Columbus Stand Up is a left-of-center community organizing and political advocacy organization founded in 2020 by Morgan Harper, an Ohio attorney who ran unsuccessfully in Democratic primaries for the U.S. House and Senate in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Harper founded the organization to shift from “politics to activism” after losing the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District to incumbent U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH). The organization first focused on distributing supplies such as masks to residents of Franklin and Columbus Counties in Ohio during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group states on its website that its focus after the pandemic turned towards supporting left-of-center candidates for local office in Ohio. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Columbus Stand Up was founded in 2020 by Morgan Harper, an Ohio attorney who founded the organization as a way to shift from “politics to activism” after losing the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District to incumbent U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH). In 2022, Harper again sought public office, attaining just 17.8% in the statewide U.S. Senate Democratic primary. ^{4 5}

Harper was described by Columbus Underground as having founded the group “between [the outbreak of COVID, a] devastating blow to poor and minority communities that paralleled a global movement for Black lives in response to the death of George Floyd.” The group hosted a 2020 candidate forum in partnership with Freedom Bloc and most of its other 2020 activity centered on community services related to COVID. ^{6 7}

Activity

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbus Stand Up distributed several thousand masks to residents of Franklin and Columbus counties and later formed a partnership with the Central Ohio Transit Authority to provide rides to vaccine appointments. ^{8 9}

The group also hosted community events in neighborhoods with increased violence including a community dinner event in the Southport neighborhood of Columbus to discuss violence reduction. ¹⁰

Following the group’s 2020 activity, the group appeared to have little activity while founder Morgan Harper ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, and the group’s website stated that “Now, Stand Up is focused on generating people-powered campaigns and supporting candidates in important local races across the state of Ohio. We have a generation of work to do to build-up our communities–and Columbus Stand Up! and its partners are organizing at the grassroots level to affect change.” The group has not appeared to disclose which candidates it has supported. ¹¹

Partner Organizations

Listed partner organizations of Columbus Stand Up include the Ohio Sierra Club; Black Environmental Leaders; Justice, Unity, and Social Transportation (JUST); and the Ohio Working Families Party. ¹²

Leadership

Morgan Harper is the founder and director of Columbus Stand Up. She unsuccessfully sought office in 2020 and 2022, losing a U.S. Congressional primary in 2020 to incumbent U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) by a 68 percent to 32 percent margin. In 2022, she lost the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate coming in a distant second to then-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) in a three-way contest where she secured around 18 percent of the vote to Ryan’s 70 percent. Previously, Harper was a vice president at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nation’s largest “community development financial institution.” She also worked at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a senior adviser to the director. ^{13 14}

1. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
2. Moorman, Taijuan. “Q&A: Morgan Harper on Columbus Stand Up! and Transitioning from Politics to Activism.” Columbus Underground. September 14, 2020. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://columbusunderground.com/qa-morgan-harper-on-columbus-stand-up-and-transitioning-from-politics-to-activism-tm1/
3. “Morgan Harper.” Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Morgan_Harper
4. “Morgan Harper.” Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Morgan_Harper
5. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
6. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
7. Moorman, Taijuan. “Q&A: Morgan Harper on Columbus Stand Up! and Transitioning from Politics to Activism.” Columbus Underground. September 14, 2020. https://columbusunderground.com/qa-morgan-harper-on-columbus-stand-up-and-transitioning-from-politics-to-activism-tm1/
8. Moorman, Taijuan. “Q&A: Morgan Harper on Columbus Stand Up! and Transitioning from Politics to Activism.” Columbus Underground. September 14, 2020. https://columbusunderground.com/qa-morgan-harper-on-columbus-stand-up-and-transitioning-from-politics-to-activism-tm1/
9. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
10. Moorman, Taijuan. “Q&A: Morgan Harper on Columbus Stand Up! and Transitioning from Politics to Activism.” Columbus Underground. September 14, 2020. https://columbusunderground.com/qa-morgan-harper-on-columbus-stand-up-and-transitioning-from-politics-to-activism-tm1/
11. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
12. “About.” Columbus Stand Up. https://columbusstandup.org/about
13. “Morgan Harper.” American Economic Liberties Project.  https://www.economicliberties.us/morgan-harper/
14. “Morgan Harper.” Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Morgan_Harper