The State Power Caucus is a radical left-influenced advocacy coalition, founded in 2017, made up of 22 organizations from 15 states, created with the purpose of enhancing state-level progressive organizing and voter mobilization through cooperation among its members. ¹

The state-level organizations that comprise the State Power Caucus have largely emerged from the now-defunct ACORN network, “alt-labor” worker centers, and the Right to the City Alliance. These organizations are largely left-wing and are dedicated to creating a constituency that typically votes for Democratic politicians but supports a more radical agenda. ²

Organizations involved in the State Power Caucus include California Calls, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, New Florida Majority, New Virginia Majority, and Washington Community Action Network. ³

Activities

The State Power Caucus targets voter mobilization among the estimated 108 million non-voters to create a “Movement of 40 Million Strong” who will support left-wing to radical-left political action. State Power Caucus leader Jon Liss said the coalition took inspiration from models of organizing groups like Community Change, People’s Action, and the Center for Popular Democracy. ⁴

The State Power Caucus claims that its future constituency draws from the 108 million people who were eligible to vote in the 2016 elections, but did not. The Caucus is targeting Black Americans, immigrants, and the working class as their potential voting constituency, and claims that these are the voters “who put AOC [U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)] and Ilhan Omar into Congress.” ⁵

People

Jon Liss is on the leadership team of the Caucus, and is the founder and Co-Executive Director of New Virginia Majority. Liss is the co-founder and former Executive Director of Tenants and Workers United and a prominent radical-left organizer and ideologist. ⁶

Anthony Thigpenn is on the leadership team of the Caucus, and is the founder, President, and chief strategist of California Calls, and the founder and president of Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE). ⁷

Andrea Cristina Mercado is on the leadership team of the Caucus, is the Executive Director of New Florida Majority, and the co-founder of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Mercado was the former Political Director and Lead Organizer at Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) and a former Global Justice Organizer for the Miami Workers Center. ⁸

Bob Wing is on the organizing committee of the State Power Caucus, and has been a radical-left organizer and activist for fifty years. Wing was a part of the Third World Liberation Front, the first wave of Asian American and people of color movements in the U.S. He was the founding editor of ColorLines, and War Times/Tiempo de Guerras, as well as a former national co-chair of United for Peace and Justice. ⁹

Claire Tran works for the State Power Caucus, and is strategist specializing in voter engagement and community organizing. Tran has worked for groups that include AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, New Virginia Majority, and the Right to the City Alliance. ¹⁰

1. Lliss, Jon. “Toward a Movement of 40 Million Strong.” Portside, June 24, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
2. Lliss, Jon. “Seize the Moment: Paving the Road for a Mass Left.” Portside, June 9, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
3. Lliss, Jon. “Toward a Movement of 40 Million Strong.” Portside, June 24, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
4. Lliss, Jon. “Toward a Movement of 40 Million Strong.” Portside, June 24, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
5. Lliss, Jon. “Toward a Movement of 40 Million Strong.” Portside, June 24, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://portside.org/2019-06-24/toward-movement-40-million-strong.
6. “Staff.” New Virginia Majority. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.newvirginiamajority.org/about_staff.
7. “Staff & Leaders.” California Calls, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2020. http://www.cacalls.org/who-we-are/staff-leaders/.
8. “Andrea Cristina Mercado.” The New Florida Majority, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://newfloridamajority.org/4242-2/.
9. “Bob Wing.” Speak Out Now. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.speakoutnow.org/speaker/wing-bob.
10. Tran, Claire and Swenson-Lengyel, Jacob. “Left organizers should join the fight for impeachment.” Organizing Upgrade. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://organizingupgrade.com/left-organizers-should-join-the-fight-for-impeachment/.