A Special Election in Trump's Backyard (3/19/26)

Plus a No Kings mass call tonight, a $200 billion bill for Trump's war, keeping families together, Starbucks union solidarity and more

✊🏻 Looking to spend tonight fighting the authoritarians and the billionaires? We can choose between the No Kings kickoff call at 8PM ET, writing letters to at-risk Georgia voters at 7PM ET, getting trained to help folks obtain voter ID at 7PM ET, phonebanking to elect climate champions in Arizona at 7PM ET, or learning how to campaign for school board at 7PM ET ✊🏿

TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ

• Phonebank for Florida’s special legislative elections tonight, this weekend; textbank for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race Tuesday, Wednesday

• Pentagon reportedly wants $200 BILLION in supplemental appropriations for Trump’s war, we’re saying no

• Oppose a cruel Trump housing rule that would force families to choose between separation, eviction

• Join Starbucks Workers United for a Delete The App day of action Saturday

• ONE WEIRD TRICK TO MAKE HEALTH INSURANCE PAY OUT (NOT CLICKBAIT)

If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!

GOTV WEEKEND THAT COULD IMPACT HOUSE MAPS, PLUS TEXTBANKS FOR WISCONSIN

Two Florida legislative seats that have been controversially vacant since August are finally going to be filled on Tuesday. State Senate District 14 and House District 87 have gone without representation this entire regular legislative session, and Governor DeSantis needed to be sued to set election dates.

SF-14 is a Tampa-area seat that has a history of swinging back and forth, and Democratic veteran and union leader Brian Nathan is running against GOP State Rep. Josie Tomkow. HD-87 covers central Palm Beach County (including Mar-a-Lago), which is represented by a Democrat in the state Senate, and Dems have picked small business owner and public health expert Emily Gregory to go against Trump-endorsed town councilor Jon Maples. The winners will head to Tallahassee just in time for a special session on whether Florida will draw new congressional maps, a vote that’s very much not a done deal.

☎️ Let’s sign up to phonebank TODAY for Nathan from 4-6PMET and for Gregory from 6-8PMET. We can also join the Florida Dems for shifts SATURDAY 10AM-12PMET and SUNDAY 11AM-1PM ET. ☎️

Meanwhile, we’re closing in on an April 7th vote that could secure progressive control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for years to come. Early voting begins Tuesday. The National Redistricting Action Fund is holding multiple textbanks during the day Tuesday and Wednesday to get the early votes locked in. 💬 Let’s sign up to join them here, and find more ways to help in Wisconsin here.🗨️

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A $200 BILLION BILL FOR TRUMP’S WAR? REALLY?

More than 1,900 people are dead, 18,500 injured, and more than 4 million displaced from Trump’s war on Iran. Here at home, gas prices are up 27% from four weeks ago, a bigger spike than followed Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Regime allies are beginning to suggest than seizing Iranian territory on Kharg Island would somehow not count as “boots on the ground.” 52 Republicans and John Fetterman once again blocked a war powers resolution. And the bill is skyrocketing.

Last night, the Washington Post reported that the Pentagon wants $200 billion in supplemental appropriations for the Iran War. This would cover both the bill they’ve already run up and an urgent effort to speed up weapons production. (The White House has not agreed to this amount.)

Congressional Republicans have suggested they might need to use the reconciliation process to pass, which would allow them to pass it without any Democratic support. It would also open them up to right wing demands that the spending be offset by an equivalent amount of cuts. It’s hard to imagine what must be slashed to the bone to cover $200 billion.

🗣️ Let’s take this moment to reach out again to our members of Congress and tell them we don’t want this war and we’re not paying for it, whether it’s $200 billion or “merely” $50 billion. We can find scripts and language here or send this message by texting SIGN PLSIDJ to 50409. 🗣️

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CRUEL TRUMP RULE WOULD EVICT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN

For decades, undocumented family members have been able to live with documented relatives in public housing. Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Department is proposing a change to the mixed status rule that would end this protection, forcing some 24,000 families to choose between separating or risking eviction and homelessness. It’s not just cruel. It’s also costly, since unsubsidized residents in federal housing paying higher rent, thus supporting everyone else, and creating a whole new set of administrative burdens on an weighed-down system.

Housing activists are pushing back, trying to keep families housed and together. We can submit public comments in opposition to this rule at the Federal Register through April 21st. ✍🏻 Let’s make our opposition known. We can send in our comments directly here, find talking points to work from here and here, or use the Alliance for Housing Justice’s action tool here. ✍🏻

🙋🏻 We can also join housing justice advocates and experts TODAY AT 1PM ET for a webinar on this proposal and how we can get more deeply involved with the Keep Families Together campaign. 🙋🏻

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STARBUCKS DELETE THE APP DAY OF ACTION SATURDAY

Starbucks workers are still pushing their corporate leadership for a fair contract, asking for a higher starting wage, annual raises, protections in the workplace and adequate staffing. In the coming days, the corporation is likely to begin talks with Starbucks Workers United again and field questions about their labor issues at their annual shareholders meeting. This is a time for the union to flex its muscles, and us to show solidarity.

This Saturday, SBWU members and allies are going to non-union stores to ask customers to delete the Starbucks app and stop buying. It’s an easy action – we gather a few friends, show up outside a non-union store, talk with customers, share flyers and ask them to stand with the workers. ✊🏿 Let’s sign up here to lead an action and get materials and training. ✊🏻

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MAKE HEALTH INSURERS PAY

While this is not an explicitly political action, healthcare is so complicated and politicized in the United States that it comes pretty close.

When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision. But a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion outside their walls can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment. External reviews are one of the industry’s best-kept secrets, and only a tiny fraction of those eligible actually use them. 📢 Let’s read and share this guide from ProPublica on external reviews and how to file them. 📢

✊🏿 Meanwhile, ProPublica NewsGuild members on the verge of a strike as they push for AI guardrails, higher pay and job security. Let’s support the folks doing some of the highest quality service journalism of the Trump era by donating to their strike fund or signing this petition to management. ✊🏻

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👀 KEEPING AN EYE ON… 👀

• UPDATE: Markwayne Mullin indicates DHS will begin requiring judicial warrants before entering private property during confirmation hearing

• UPDATE: Average electric bill up $110 since Trump took office

• UPDATE: 111 million Americans are trapped in credit card debt, 27 million can only make the monthly minimum payment

• ❌👑 NINE days to No Kings - find events near us, join TONIGHT’S KICK-OFF CALL at 8PM ET, Know Your Rights training MONDAY at 6PM ET, workshop how to bring in first-time protests WEDNESDAY at 8PM ET ❌👑

• Learn how to challenge Trump’s nuclear weapons buildout with the Union of Concerned Scientists TUESDAY at 6PM ET

• The SAVE Act would disenfranchise millions of Americans - let’s keep calling and emailing Congress in opposition and spreading the word about this new poll tax among our networks

• 33 days of shutdown and the fight to stop ICE terror continues - call, email Congress to demand real restraints, encourage folks in key states to do the same TONIGHT

• Meatpacking workers in Greeley, Colorado need our solidarity as their strike gets underway - donate to support the strike fund here

• May Day is coming, and we’re shutting down the country - take the pledge to avoid school, work and commerce

• Looking for ways to get engaged in the midterms? Here’s a full list!