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Majority Savers: Let's Support Dr. Kermit Jones for California-3! [1]

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Date: 2022-08-01

Candidate Background

Dr. Kermit Jones has a remarkable background, and his whole life has been dedicated to service. You can read more of his background here, as well as at the Red to Blue site.

After 9/11, Dr. Kermit Jones enlisted in the Navy as soon as he finished his medical school degree at Duke (don’t hold it against him!). He decided to become a flight surgeon which was critical in airlifting injured service members and civilians to safety.

He returned home after a couple of tours and joined the Obama White House. He specialized in HHS and making sure that wounded veterans received the quality care they deserved. It was this experience that opened him up to running for Congress all these years later.

He has served as a doctor in the area covered by the 3rd district for about a decade. He prides himself on treating around 20,000 patients regardless of their political affiliation or need for insurance.

Signature Issues

Dr. Kermit Jones will definitely be better than any member of the GQP in supporting the agenda of President Biden. He will likely be a part of the New Democratic Coalition and a pragmatic liberal based off of what message he is relaying on his campaign website.

Health Care and Abortion : Dr. Kermit Jones supports Medicare and Medicaid being able to negotiate drug prices, and he even supports a public option that could compete on the open market. He will protect the ACA, especially the part where pre-existing conditions have to be covered. Finally, he is pro-choice, as he finds government intrusion between a patient and their doctor to be overreach.

Climate Change and the Environment : Forest fires are a huge concern in the district, and he promises to work with Congress to pass a federal fire insurance program to help his district. He also would help pass a comprehensive climate change bill, as he understands the root of the fires and the huge drought is man made climate change.

Democracy Reform : Dr. Kermit Jones knows that the John Lewis Voting Rights Act needs passage on day one of the new Congress. He would also pass legislation that aims to tackle gerrymandering, and even supports term limits for members of Congress.

Elections History

Recent Elections —

2020 President: TFG (R-inc) 49.7%, Joe Biden (D) 47.9%

2020 House: Tom McClintock (R-inc) 55.9%, Brynne Kennedy (D) 44.1%

2022 Race Rating: Likely Republican

2022 PVI: R+4

The Sacramento suburbs have been conservative for a very long time. The 3rd district is very similar to what was the 4th district in previous decades, in that it took in those conservative suburbs, and then it spread out to rural terrain in various directions. For a long time, this district was held by Rep. John Doolittle. It wasn’t really contested by the Democratic Party because it was so Republican friendly.

That changed briefly in the Obama era, thanks to Doolittle being tied up in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The 2006 race featured a compelling challenger in Charlie Brown, and Doolittle was held to a 50-45 margin. He retired rather than face him again in 2008, which is how carpetbagger Tom McClintock came to Congress. He barely fended off Brown in 2008 in one of the closest races that year.

After 2010 redistricting, Rep. McClintock gained a much safer seat in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada combined with Lake Tahoe and those conservative Sacramento suburbs. He went effectively unchallenged in 2012, 2014, and 2016. There was a good candidate in 2018 during the blue wave, but she could get no closer than a 54-46 margin. 2020 resulted in nearly the same spread, which means this district is on the periphery of being competitive. McClintock jumping to the open 5th district is a boon for us, as it means there is no incumbent. Those districts tend to be easier to flip.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe and the conservative Sacramento suburbs have been in the district a while now.

Political Tour of the District

In this iteration of the 3rd district, those conservative Sacramento suburbs are paired with Lake Tahoe again. What is different is that rural areas north of Lake Tahoe and the spine of the Sierra Nevada mountains are included in the district. This makes it much more of a seat in play than in earlier decades.

Here's where races are won for us in the 3rd district.

Lake Tahoe region : This area is the Democratic anchor for the district, even though it doesn’t produce as many votes as the Sacramento suburbs. It is critical that Kermit Jones have an excellent environmental pitch to these voters, as they tend to be conscious of such issues.

: This area is the Democratic anchor for the district, even though it doesn’t produce as many votes as the Sacramento suburbs. It is critical that Kermit Jones have an excellent environmental pitch to these voters, as they tend to be conscious of such issues. Folsom : This suburb of Sacramento is an exception to the idea that the suburbs included in this district are all conservative. It is important that Jones get as many votes as possible out of this city. Losing it would be nothing short of catastrophic for the campaign.

Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we will lose.

Sacramento suburbs : There are some blue and pink precincts in the northern suburbs of Sacramento, but there is also a ton of MAGA voters in this part of the district. Kermit Jones needs to attract new voters to our cause out here to offset the lean of these suburbs. Can he find those votes?

: There are some blue and pink precincts in the northern suburbs of Sacramento, but there is also a ton of MAGA voters in this part of the district. Kermit Jones needs to attract new voters to our cause out here to offset the lean of these suburbs. Can he find those votes? Plumas, Sierra, and Yuba Counties : There aren’t many votes out in the rural portions of the district, but many of the voters out this far are solidly conservative. Jones needs to limit the damage that these counties can do and then double his efforts to find votes that are more favorable to our side.

Activism — Help How You Can!

Dr. Kermit Jones actually outraised State Rep. Kevin Kiley for Quarter 2. Jones raised a fairly solid $607k, which is not bad for a challenger without Congressional connections. His opponent Kiley raised a little bit less, having raised $588k for the quarter. Unless this race becomes more competitive, I doubt dark money will play a significant role in the district this time around.

It is in cash on hand that Jones is in a great position right now, and Kiley is in a tough spot. Kiley had to spend most of what he has raised in the primary just to make the November election, so he only has $162k cash on hand right now. Dr. Kermit Jones did not have a contested primary, so he could hold on to more. He has $595k cash on hand to spend at the end of the quarter. An open seat gives us the best opportunity to win — please donate to Kermit Jones today! Anything helps!

DONATE TO DR. KERMIT JONES HERE

Jones will need a lot of help in this race, and a campaign can never have enough volunteers. It is more than contacting potential voters or knocking on doors. If you are in the Sacramento area, try contacting the campaign at https://www.kermitjonesforcongress.com/volunteer to see how you can best help flip this district blue!

In terms of social media, Dr. Kermit Jones could definitely use more followers to help boost his campaign message. He has 4,931 followers on Twitter, which is a fair start for a challenger. Hopefully being added to Red to Blue will help give his campaign a bigger boost!

x Our grassroots campaign is always expanding, and our internship program is growing as we ramp up to the fall! If you want to join us, sign up here: https://t.co/0PEpYAwsoE pic.twitter.com/nTBeKers1h — Dr. Kermit Jones for Congress (@DrKermitJones) July 24, 2022

Jones is also active on Facebook at DrKermitJones and on Instagram at drkermitjones. Go ahead and take a look at his social media reach and sign up if you are on those platforms!

While this reach district may not pan out for us this year if the prognosticators are to be believed, it is still important to support Dr. Kermit Jones this year. He can build critical campaign infrastructure so that we may be able to take this seat in the future. With the district slowly trending our way, Majority Savers suspects that it is only a matter of time before California’s 3rd district flips!

How to find all Majority Savers’ diaries:

To find all past and future diaries of the Majority Savers group, go to their Diaries List. (We suggest that you Bookmark that page.) The home page of the Majority Savers group is here.

Dr. Kermit Jones for California-3

Donate | Volunteer | Campaign | Events | FaceBook | Twitter | Instagram

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