
Race Rating: Lean D
Total Raised: Rosen $31 M / Brown $9.5 M
First-term Senator Jacky Rosen is running for re-election in Nevada, a must-hold seat for a Democratic Majority in the U.S. Senate. Jacky has fought hard to bring costs down for Nevadans and will continue to do so. She helped pass legislation capping insulin prices at $35 a month for seniors, and she’s fighting to expand that to every American. She is working to reduce gas prices by going after Big Oil’s price gouging and anti-competitive practices. Jacky was also one of the authors of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is bringing major investments in projects and thousands of good-paying jobs to Nevada.
Jacky helped secure $500 million for the state of Nevada to create more affordable housing options for Nevadans, and she is doing everything she can to increase access to housing for her constituents. Jacky is on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, and she joined Senators from both parties in helping introduce and pass a bipartisan bill to ban members of Congress from owning and trading stocks.
Andy Kim D-NJ
Race Rating: Solid D
Total Raised: Kim $8.8 M / Burshaw $2.7 M
Andy Kim, currently serving his third term in the U.S. House from New Jersey, won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat resigned by Bob Menendez in the June primary. Menendez remains on the ballot, running as an Independent while being convicted on federal corruption charges.
During his time in the House, Kim has sponsored legislation to uplift small business owners including the Microloan Improvement Act, the CARES Act, The American Rescue Plan, and the Better Utilizing Infrastructure for Lasting Development of (BUILD) Veterans Businesses Act, and the Put Our Neighbors to Work Act.
Kim is also a strong believer in building up a healthcare system that doesn’t break the banks of everyday Americans. From capping the costs of prescription drugs to expanding resources for rural communities, Kim has fought for better healthcare initiatives for all Americans.
House – Challengers
Laura Gillen NY-04
Race Rating: Toss Up
Total Raised: Gillen $3.2 M / D’Esposito $3.3 M
Laura Gillen is running to unseat Anthony D’Esposito who won the seat in 2022. NY-04 includes central and southern Nassau County. This district is one of the strongest flip opportunities within the Biden 18 races.
Gillen has a history of beating the odds and flipping seats. In 2017, she was elected Hempstead Town Supervisor, the first Democrat to hold that position in 112 years. In her role, she managed a nearly $500 million budget, took on waste and corruption, and made the Town government more accessible and transparent. After years of tax hikes, her cost-saving approach led to lower taxes for residents.
Laura’s drive to serve her community started long before she ran for office — from volunteering to assist people living with HIV/AIDS through GMHC during the height of the epidemic to working for St. Mother Teresa in Kolkata, India, she has brought care to those in need and fought public health misinformation.
In Congress, one of Laura’s top priorities will be working to lower costs for hard-working families. She believes price gouging is hurting families and Congress must ensure that large corporations aren’t hiking prices for the sake of padding their bottom lines. Laura recognizes that the country, and especially Long Island, is experiencing a housing crisis and believes we must work together to bring down the cost of housing and ensure the dream of owning a home is within reach for everyday Americans.
Josh Riley NY-19
Race Rating: Toss Up
Total Raised: Riley $5.2 M / Molinaro $3.6 M
Josh Riley is running in a rematch to unseat freshman Marc Molinaro in NY-19, which includes New York’s Catskills, Hudson Valley, Southern Tier, and Finger Lakes regions. The district is a true tossup, won narrowly by Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. In 2022, despite redistricting, a late primary, and a difficult political environment in New York, Josh came within 1.2 percent of winning this race — and he’ll finish the job this time with our help.
Josh refuses to accept corporate PAC money and is running for Congress to take on a corrupt political and economic system that has caused Upstate New York to be overlooked. As an attorney, Josh represented consumers, workers, and small businesses who were being ripped off by big corporations. He is excited to continue this work by cracking down on price gouging, capping costs of critical drugs, and opposing rate hikes by utility monopolies.
Josh wants to strengthen Social Security by requiring wealthy Americans to pay their share into these programs and eliminating unfair cuts like Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision.
John Mannion NY-22
Race Rating: Lean D
Total Raised: Mannion $1.2 M / Williams $2.7 M
John Mannion is running to unseat Brandon Williams in NY-22, which includes the cities of Syracuse, Utica, Auburn, and Cortland. The New York State Legislature approved the newest district boundaries, which are home to several notable colleges, including Syracuse University. Brandon Williams won this seat by 1 percent in 2022.
John Mannion has a history of working to support Central New York. He spent three decades as a public school science teacher and labor leader before running for State Senate. As a State Senator, he fought to pass the Green Chips legislation on the state level, which brought tens of thousands of high-paying jobs to the Syracuse area. He helped provide tax relief to middle-class New Yorkers, and increased subsidies for child care. Mannion is dedicated to working in a bipartisan way to find solutions for families, veterans, and women.
House – Incumbents
Yadira Caraveo CO-08
Race Rating: Toss Up
Total Raised: Caraveo $4.5 M / Evans $1 M
Dr. Yadira Caraveo knows firsthand the crucial importance of programs like Medicaid. As a pediatrician, 65% of families she saw in the clinic relied on Medicaid. As a state legislator, she also fought against corporate money, working with anyone who would work with her.
CO-08 is a new district drawn from the 2020 United States census, adding to Colorado’s representation for the first time since 2001. Congresswoman Caraveo won the seat in 2022 in one of the most competitive elections of the cycle.
In the Colorado State House, Caraveo worked to help cap the price of insulin and expand the Child Tax Credit. In Congress, Caraveo sits on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Caraveo cosponsored the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act and the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. These bills would provide more support to working-class families by expanding eligibility for paid leave benefits and increasing access to housing.
Susie Lee NV-03
Race Rating: Lean D
Total Raised: Lee $4.1 M / O’Donnell $1.2 M
Congresswoman Susie Lee is the most bipartisan Member of Congress and one of the most independent voices in Washington. Her district includes southwest Las Vegas and much of rural Clark County, stretching from Laughlin, Nevada along the Colorado River to Red Rock Canyon. In 2022, Susie’s race was the most competitive House race in Nevada and one of the closest and most expensive races in the country. She won her re-election by just 10,000 votes and with 52% of the vote.
Before moving to Nevada, Susie grew up in a working family of ten that had to stretch every dollar just to get by. Her dad was a Korean War veteran who worked at the local steel plant, and her mom stayed home watching seven daughters and one son. Susie had to start pitching in early — she worked a paper route at the age of eight, paid her way through college with scholarships, loans, and part-time jobs, and moved to Nevada to raise a family of her own.
Susie Lee has lived in Las Vegas since 1993 and has been active in her community — she ran a comprehensive homeless shelter, started an after-school sports program, and led Communities in Schools of Nevada.
In Congress, Susie Lee is big on education. She introduced, among others, the PATHS to Tutor Act of 2024, which would increase tutoring in hard-to-staff and high-needs schools by establishing a grant program. She also introduced the Seniors Securing Access to Vital and Essential Prescription Drugs Act to adjust financial standards used to determine low-income subsidy eligibility under Medicare. She was a co-sponsor of the EMPSA Act, which would exclude a spouse’s income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and disregards marital status when calculating the SSI benefit. She is also keenly aware of the housing problem and is actively finding ways the Federal government can support states and localities in building more affordable housing.
Steven Horsford NV-04
Race Rating: Likely D
Total Raised: Horsford $3.9 M / Lee $912 K
As the son of a single immigrant mother, he worked multiple jobs, from delivering newspapers and making pizzas to cleaning up a veterinary clinic after hours, all to help his mother and support his younger siblings. He was the first in his family to attend college. He knows the value of work, which has driven his career ever since. He later led the state’s largest career training program at Nevada’s Culinary Training Academy, where he helped train and place thousands of Nevadans in good-paying jobs in the hospitality and other in-demand industries.
Steven knows how to lead, with head and heart, and the values shaped by his lived experiences. After being elected to the state senate in 2004, he quickly moved up the leadership ladder becoming the youngest and first African American Majority Leader in Nevada history in 2008. In this role, Steven worked across party lines and passed a balanced state budget, despite facing the worst economic conditions in a generation.
In 2012, Steven won his election to the new 4th Congressional District. He never forgets where he comes from, so he focuses on lowering the cost of living and creating opportunities for all Nevadans, removing barriers to success, and creating new opportunities.
In Congress, Steven has passed legislation to take on corporate landlords and make housing more affordable, cap the price of insulin at $35, bring down the cost of prescription drugs and put money in the hands of parents. He has also secured funding for Nevada’s schools, our local police and fire departments, rural projects like hospitals and water infrastructure, and invested in job-training programs. He’s helped pass hallmark legislation, including an infrastructure plan that creates thousands of good-paying jobs in Nevada.
Honorable Mention
Hakeem Jeffries NY-08
Race Rating: Solid D
Total Raised: Jeffries $17.6 M / Delaney no fundraising data
Hakeem Jeffries, unanimously elected as House Democratic Leader by his colleagues in November 2022, is the highest-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Black American to lead a party in either chamber of Congress.
In Congress, Leader Jeffries has championed the For The People agenda, relentlessly advocating for legislation that improves the lives of everyday Americans. When Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives, Jeffries and the House Democratic Caucus will build upon the tremendous progress of the 117th Congress by lowering costs, making housing more affordable, and ending price gouging.