WASHINGTON — Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC (CPC PAC) announced its first endorsement for the 2024 elections, backing progressive leader Lateefah Simon in the March primary for California’s 12th Congressional District.
A longtime organizer, MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient, and a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors since 2016, Simon has been a leading voice on civil rights and racial justice in Oakland and the Bay Area. Simon was born legally blind, relies solely on public transportation and ran for public office to make transit better and more affordable for working families and transit-dependent people like herself. She would be the first member of Congress previously elected to a transportation board and the first legally blind member of Congress.
“With more than a quarter century of work organizing for civil rights and social justice, Lateefah Simon is a proven leader and the best candidate to represent California’s 12th congressional district. Lateefah’s track record speaks for itself – she has effected material change in her community, championing critical progressive priorities like transit justice, economic equality, and women’s rights,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC Co-Chairs Reps. Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin. “Lateefah’s life’s work has been to give a voice to the voiceless. She is informed by her lived experience and has proven – through her tireless work on behalf of working folks and families, women, and people of color – that she is the candidate best equipped to represent the diverse communities of CA-12. Congress needs more voices like Lateefah’s and we could not be more excited to support her campaign.”
“I’ve spent my life fighting for folks without a voice – striving to bring about bold, progressive change in communities that have been overlooked, ignored, and left behind by systems that don’t serve them. These communities are my communities. I am thrilled to have the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC in my run for U.S. Congress, and I look forward to our continued partnership after I’m elected next November,” said Lateefah Simon. “My story – and, in that, our collective story of perseverance – isn’t possible without the progressive leaders who came before me. They paved the way for the movement that we are building here in California’s 12th District. I’m proud to have their support in this fight, and I’ll be honored to join their efforts in Congress.”
The CPC PAC is the political arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the largest Democratic ideological caucus, and exists to elect strong progressive leaders to Congress who share our vision for America’s future and will embody the present and future of the progressive movement. In the 2022 cycle, the CPC PAC raised over $4 million and helped to elect 17 new members to Congress.
