1,000 Arena Academy Graduates

Yesterday, 250 current and aspiring staffers arrived in Phoenix to start our final Arena Academy of 2019.

When our fifth Arena Academy ends on Monday, we’ll have reached our goal of training 1,000 aspiring campaign staffers this year.

That’s 1,000 folks trained and ready to elect Democrats up and down the ballot — from the presidency to state legislatures.

And our alumni are already making an impact. Don’t just take our word for it:

“We have hired at least seven Arena Academy graduates and they are superstars. Arena seems to find the best of the next generation and delivers them to us with the skills to succeed. I wish we had the Academies in prior cycles.” – Addisu Demissie, Campaign Manager for Cory Booker
“On the Mayor Pete campaign, we’ve hired at least 10 Arena Academy alums. And they are some of the best hires we’ve made. They show up ready to make an impact on day one.” – Mike Schmuhl, Campaign Manager for Pete Buttigieg

Our Academy in Phoenix, which we are holding in partnership with Instituto, is one step in a multi-year investment in flipping this state blue. In 2017, we held an Arena Summit here. And in 2018, we invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in races across the state — from Governor to Attorney General to the state legislature.

After taking a giant step forward in 2018, Arizona is poised for massive change: we only need to flip two seats for Democrats to control the statehouse, and the GOP won both Arizona state chambers by less than 1,300 votes in 2018. Furthermore, an expanding electorate and massive organizing by movements and grassroots organizations across the state positions Arizona as a battleground in the Presidential election.

In the weeks ahead, we will announce a major effort to invest further in Arizona and other battleground states, so stay tuned for more.

Thanks for supporting this critical work. We wouldn’t be here without you.