Shaun KingVerified account

In 2017, I literally had to shame the Democratic Party into admitting that they had virtually no Black senior staffers in the Senate and that the only reason they wouldn't release their diversity data (that they required others to submit) was because it was do dismal.

Some of the truest words Frederick Douglass ever spoke were, "Power concedes nothing without a demand." And sadly, we must demand that the Democratic Party do right by us because that is not their natural inclination. It just isn't.

What I saw across the country this past Tuesday was bold progressives, particularly bold women of color, but also progressive Black men - get elected nationwide in places where that had never happened before. It's time the leadership of the Democratic Party look like its voters

Many of us strongly prefer @RepBarbaraLee to be the Majority Leader over Nancy Pelosi. All I know is that when all of this is said and done, it's going to be a problem for me and thousands of others if the Democratic majority has no Black women in leadership. PERIOD.

Completely separate thought stream....

NOW is the time for us to be actively talking about the Democratic candidates for President. Yes, I know runoffs & recounts are happening. I'm working with those campaigns. But I ASSURE you that candidates are actively gathering commitments & blessings, etc. as we speak.

I have not made a commitment to any candidates who might be running for President, but have told several of them that I will be waiting to see who all announces, what they say they stand for, who they hire to run their campaigns before I make my decision.

I'll be frank and tell you two Democrats that I am 99% sure I won't be supporting - primarily because of their dismal history on criminal justice reform over the course of their entire careers. Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. They both helped build & advance mass incarceration.

I like Joe Biden. I like his toothy grin. I think his friendship with Obama is cute. I think he's relatable. But to see him this week proudly give George W. Bush a humanitarian award stemming from the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan deeply disturbed me. Those wars are criminal.

I won't be endorsing any candidates for President that recently took happy photos with Benjamin Netanyahu or have refused to speak out against the hundreds of unarmed Palestinians who've been slaughtered by Israel this year. I don't have many dealbreakers. That's one for me.

I have a list of 8 people that I would consider not only endorsing for President, but would stop everything and throw my whole life into helping them get elected. But even for those 8, I'm going to evaluate their platforms, their senior staff hires, and their actual history.

I like Beto a lot and hope that he either runs for Senate in Texas again, since the other seat is about to open up, or runs for President. I think he's qualified to do both. But I also feel just as strongly about Andrew Gillum & Stacey Abrams. I'd seriously consider all 3.