What is an Endorsement from Pittsburgh DSA?
We view our endorsement as a commitment to intensive grassroots organizing. When we’re committed to electing a candidate, it’s more to us than just a seal of approval. We work to make thousands of calls, send thousands of texts, and knock thousands of doors for the candidates we endorse.
As a socialist, member-run, member-funded organization our capacity is limited, and there are many ways to build power for the working class. So our members will want to learn more about your positions, your candidacy, and whether putting our organizing energy and resources into electing you will help advance the goals of our chapter and campaigns when we decide if we’re going to put a whole lot of our energy into your campaign.
Our chapter only endorses candidates who explicitly seek out our endorsement. We will never endorse someone who has not asked us to do so. Those who seek endorsement may or may not be endorsed based on a vote of the membership, depending on the candidate’s qualities and the chapter’s capacity to continue volunteering with more candidates.
Endorsement Process for Candidates
For those considering seeking our endorsement, please be aware that we have a thorough endorsement process. You can read the process voted on by our membership here. It includes a questionnaire and possibly a follow-up interview by DSA members who have reviewed the questionnaire. If the committee of members formed to review your application/questionnaire recommends you for endorsement, you will be invited to speak and answer questions at a chapter-wide meeting where our members would vote. This can be attended in-person or remotely.
We know that is a lengthy process. Our members believe that a Pittsburgh DSA endorsement should mean more than just another name on a list of organizations that endorse you.
The first step is to let us know you are interested in seeking our endorsement — please do that by email at pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com. We ask that you do this as soon as possible so that we can assign a main point person from our Elections & Pressure Campaigns Committee (EPC).
Click here to view our 2023 Endorsement Survey — please either make a copy of the document or download it as a Word document to complete it.
Deadlines (Examples from 2022)
Early primary election endorsements — we will help early endorsed candidates with petition signature collection
- Wednesday, January 11, 2022, notify us of your intention to seek endorsement by this date. To do so, just email us at pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com or notify your primary contact person within the Elections and Pressure Campaigns Committee.
- Sunday, January 15, 2022, submit your completed questionnaire to pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com by this date. Questionnaire is linked below.
Standard primary election endorsements — we will begin helping as soon as an endorsement decision has been made
- Wednesday, February 15, 2022, notify us of your intention to seek endorsement by this date. To do so, just email us at pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com or notify your primary contact person within the Elections and Pressure Campaigns Committee.
- Sunday, February 19, 2022, submit your completed questionnaire to pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com by this date. Questionnaire is linked below.
Note: you are encouraged to notify us and submit your questionnaire as soon as possible. You do not need to wait until the deadline. The earlier you apply the more flexibility we will have in working with you to complete the process and the earlier we can reach a decision.
Questions
For questions about endorsements or our endorsement process, you can contact us at pghdsaelectionsandpressure@gmail.com.