Vote Common Good is an left-leaning voter advocacy and education group focused on religious voters. Founded in 2018 by longtime liberal evangelical activist Doug Pagitt, Vote Common Good was explicitly founded to oppose the policies of the Trump administration. ¹

Vote Common Good has conducted bus tours, candidate town halls, and training sessions. The group also releases statements to the press about various issues, such as a January 24, 2020 statement by Pagitt in which he stated that March for Life organizers are closed-minded and trying to trick religious voters into believing that the pro-life position is the only one for religious-minded people. ²

Mission

Vote Common Good aims to convince five to 15 percent of American Christians to vote for liberal candidates and causes, and to provide a left-of-center religious voice in the media and the public square. The group frequently claims that right-of-center religious voters are self-interested, and that voting for its positions are in line with common good. ³

Pagitt and others in Vote Common Good’s leadership say that Democrats are overlooking a significant number of votes by being hostile to religion. ⁴ The group trains candidates for political office to reach religious voters, and claims that the Republican Party is “held hostage by religious extremism.” ⁵

Vote Common Good’s mission and activism were endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018. ⁶

Many liberal Christian celebrities have joined the group’s town halls. Shane Claiborne and Diana Butler Bass are among the most notable. In January 2020, the Florida Democratic Party partnered with Vote Common Good and other faith-based liberal groups to attack the Trump administration. ⁷

Leadership

Doug Pagitt is a liberal evangelical Christian pastor, author, and religious activist. The founder of several left-leaning organizations, including a non-denominational church that provides sanctuary to illegal immigrants and the liberal Christian activist group Greater Things Foundation, he is widely cited by mainstream media outlets as an alternative voice to evangelicals who support President Donald Trump’s policy agenda and re-election. ^{8 9 10}

Pagitt wrote in 2018 that making abortion illegal won’t reduce the numbers of abortions and condemned U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He opposes the death penalty and supports gun control legislation. ¹¹ Pagitt also opposed the Trump administration’s Obamacare repeal efforts and its family separation immigration policies, and claimed that making abortion illegal harms mothers. ¹²

Pagitt also condemned a seminary for expelling a student who was in a same-sex marriage, saying the seminary was justifying “intolerance” and “prejudice.” ¹³ Pagitt is a member of the Union of Affirming Christians, a faith-based group which explicitly exists to support same-sex-attractedand other people who identify as LGBT. ¹⁴

Robb Ryerse is a pastor and former candidate for Congress. The founder of a church that tailors itself to people who identify as LGBT, he serves as Vote Common Good’s political organizer. ¹⁵

Catholic Outreach director Patrick Carolan accused then-President Trump of destroying the environment and “killing people in Iran,” two actions that he claimed showed Trump not to be a Christian. ¹⁶

1. Vote Common Good. May 3, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/
2.  Pagitt, Doug. “March for Life Statement.” Vote Common Good. January 24, 2020. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/march-for-life-statement/
3.  “What & Why.” Vote Common Good. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/what-and-why/
4. Mealer, Bryan. “‘I’m not anti-Trump, I’m just pro-Jesus’: The Evangelicals stumping for the Democrats.” The Guardian. October 31, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/31/trump-democrats-evangelicals-pro-jesus-republicans
5. “What & Why.” Vote Common Good. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/what-and-why/
6. Tatu, Christina, and Laura Olson. “Bucking their brethren, Evangelical group brings message to Lehigh Valley: Vote Democratic to flip U.S. House.” The Morning Call. October 03, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-evangelical-christian-rally-wild-nothstein-20181001-story.html
7. “Faith Leaders Slam Trump Ahead of Miami Rally.” Florida Democratic Party. January 3, 2020. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.floridadems.org/news/faith-leaders-slam-trump-ahead-of-miami-rally
8. “Bio.” Doug Pagitt. Accessed May 3, 2022.http://dougpagitt.com/bio
9. Pagitt, Doug. “Evangelicals are paying high moral price for anti-abortion gains. What would Jesus do?” USA Today. October 21, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/21/donald-trump-abortion-cost-evangelicals-moral-high-ground-column/1686348002/
10. Mealer, Bryan. “‘I’m not anti-Trump, I’m just pro-Jesus’: The Evangelicals stumping for the Democrats.” The Guardian. October 31, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/31/trump-democrats-evangelicals-pro-jesus-republicans
11. Tatu, Christina, and Laura Olson. “Bucking their brethren, Evangelical group brings message to Lehigh Valley: Vote Democratic to flip U.S. House.” The Morning Call. October 03, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-evangelical-christian-rally-wild-nothstein-20181001-story.html
12.  Pagitt, Doug. “Evangelicals are paying high moral price for anti-abortion gains. What would Jesus do?” USA Today. October 21, 2018. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/21/donald-trump-abortion-cost-evangelicals-moral-high-ground-column/1686348002/
13. Pagitt, Doug. “How a Christian college hurt itself by expelling a married gay student.” Los Angeles Times. November 27, 2019. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-27/fuller-seminary-expelled-student
14. “Meet Our Members.” Union of Affirming Christians. Accessed January 28, 2020. https://www.affirmingchristians.org/our-members
15. “Robb Ryerse.” Vote Common Good. Accessed May 4, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/robb-ryerse/
16. “VCG on ABC4: Faith-based and social justice groups rally for fair impeachment trial.” Vote Common Good. January 16, 2020. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://www.votecommongood.com/vcg-on-abc4-faith-based-and-social-justice-groups-rally-for-fair-impeachment-trial/