A Love Letter to Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr: Please Be Our Heroes and Step Aside Now (We Won't Forget!)

3/10/2018

WE LOVE YOU!

BUT IT'S TIME TO DO THE RIGHT THING

Sara Jacobs

Paul Kerr

Democrats are in danger of being locked out of the 49th district in November because of California's Top Two "jungle primary", which will send the top two vote-getters in the June primary to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation.

There are too many strong Democrats running. That means these candidates could split the primary vote, putting two Republicans on the final ballot for November and depriving all of us of a critical choice between two starkly different visions of the future for our state and our country.

Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr, you are polling significantly below Democratic front-runners Doug Applegate and Mike Levin. However, you have enough support to become spoilers in this election, drawing enough votes away from Applegate and Levin to put Republicans Rocky Chavez and Diane Harkey in the top two slots in June.

We love the two of you. Sara, you are a fresh new face in California politics, giving a voice to young voters in the 49th district, particularly young women. Paul, you have a life story that resonates with many Californians, with hard-won values and experience that have prepared you for public service.

But the two of you are very unlikely to win in June. And you are putting this critically important election at risk.

It's time to do the right thing and step aside. There is too much at stake here. You'll be heroes and patriots. It's not often that our country calls upon us to be true patriots - but this is one of those times.

We won't forget you. We'll be there for you in the future. Please be there for us now in the way that we need you to be - as hard as it will be for you.

To all voters that care about having a Democrat on the ballot in November: Please send Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr a love letter of your own. Recognize what they have to offer, their desire to serve, and the contribution they've made up to now. But ask them to make the hard call to step aside, to serve us in the way that most counts right now. Ask them to be heroes and patriots and to wait until next time. And tell them that you'll be there for them.

Candidate contact information is below.

PLEASE reach out to these candidates and let's narrow the field so we have a shot in November!

Sara Jacobs
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @sarajacobsca

Paul Kerr – campaign office: 858-350-3180
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @KerrForCongress

You can also sign the grassroots change.org petition asking them to step aside. The link is below.

LINK TO CHANGE.ORG PETITION ASKING JACOBS AND KERR TO STEP ASIDE

14 Comments

Author

Voices of the 49th is committed to making sure that voters in the 49th congressional district have a meaningful choice in November... which means engaging, educating, informing, and influencing voters through the jungle primary in June so that a Democrat makes it on to the final ballot.

Remember:

1. Vote on June 5th!

2. Vote for the Democratic front-runner

Renee

3/18/2018 07:16:28 am

I appreciate this concept but truly hate the fact that as an American, once again, it is suggested that I cannot vote my true vote because of the system. Each party should be represented and there should not be an electoral college.

Lindsay

3/24/2018 04:13:40 pm

Completely agree with you! I would think that you would take that issue up with DCCC because if they had endorsed a candidate at the convention then perhaps this problem would be solved!

Jeffrey Inmon

4/5/2018 05:41:02 pm

House and Senate Races do NOT have the Electoral College. Only President vote does

4/6/2018 10:52:37 pm

Jeffrey... You are correct that only the Presidental Vote involves the Electoral College, but I am not sure what that had to do with my comment about the Democratic Party not endorsing someone at the February Convention in San Diego. Most of the time the candidate who has the party's backing winds up with the most votes out of the other candidates in their same party that they are running against in primaries. If they had endorsed a candidate then perhaps Voices of the 49th would not feel the need to write articles like they are.
https://www.cadem.org/vote/endorsements

Jane

3/20/2018 09:57:06 pm

Can I get a link to the polling referenced in this post?

Voices of the 49th link

3/22/2018 07:08:07 am

There were two reputable polls run in February, one by SurveyUSA and one by FM3. Both polls showed Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr in the single digits, well behind the front-runners. A somewhat questionable poll by Change Research (commissioned by the Fight Back California PAC) in early March had Jacobs and Kerr again in the single digits. You can see the full FM3 results on this web site; a PDF can be found as entry in this Blog. We summarized the SurveyUSA results as well. You can also search for "49th FM3 poll" and/or "SurveyUSA 49th poll" if you want to find them independently.

Madison

3/22/2018 10:41:34 pm

Applegate lost by 1600 votes. He fought the hard fight and almost won. I think it’s only fair that everyone running quit and stand with Applegate.

3/28/2018 11:10:48 pm

I am just not sure that the Democratic party should risk that with Applegate. I really do not have faith that he will be able to get enough Democratic women to vote for him (yes I know there is the "Women for Applegate" group but its small in numbers. A bigger concern is that the Women's Movement had not happened before Applegate went against Issa and lost!

3/24/2018 04:03:24 pm

It is interesting that Levin allegedly is the one who is responsible for having dug up dirt on Applegate in 2016 and many have said that once Applegate's history came out, it hurt him in the race and that is why Issa won. IF this is true, that means that Levin, who was not even running in that election, derailed Applegate's campaign and allowed for Issa a Republican to win. IF this did happen, Levin should be the one to drop out; he does not care about the Democratic Party. Applegate might be polling so low because that may be just how many people voted for him in 2016 JUST because he was an alternative to Issa, whom not many in CA-49 liked. Come on Issa did wind up on his office roof for a reason.. oh that was a great day!!!

Noel Breen link

3/28/2018 07:54:53 am

Mike Levin is going to get the party slain, if he somehow makes it into the fall. Parke Skelton can fix some flaws, but not the fact people simply do not like the man. There's a reason why 6 different Democratic groups have voted Mendacious Mike "unacceptable."

Andrew

3/26/2018 05:08:43 pm

Wow, this is some sneaky anti-democracy stuff. Instead of letting the voters decide you try to guilt these candidates into leaving the race? This whole “top two” law is rediculous but you love it when it benefits your party. How about standing up for what benefits us as a State? Or better yet a Country? You speak of Patriotism and it’s laughable. The only thing you really care about is power and influence. You are not “the voice of the 49th” you are the voice for socialism, taxing, regulation, and control. This web site is disgusting.

Alllen Edmundson

3/28/2018 06:18:32 pm

Is there an anti-war candidate in this race--that's the main issue! Don't talk about social programs while blowing all our taxes on killing foreigners (about 10 million since WWII, thanks to both major parties). And don't believe our leaders. LBJ lied us into the War On Vietnam and now both parties are lying us towards a World-Ending War with Russia. Ask the candidates about our bloated Military budgets and our endless illegal, offensive wars. Our politicians and press are bought and shackled, our critical minds and privacy lost.

Rob Robinson

4/4/2018 07:51:09 pm

I have to comment about the commercial in which Mr. Kerr states he had to work meaningless jobs after the Navy, and had a 20K dollar college debt.

I spent 30 years in the Navy, and achieved the highest rank for an Enlisted Sailor. I retired in 2013 with a great income. Additionally, I went to College on the G.I. Bill and graduated with a 3.7GPA. I didn't have any school debt. I guess my point is I don't like the idea that the Navy is a low life job that leads to low paying jobs portrayed in the political commercial because it dont!

Brad

4/9/2018 12:17:06 pm

I understand that both Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr have many supporters, but Democrats need to understand the dilemma that the California open primary has placed us in. Th open primary was intended to provide greater democracy, but the fragmentation of votes can cause a single party to have no candidates in the final election.

Yes, it would be much better if we had a more Parliamentary system of democracy, where there is proportional representation based on the entire vote across the entire state. Unfortunately, we are imprisoned by the Congressional District system.

It is difficult to balance idealism and pragmatism. For the good of the 49 I beg Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Kerr to drop out. Both will have opportunities in 2020 to serve California and the USA.

VOICES OF THE 49th BLOG