In March, 2020, Democratic voters will have a choice in the 3rd Congressional district which encompasses most of Columbus. The incumbent, Joyce Beatty, is seeking her 4th term. She has held the seat since 2013. Beatty is well funded by corporate sponsors and supported by the local party apparatus, which also depends on corporate funding. Beatty has a net worth of over 4 million dollars (get source)
The New York Times sent a reporter to Ohio to cover the contest, resulting in October 13th article “The Democratic Debate Is Coming to Ohio, Where a Party Battle Is Already Underway”. The article pointed out that Ms. Harper has raised $323,000 in just 3 months as a first time candidate. Harper has raised money from nearly every ZIP code in her district. (Ms. Beatty, who hasn’t reported third-quarter fund-raising, had $1.3 million cash on hand as of July.) Harper has received donations from 2670 donors compared to just 169 for Beatty.
Ms. Harper is campaigning by attending as many community events as possible, including attending the Second Saturday Salon at the Free Press. There are some signs her strategy is working. Susan Sarandon was in Columbus, met Ms. Harper and tweeted her support. Harper has introduced herself by participating in Native Tongues, which is an open mic platform for local artists, and is speaking at events all over this city.
Morgan Harper was born in the Ohio State University hospital and then given up for adoption. She lived in a foster home for nine months before being adopted. She grew up on the east side, and earned a scholarship to Columbus Academy. She is well aware of social inequities in this city, which is a driving force in her decision to run for Congress. After high school, Harper went to undergrad at Tufts University in Boston, law school at Stanford University and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Her resume includes working for more than three years at the Consumer Protection Bureau, attaining to the position of senior adviser to then-Director Richard Cordray, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Ohio governor.
The Justice Democrats have endorsed Harper, one of only 8 candidates they are supporting at this time. Justice Democrats are largely responsible for the election of Alexandia Ocasio Cortez in the Bronx district in New York City. In 2018, 26 of 79 candidates supported by Justice Democrats won their primary contest and seven of these candidates won in the general election. These new members of Congress are Ilhan Omar, Raúl Grijalva, Ro Khanna, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Pramila Jayapal, as well as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Harper does not take money from fossil fuel companies, gun manufactures, or PAC's. She intends to defeat Beatty by reaching out to Columbus voters directly, and using the small donor model of fundraising that has propelled Bernie Sanders candidacy for President of the United States.
On the subject of health care, Beatty supports improving the Affordable Care Act, while Harper favors Medicare for All, the position Bernie Sanders has advocated for years. She strongly supports the Green New Deal, while Beatty takes a more conservative position, saying that Harper is “naive” in that she does not have a plan to pay for saving the planet.
According to her website, Harper will push for bold polices to improve peoples financial situations, including advocating for universal income, a federal minimum living wage, universal child care, and student loan forgiveness. Find Morgan Harper using hash tag #Morganize.
