DAILY KOS ENDORSEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Friend, Mitch McConnell has spent the last six years dousing the Senate in gasoline. Now he stands ready, matches in hand, to burn it to the ground. It’s up to us to prevent this act of political arson. To rip the matchbook out of McConnell’s grasp, we’re going to expand the Senate playing field as wide as possible, force Republicans to play defense everywhere, and, through hard work and good fortune, restore democracy to Congress. That’s why Daily Kos is proud to endorse Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, who is taking the fight to one of the very worst Republican senators, Bill Cassidy, in a state the GOP never thought it would have to worry about: Louisiana. Because if we can win here, we can win anywhere. [Please donate $3 now to help Adrian Perkins strike a mortal blow against Mitch McConnell’s majority!]( Cassidy may not be as notorious as some of his fellow villains in the Senate, but he ought to be. Along with none other than Lindsey Graham, Cassidy [literally wrote the bill to repeal Obamacare](, which would have eviscerated protections for those with preexisting conditions and taken away health insurance [from 21 million Americans](. Most cynical of all, Cassidy himself is a physician and should know better. Fortunately, [his effort failed]( because it was too extreme even for some of his Republican colleagues, but someone like this will never stop trying to undermine our social safety net. Enter the man who can stop him: [Adrian Perkins](, a rising star who entered West Point after 9/11 and became the academy’s first-ever Black class president. He served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star for his leadership in combat. Following his deployment, he entered Harvard Law School and was elected student body president. Motivated by a ceaseless desire to serve, he returned home and in 2018 ran for mayor of Shreveport, the third-largest city in the state, becoming one of the youngest mayors in the city’s history. Perkins’ values are America’s values. While Cassidy wants to destroy the Affordable Care Act, Perkins wants to strengthen it by lowering the cost of health care for those who pay too much and extending coverage to those who cannot afford it. And while Cassidy wants to shred democracy, Perkins wants to safeguard it by automatically registering all Americans to vote when they come of age and ending the destructive practice of partisan gerrymandering once and for all. Perkins also understands things most senators never will. [He was raised by a single mother]( who worked multiple jobs and, more than once, sent her son to hide under the bed when the sound of gunfire would rattle their windows. That’s why he [supports background checks for gun buyers]( and closing dangerous loopholes. Cassidy, of course, [does not](. Louisiana is of course a red state, and we have no illusions about how difficult a race like this one will be. But if Republicans have to sweat Bill Cassidy’s reelection, then it means they’re diverting resources from other races, making the entire battlefield more competitive. There’s another important reason we’re getting involved: If no candidates wins a majority of the vote on Nov. 3, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advanced to a Dec. 5 runoff. The last thing we want is for Cassidy to escape without a runoff. If we can force him into one, though, just imagine the intensity we can bring to that one-month sprint. [Perkins personifies that intensity. He’d not only be the most progressive senator in Louisiana’s history, he’d also add Black voice to a Senate that has so badly lacked them. This is a fight for our nation’s soul. Let’s make sure we do everything we can. Please give $3 to help Adrian Perkins turn Louisiana—and the Senate—blue!]( Thank you, David Nir, Political Director Daily Kos Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.