Morning all. You can catch me at two events today:
Noon ET - The amazing Network NOVA Friday Power Lunch | Register
3pm ET - Stand Up For Science protest outside HHS - In-person | Live Stream
Good luck tomorrow everyone. I know many of you have worked very hard to make these events successful. It remains remarkable how peaceful our many protests have been this year. Tens of millions have taken to the streets through events of all kinds without incident. It’s been a powerful, inspiring, affirmation of our democracy. Tomorrow will be even more so.
Enjoy this video call to action to support No Kings Day from veterans in Congress:
Hopium folks in the DC area who want to head to the event on the Mall together should meet at the Navy Memorial Plaza, 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW at 11:15am. The plaza is right by the entrance to the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro station. Let’s gather at this statue below, and we can head over together. The weather looks great and I’m excited to meet folks!
To prep for tomorrow be sure to watch my new video - As His Powers Ebb Trump Has Chosen Autocracy Over Democracy. It’s Up To Us To Stop Him.
If you want to share photos from organizing work today or the events tomorrow please send them to community@hopiumchronicles.com, or if they are on social media drop a link in our daily chat. Today, let’s use the chat to share your plans and hopes for tomorrow. And good luck everyone! Stay safe, stay strong, stay resolute and let’s bring our proud, plucky patriotism to events across the country tomorrow!
Adam Gray, One Of The Hopium House 7, Joins Us For A Thoughtful Look At A Broken House and The Destruction Of Trump’s Terrible Tariffs - Yesterday we caught up with one of our Hopium House 7 (newly elected members the Hopium community backed in 2024), Rep. Adam Gray from the 13th District of California. It’s a thoughtful and comprehensive discussion, as we touch on the shutdown, Mike Johnson’s extraordinary cowardice, the damage Trump’s tariffs and mass deportation are doing to the ag economy in California, and the latest on Prop 50 in California.
I asked Rep. Gray about what happens to his district, one that Trump won by 5 points last year, under the new maps. He says that even under the new maps it will be a dead even, 50/50 district. So that means that he will be, even under the new CA maps, in the one of the toughest races in the country next year.
We’ve $219,000 raised toward our $250,000 for these 7 intrepid battleground district candidates - thank you all. Can you chip in and help support them today? For the first step in taking back the House next year is making sure those Dems in battleground districts - called Frontliners by the House Dems - return.
In related news Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced her intention yesterday to file a law suit against Mike Johnson over his outrageous refusal to seat a duly elected Member of Congress, Adelita Grijalva. Here she is announcing the suit on CNN. It is worth a watch:
Sturdy Leads for Spanberger and Sherrill - G. Elliott Morris has produced new polling aggregates for NJ and VA that find Mikie Sherrill up 6 in NJ and Spanberger up 10 in VA. This data is in line with how I’ve been describing these elections to you in recent days.
Morris also does a deep dive on the significant number of partisan polls in the two races, ones that I call “red wave” polls, and how they can skew our understanding of what’s happening in both states:
Aggregators take note: We found that many polls in these contests are sponsored by or affiliated with GOP campaigns, increasing the potential bias of (unadjusted) polling averages
For the polling and data nerds out there this article is very much worth a read.
Southcom Commander Resigns - In what may be the first high profile military resignation in protest of the Trump/Hegseth shitshow, the Commander of Southcom, Alvin Holsey, has resigned (NYT gift link). Greg Sargent is out with a timely podcast interview with Ranking House Armed Services Committee Member Rep. Adam Smith this morning for those who want to go deeper here.
USC joins Brown, MIT and UPenn In Saying No To The Mad King - Good news:
USC has declined an offer from President Trump to join the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that would give the university preferential federal funding in exchange for implementing a number of right-wing policies.
In a letter sent to the United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon this morning, interim President Beong-Soo Kim laid out the university’s concerns with the compact. Broadly, Kim expressed concerns about receiving research funding that was contingent on “external priorities” of the federal government.
“Notwithstanding these areas of alignment, we are concerned that even though the Compact would be voluntary, tying research benefits to it would, over time, undermine the same values of free inquiry and academic excellence that the Compact seeks to promote,” the letter read.
The compact was sent to nine universities. Thus far, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and USC have rejected it. The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia have not disclosed whether or not they will join.
Now, Let’s Get To Work Everyone!
Note that two Hopium community members have stepped up and given $50,000 to our Audacious Expansion Fund putting us at $162,000 raised in just a few weeks. When the Hopium is called, you keep answering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The Fall - Support Our November, 2025 Candidates and Yes On 50
Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $113k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my new interview with Rep. Sherrill
Abigail Spanberger VA Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $212k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Abigail Spanberger
Yes on 50 (CA) - $50,000 goal - Donate | Learn more, volunteer | Sign Up For CA Dem Party Daily Phonebanks | Watch my new interview with Gov. Gavin Newsom
Hopium members in CA/NJ/PA/VA - please vote on Day 1, or as early as you can, either by mail or in-person. When you vote early your names comes off the campaign GOTV rolls allowing them to move on to lower propensity voters, which increases D turnout and makes it more likely we win. Voting early = another way to help us win.
Please vote early and encourage everyone you know to join you!
Winning The Midterms - Support Our 2026 Candidates
Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $44k raised- Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Gov. Cooper
Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $83k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my inspiring new interview with Senator Ossoff
Hopium House 7 (2026) - $250,000 goal, $219k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer | Watch My Interviews With Our Intrepid Incumbents
Expanding The Map - Support Our Audacious Expansion Fund (2026-2032)
Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $250,000 goal, $162,000 raised - Join our new campaign to invest in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas | Donate To All Five State Parties | Watch my interviews with Alaska Chair Eric Croft, Florida Chair Nikki Fried, Iowa Chair Rita Hart, Maine Chair Charlie Dingman, and Texas Chair Kendall Scudder
Our updated fundraising goals are now for the end of the year, December 31st, except for the 2025 races, which are now for Election Day, 2025.
Defending America, Winning The Big Argument With Trump - We have three recommended actions today:
1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our our emerging four part agenda. Demand that your Senators and House Member work to keep the government open and
Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world
Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE, restoring due process for immigrants across the country, vigorously defending the 1st Amendment, warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents, and ending the use of the military on our streets and the unlawful occupation of our cities
Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA and Medicaid; support and co-sponsor Rep. Haley Stevens’ effort to Impeach and remove Robert Kennedy
Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia and China
2 - Bring “Resolutions Of Condemnation” To Your Community - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders learn about how Hopium members are advancing “Resolutions of Condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town. Be sure to check out our new discussion with Deborah Potter and Rachel Poliner who have passed resolutions in New Mexico and Boston, and offer advice on how to get a resolution passed in your own community.
Remarkably, members of this community have passed or are advancing 85 (!!!!) resolution projects in 23 states + DC. Can we get to all 50 states by the fall election?
3 - Go to a No Kings Day event! - Find an event near you here!
Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Please include reports of voting early and consider sending photos of your completed ballot or or your “I’ve voted” sticker to community@hopiumchronicles.com.
Keep working hard all, and remember Hopium is hope with a plan. We don’t just hope tomorrow will be better than today. We do the work to make it so - Simon
