FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is its 2024 slate of endorsed candidates who appeared on ballots nationwide this week.
In 2024, the FFRF Action Fund endorsed a total of 52 candidates up and down the ballot at the federal, state and local levels, including school board candidates dedicated to fighting religious encroachment in U.S. schools. We endorsed candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing policy goals that align with the Action Fund’s mission. Before issuing an endorsement, we vet campaigns to ensure our supporters can trust that these are capable candidates worthy of their support.
All FFRF Action Fund endorsements require that the candidate support policies upholding the separation of state and church. Federal, state and local candidates must also support reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy while school board candidates must have a commitment to preserving secular public education.
Many of our endorsed candidates won their elections, including all of our endorsed candidates for the Wisconsin Legislature. Here are some highlights:
- Angela Alsobrooks prevailed in her race for the U.S. Senate to represent Maryland. She joins Lisa Blunt Rochester in becoming one of the first two Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate at the same time. Alsobrooks has committed to co-sponsoring the Women’s Health Protection Act, a key piece of legislation on FFRF Action Fund’s dynamic federal scorecard, during her first day in office.
- U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., won reelection in a highly competitive Senate race. Baldwin was the first open lesbian elected to the Wisconsin Legislature, to Congress and to the U.S. Senate.
- Prominent Congressional Freethought Caucus members won reelection bids. U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Mark Pocan and Rep. Don Beyer all prevailed in their reelection races.
- Emily Randall won in a race to fill an open seat in Washington’s 6th District. As a legislator with no religious affiliation, Randall firmly supports the separation of state and church and commits to secular governance in the United States.
- Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Thomas won Michigan Supreme Court races. The wins give Democrats a 5-2 majority on the Michigan Supreme Court. One of their opponents pledged to focus on a vision for Michigan’s courts that relies on “Almighty God” and the “Judeo-Christian principles of our founding fathers.”
- Attorney General Josh Stein won the North Carolina governor’s race, defeating his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Robinson is an open Christian nationalist who has gained notoriety for continually making outrageous comments.
- Wisconsin state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Ryan Clancy, and state Rep. Mike Bare all retained seats in the Legislature, while Kirstin Alfheim won a bid to the Wisconsin Senate.
Check out the rest of FFRF Action Fund’s endorsed candidates here. We thank our “secularist” candidates for their commitment to preserving the crucial separation of state and church. Their successes have certainly made this week better.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.