Helping progressive candidates in 2018

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MEETING—This photo was taken of an event on Higuera. Photo courtesy of Walter Lamb

More than 70 Culver City residents met Sunday night at two different locations to discuss strategies for helping progressive candidates take back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 as a means to counter the agenda of President Trump.

Local elected officials were among those in attendance.

The Culver City meetings were among 25 other meetings in the Los Angeles area organized by a new group called Swing Left. The group’s purpose is to help Americans who live in non-swing districts provide support to their fellow citizens living in swing districts, i.e. congressional districts in which the elected representative won by a relatively small margin.

Many of the Swing Left groups in Los Angeles, including the two Culver City groups, will focus their efforts on helping voters in the 25th Congressional District unseat their two-time incumbent, Stephen Knight. Knight won reelection in November by a margin of 53.1% to 46.9%, despite Hillary Clinton winning more votes than President Trump in the district.

The 25th district includes parts of northern Los Angeles County and parts of Ventura County.  Patrick Meaghan, who hosted one of the gatherings, said that his goal was “to show our kids that we aren’t giving up.”

A tentative visit to the 25th district is scheduled for March 25. Anyone interested in volunteering in any capacity should sign up at the SwingLeft.Org web site.