2024 Endorsements open now

Supporting the next generation of political leaders 🗯

Through Next Up Action Fund, we organize an endorsement committee each election cycle to determine and announce our support for candidates around our communities. Our committee makes its final decisions after diligent interviews, research, questionnaires, and identifying which candidates share our overarching goal to amplify young leaders.

2024 ENDORSEMENTS ARE NOW OPEN

Yup, it’s that time again. Calling all candidates, Next Up Action Fund’s annual endorsements are open and ready to hear why you are excited to run, how you align with our values, and what your plans are for election. Be sure to read our guidelines before starting the process.

portland city council

portland questionnaire

state and county

state and county questionnaire

Candidates we look for

Aligned Goals & Vision
Under 35
Black
Indigenous
Asian
Pacific Islander

Latine
Lgbtq2sia+
Disabled
Women
Low-Income
Immigrants and refugees

why our endorsement matters

Our work goes further when aligned decision-makers are in our corner.

Through Next Up Action Fund (c4), we act as a trusted messenger and resource to young people who are deciding which candidates share their values around racial, gender, and economic justice. Our endorsements can also lead to contributions of staff and volunteer time to campaign efforts. In 2020 we made tens of thousands of calls for candidates in key races, significantly contributing to the field efforts of candidates for Representatives Wlnsvey Campos and Ricki Ruiz and helped elect them to their current seats.

RESULTS

In 2020, Next Up Action Fund recruited Wlnsvey Campos to run for HD 28, becoming the youngest House Representative ever in Oregon and now the youngest Senator. In that same year, we worked to elect Ricki Ruiz and Khanh Pham to the House through direct voter outreach.

2020: Rep. Wlnsvey Campos - we did 100% of the texts and 33% of the calls

2020: Rep. Ricki Ruiz - we did 59% of the texts and 51% of the calls

NEXT UP action fund’S ENDORSEMENT HISTORY

In 2020’s primary election, Next Up Action Fund began convening an endorsement committee that included board members, students, and volunteers currently involved with the organization. Since then, we have assembled a paid endorsement committee of our base and board members each election season, with recommendations made by the committee that are always approved by our Next Up Action Fund Board of Directors and guided by our organization’s values.

To engage and educate voters, Next Up Action Fund also endorses ballot measures, with decisions to endorse being made by our staff, board, and endorsement committees. We support ballot measures that advocate for and create material changes for the most impacted people in our communities, in addition to measures that increase access to democracy across the state.

Our Guidelines

Each election season, we publish an endorsement questionnaire that candidates are welcome to complete.

Next Up Action Fund will only endorse in races that will directly impact our base, including campaigns at all levels of state and local government, from school boards to statewide offices. We are currently only considering endorsements in the following geographic regions: Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County, and Marion County. We may proactively decide to engage with candidates who meet these criteria.
Next Up Action Fund has a goal of supporting young Oregonians to be leaders in their community. Therefore, we are prioritizing candidates who are aligned with our values and who are under 35 years old. We are also prioritizing candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, LGBTQIA+, people living with disabilities, women, people that are low income, and people from underserved communities regardless of age.
Next Up Action Fund will make our endorsement process public on our website and social media and will share it with partners, but we will not proactively send it out to all candidates.
Next Up Action Fund reserves the right to not endorse in any race because we are using our Mission, Vision, and Values to guide us toward any endorsements. We may decline to endorse in some races entirely.
Next Up Action Fund will stand behind candidates who are there for us, whether we have checkbooks or not. We believe in the power of our endorsement. However, we cannot guarantee any political contributions at this time. We are potentially able to offer other kinds of support but cannot guarantee it with an endorsement.
Next Up Action Fund strives to be equal, accessible, and open in its endorsement process to all candidates who are serious about pursuing goals in alignment with Next Up’s mission, vision, and values.
An endorsement means you share a similar vision and values as Next Up’s base. If an elected candidate is not able to align their advocacy, voting record, or efforts with what they expressed in seeking the organization’s support, we will rescind our endorsement for the elected official.