As November 4th’s multiple blue wins at the ballot box showed, the people are sick and tired of the old-guard Democratic establishment. As Amanda Litman, Co-Founder and President of Run For Something shares, after November 4th, “more than 5,000 people signed up to run for office…that’s more people in the last 12 months than we did in the entirety of Trump’s first term.”
Jen and Litman sit down for an interview to discuss how anyone can be empowered to run for office if they feel inspired to create a change for good in their community. If you don’t know where to start, Run For Something is here to help! Run For Something’s mission is to ensure that, no matter your age, political experience, or fundraising skills, you can learn how to campaign and serve in an elected position.
Amanda Litman is the co-founder and president of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young, diverse progressives running for down-ballot office. Since launching in 2017, RFS has elected more than 1500 leaders across nearly all 50 states, mostly women and people of color. Litman is also president of RFS Civics, a 501c3 that works to end the gerontocracy.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting purposes.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, editor-in-Chief of The Contrarian. I’m delighted to welcome, for the first time, I can’t believe we haven’t had her on before, Amanda Litman, who heads Run for Something. Welcome, Amanda, great to see you.
Amanda Litman
Thank you for having me. I’m also surprised this is the first time, but I’m happy to be here.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. You started in 2017, kind of at a similar point. Donald Trump had just been elected, and people were kind of wringing their hands. How did it get started, Ren for something, which of course, like its name, helps people run for something.
Amanda Litman
So, we launched on Trump’s first inauguration day back in 2017. I had worked for Hillary for 2 years before that, and some other presidential and statewide campaigns before that. And about a week after Trump’s election in 2016, I started hearing from friends I’d gone to high school and college with. Hey, Amanda, I’m a public school teacher in Chicago, I’m thinking about running for office, because if this guy can be president, seems like anybody can do this. Who do I call? Tell me what to do. And at the time, if you were young and newly excited about politics, and wanted to do more than vote and more than volunteer, there was no way you could go that would answer your call. That felt to me like a problem, not just in our democracy, but also quite specifically in the Democratic Party.
So I reached out to a whole bunch of people with an idea. What if we started an organization to solve this problem? One of those folks became my co-founder, Ross Morales-Rocketto, who’d been working in campaigns for about 15 years, and we launched the organization with a strategic plan, a website, and the idea that this would be a side project. This was gonna be our hobby while we got real jobs. We thought we’d get 100 people in the first year. We had 1,000 people sign up in the first week. As of today, we’re up to nearly 250,000 young people all across the country who have raised their hands. We run the largest candidate pipeline in politics.
Jen Rubin
Wow. Now, people will run for all levels of office. You have people who are on city councils, people who are running for, really, every office up and down the ballot. Did you expect that? That you would have such a broad range of people?
Amanda Litman
So we really explicitly focus on State House, State Senate, and below. So the half a million elected offices that are not Congress, not Governor, not statewide. Many of the folks who come through our program then go on to run for higher office. Now, the coolest part is when I go back and look at our initial strategic plan back in 2017, I talk about how, like, oh, maybe in a decade we’ll have a member of Congress, or… I don’t know, maybe someone will be running for Senate. We already have 5 members of Congress who have come through the Run for Something pipeline, and looking ahead to 2026, we have 6 people running for governor, 4 running for Senate, and a couple dozen running for House or statewide offices. So, this bench-building happened much faster than I was expecting, because these candidates are amazing, and the moment is right for them.
Jen Rubin
What kinds of things do you help them with?
Amanda Litman
So we do everything from helping people figure out what office to run for in the first place, like, how do I know if I want to run for city council, or county board, or library board, to how do you write a campaign plan? How do you define a budget? How do you raise money? How do I get the voter file? What is the voter file? How do I hire staff? Do I need staff? What do my staff do? You know, a campaign is kind of like a small business, where if you’ve never done it before, the startup sort of institutional knowledge is really hard. So we try to make that stuff a little bit easier. Then, once you actually get on the ballot, you can apply for our PACS endorsement. We endorse about half the people who apply, so it’s a pretty rigorous vetting process.
That’s where we look for really values-aligned all-stars, folks 40 and under, running for these specific local offices. If you’re endorsed, our staff will help you with anything and everything you need. If you need help getting access to a texting tool? Great, we’ve negotiated discounts for Run for Something candidates. Do you need help building a website? We’ve got volunteers who can do that. Do you need help prepping for a debate? We can help you do that. Endorsements are who we track through to Election Day, and who we stick with post-election Day. So we have an alumni community of nearly 4,000 people we’ve endorsed over the last 9 years. 1,600-ish of whom have won elections, and we’ve stayed with them. So, the ones who want to run for higher office, great! We’ll make sure that you’re on the radar for the right people. And the ones who lose but are still figuring out what to do next, great, we’ll help you figure that out, too.
Jen Rubin
It’s very interesting. When I was writing my book back in 2018, I spoke to some young congresswomen who were running for office for the first time. Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, Elisa Slotkin. And what they said to me is something I’m sure you have heard, and that is, they always thought you needed some special secret sauce to run for office. It turns out you just need to want to run for office. Is that part of what you help people get over, the sense that they may not be qualified, or that people in public office know things that they don’t?
Amanda Litman
Well, remind people that to become a politician, or a public servant even, is kind of like art or music. The way you become an artist is by making art. The way you become a musician is by making music. The way you become a politician is by running for office. Nobody’s born to do this, and I promise you, if you are thinking about it, you are smarter, you care more, you are more engaged than at least half of the dum-dums currently serving in all kinds of positions. So we really try to encourage people, like, it’s hard work. I never want to dispel that it’s very hard work, but it’s not rocket science. If you’re willing to learn and willing to listen, and willing to do that hard work, you can absolutely run, and you can win and serve in a really beautiful and powerful way.
Jen Rubin
A lot of people look at politicians and say. I don’t want to work with those people. I’d like to be in public office, but does that… you don’t have to sit in the Congress and listen to Mike Johnson all day long? How do you get past, people’s, sort of, fear or anxiety about working with people who are MAGA conspiratorialists, or MAGA, election deniers. How do you get them through that process so that they understand that serving in offices more than just having to deal with these people?
Amanda Litman
I mean, some of it is having to deal with those people, and if you don’t do it, someone who might agree with them will do it. Someone who might not stand up for your values might do it. If not you, who? So we try and remind folks, like, you will have to be in… in relationship with some pretty horrific people, but you’ll have power to stop them from doing harm, or at least to try and fight. And that opportunity, for a lot of folks, is just too great to give up.
Jen Rubin
Now, November of this year, Democrats really swept through these races, really at a magnitude we haven’t seen. Did you see a bubble, then, of people who said, I want to run for office, too?
Amanda Litman
We did. So, Run for Something had 222 candidates on the ballot November 5th. 144 of our folks won outright, 9 more moved to runoffs. And 43 of those were red-to-blue flips. So we had an incredible evening for young leaders outside of even the big gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, and of course the mayoral election here in New York. Now, in the week after the election, more than 5,000 people signed up to run for office, joining a total of 75,000 people who raised their hands since Trump won last year. That’s more people in the last 12 months than we did in the entirety of Trump’s first term.
We’re talking about resistance, and the fight back, and all those things. Yeah, maybe our leaders at the top are not so present or not so energetic, but man, the future leaders coming up are ready to get in this, and I find that very inspiring.
Jen Rubin
A lot of people have an aversion to raising money. They don’t want to ask people for money. They don’t want to talk about money. We were trained as kids to see it’s not polite to ask about money. How do you get them to the point where they feel comfortable asking friends, asking relations, asking strangers for money?
Amanda Litman
You gotta remind people, when you’re fundraising for a campaign, it’s not like I’m asking you for a loan for lunch. I’m not asking you to, like, spot me at 10 for pizza. I’m asking you to make an investment in your community and in our home. In many ways, I joke, but, like, asking someone to give, especially to a local campaign, is a public service. Because you’re giving them an opportunity to invest in their community, and to be a part of the change in a meaningful way. Because think about what a lot of folks do when things feel so out of control or bad. You find somewhere to give to the people doing something.
Especially when you’re running for something like city council, or school board or library board, to give to one of those campaigns is to really concretely help the place you live. I would also say that most local races, yeah, they cost some money, but they’re not as expensive as these congressional elections. It’s… we’re not talking millions of dollars for most, most of these local races. We’re talking thousands, tens of thousands, maybe a hundred thousand or more for the bigger state-led races or some of these city council races, but… 75% of school board races cost $1,000 or less, and 85% cost $5,000 or less. So, you can find the money.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Now, not all races are in the media spotlight, but some are. Do you do media training with your candidates?
Amanda Litman
We do. We work closely with candidates to make sure they’re prepared to talk to reporters, and we are constantly lifting up our candidates, for media, for reporters, for traditional press, for new press, for creators. You know, our job as the national organization is to leverage our relationships on their behalf, so anytime we can reorient the spotlight their way, we love to do that.
Jen Rubin
Wonderful. You said you go through a vigorous vetting process. Is that on character issues? Is that on ideological issues? Tell us a little bit about your process.
Amanda Litman
So our endorsement application is fully public, you can find it on our website, and we ask for a set of values alignments. We know that not every candidate is going to talk about things like. you know, advancing gun safety, or combating climate change, or being a pro-choice leader in the same way. You know, someone running for New York City Council is going to talk about that very differently than, say, someone running for the Arizona State Legislature, which is different than the Alaska School Board. But we want to make sure that those values are part of who you are, sort of not agnostic, but distinct from what policies you might be engaging in. We also do rigorous background checks. We want to make sure that you’re telling us what we’re going to find, being honest with us, and more importantly, with voters.
We want to know about your campaign plan, your budget, your win number, your, most importantly, your community ties, and how you’re connecting with voters. And we want to know a little bit more about who you are and your story. Pretty intense. We do reviews, we have, again, I said background checks, but we also have local operatives in every state who give us more, color from the ground, so that we know what we’re getting into.
Jen Rubin
Right. Nancy Pelosi says to people who want to run, know your why, know your motivation. What are the kinds of things that you’re hearing now from people when you ask them, why are you running, or why are you interested in running, or why are you considering running? What are the sorts of things you hear back?
Amanda Litman
I would make a slight modification to Nancy Pelosi’s question, which is, it’s not always, why are you running, but why should voters want you to win? Like, what are you gonna do for them? Not just about you, but for them and their lives? And the things we’re hearing candidates answer that question most prominently, especially over the last couple years, has been housing. We are hearing housing And the housing crisis come up again and again and again. It makes sense, we’re working with people in their 20s and 30s, running for local offices. If you’re entering the housing market, either as a renter or even as a first-time buyer, it is deeply fucked, and they want to solve it. They want to make sure that they can live where they want to live and have the kind of life that they want, in light of the American dream they’ve been promised.
We’re also hearing people talk about childcare, transportation issues, sort of quality of life issues, and transparency and accountability. And I say, actually, this is the thing that surprised me the most, in particular in 2025. 90% of our red to blue flips, of the 43 red-to-blue flips that we identified. Talked in specifically about transparency and bringing trust back into government. People want to know that their money is being spent wisely. I think this is one of the efforts that we’ve seen over the last couple years. People no longer trust these institutions. New leaders want to bring that back into the fold.
Jen Rubin
Fabulous. When someone runs for office, is there a profile, or are there qualities that tend to make for success? Do you have to be an extrovert? Do you have to be a detailed person? Do you have to not be a detailed person? What’s the kind of, profile that is most successful, or is there not a profile?
Amanda Litman
The thing I love is there isn’t really. Like, we’ve had introverts and extroverts and shy people, and outgoing people, and parents, and non-parents, and, you know, yeah, some lawyers, but also artists and musicians and journalists, and scientists, and teachers, nurses, veterans, rodeo stars, rappers, like… The thing that I think unites them all is they care deeply about community, they care deeply about solving problems, and they’re willing to do the work. everything else about a campaign you can learn, because as I said earlier, it’s not rocket science.
Like, you can learn how to cut a voter file, you can learn how to knock doors and do it the most efficiency, we can help you find the best way to design lit, make sure that it’s, like, you know, the most research-backed way to provide… to do so, but everything else… We can teach you.
Jen Rubin
Wow. Now, when someone has not run for office at all, do you recommend that they start at a lower-level office to gain that experience, or what if someone comes in and says, no, I want to be a congressman? What do you… what’s your best advice for people?
Amanda Litman
98% of the time, the answer is start local. But I really sort of start from a place of first principles. Like, what is the problem you care about solving, and what is the office that would give you power to solve it? Most of the time, like, God bless members of Congress, but they’re not doing very much these days. The problem can probably be solved at the state or local level. They’re also way more affordable, way more reasonable for you to run for and still hold a full-time job, or maybe you’re a student, or a caregiver, whatever it might be. And they are, honestly, where you get the experience to run for eventually higher office. But generally speaking, I think most people should start local. I also think it’s the place where you can get the most done.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Now, many people don’t realize the sorts of offices that are out there, because they think of congressmen and senators, maybe they know of state representatives. there are all kinds of elective offices, from community college boards to, water, boards, to all sorts of things. Do you, have people running for all… the whole array of offices? You kind of… you learn a lot about your country realizing how many offices there are to run for.
Amanda Litman
There are more than half a million elected offices. There are, you know, of course, State House, State Senate, City Council, County Commission, county councils, county auditors. There are 1,300 counties or so that still elect coroners. We’ve worked with some coroner candidates, which—
Jen Rubin
Wow!
Amanda Litman
— is amazing. You can run for election administration boards, you can run for fire safety boards. I think in Florida, I believe, you can run… maybe New Mexico, you should fact check me on this. One of these states, you can run for mosquito abatement district, you can run for public utility boards. In Michigan, you can run for the Board of Regents for the university. There’s all kinds of offices you can run for, and… they are, I think, so interesting, and so ripe for opportunity and change in a lot of places, because 70% of local races go uncontested, so in all honesty, if you file to run, you’re probably gonna walk right into it. Now, we should change that, but at least for now. You can win this.
Jen Rubin
Wow. You obviously speak to a lot of people who are under 40, and these are people who are engaged to one degree or not. They want to run for office. What do they see as, the problem with politics? What is it that, they think needs to really be changed, aside from a specific issue, like a housing issue? They look at this, and what do they see?
Amanda Litman
You know, I think the thing we’ve heard the most, especially in the last year, is that we need a change in leadership. There is so clearly something broken in this moment. The fact that, like, the idea of the American dream of being able to buy a home and raise a family and live the kind of life you want feels out of reach for young people, and that the status quo that we are in has not served us. And the leaders who got us to this point are not the right ones to fix it. Like, they just fundamentally do not understand the kinds of problems we are experiencing and the change that we need, and they’re not mad enough about that.
So the thing that we hear from young leaders over and over again is that I am done waiting my turn, I am done waiting for someone else to solve this problem, I am getting in this fight myself, and I am refusing to accept that the way we did things yesterday has to be the way we do them tomorrow. Because honestly, the way they are today sucks.
Jen Rubin
Right? Now, some offices, constitutional offices, have an age limit. What is the youngest person that you have helped run for office? Because many offices don’t have an age requirement.
Amanda Litman
Oh, we’ve helped people as young as 18, 19 run for local offices, win seats on city councils and school boards. We’ve helped people still in college, or even those without college degrees run for and win. It’s really inspiring to see young people who believe that change is possible, who are, at their hearts, optimistic enough to believe that a better future is possible, that they’re willing to change their lives to do it. I love that.
Jen Rubin
Now, if someone wants to run for office, or they want to know who you are endorsing to run for office, what do they do? Where do they go?
Amanda Litman
So if you want to run, you can look up your address at runforward.net, and you can find all kinds of information about the offices available for you where you live. And it’s not too late to get started for 2026. Our first filing deadlines start hitting in December, but it’s not too late. You can look up all of our candidates, find our map, look at our directory, check out our alum at runforsomething.net.
Jen Rubin
So, how do you find people, or how do people find you? Do you travel to college campuses? How do you proselytize, your organization? Where could people find you around the country?
Amanda Litman
I am constantly yapping my mouth wherever people will have me. We are on podcasts, we’re on Substack, we’re on, social media, we’re running ads, we’re doing events. I had a podcast, I’ve now written two books, one about running for office, and one more recently about Millennial and Gen Z leadership that you can get wherever you get your books. We are trying always to do events, both in person and online. You know, my favorite thing in the world these days is to travel to college campuses, but really, we will go anywhere and everywhere to get people thinking about running for office.
Jen Rubin
Well, that is fabulous. Well, we at the Contrarian are all about running for office, so send some of your candidates are away, we’d be happy to have them on and chat with them. And thank you for what you’re doing. This is really the essence of participatory democracy. Our contrarians out there always ask, what can I do? And we say, run for office! And they say, what do I run for? run for office? Well, go talk to Amanda, and you’ll find out what you can run for office for. So, thank you, Amanda. Thank you for coming and sharing with us, and we’ll check back with you later and see how well your candidates are doing. So, best of luck in the rest of 2025 and into 2026, and happy Thanksgiving.
Amanda Litman
Same to you. Thanks, Jen.
