lasting relationships with our clients.
“Independent Expenditure”
Fight Back New York
The Case
In March 2010, a group of donors and activists created Fight Back New York – what would become the first-ever public campaign to identify and replace anti-marriage legislators through aggressive, strategic electoral work. Fight Back NY ensured three new marriage votes through constant independent expenditure communications with voters in four special, primary, and general elections. With supporters who donated over $790,000, our bipartisan effort sent a clear signal to Albany: New Yorkers would fight back against those who stand in the way of equality.
What We Did
Victoria Research was tasked with identifying the most vulnerable members of the State Senate who voted against marriage equality in 2009, and identifying their electoral weaknesses. We also tested whether voters in each district would care that this was an LGBT equality-backed effort.
The Result
The FBNY campaign won all 4 of the elections we targeted. When it seemed likely that Republicans might retake control of the State Senate, Dean Skelos, the prospective new Majority Leader, announced on Oct. 12, 2010 that he would recommend and allow a new marriage bill to come to the floor for a vote under his leadership – the first Republican-led legislative body in the nation to do so. Marriage equality for all New Yorkers was passed in the Senate chamber June 24, 2011 and was signed into law by Governor Cuomo.