By Jonah Dylan
Congressman Ted Lieu (D-California) will speak at a Resurgent Left event on August 1 in Santa Monica.
The Resurgent Left is a Political Action Committee that was founded by attorney Kipp Mueller after the 2016 presidential election. The group, run entirely by volunteers, seeks to raise money for progressive candidates running for a multitude of different positions.
“Our goal is to build the next generations donor base for progressive candidates, so that when a progressive candidate comes around, we have a sizable group of young professional or middle-aged professionals that have money to give and we can be a real force to help the progressive movement,” Mueller said.
Mueller said the event was easy to organize, as Lieu’s campaign was very receptive to the group. Lieu is currently running for reelection in California’s 33rd district, which includes Santa Monica, Brentwood and Beverly Hills. In the June primary, Lieu earned about 62 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Republican Kenneth Wright, earned about 30 percent.
Lieu has served in this position since he was elected to replace Henry Waxman in 2014. Wright ran against him in 2016 but lost by a margin of nearly 30 percentage points. The seat is rated as solidly Democratic.
Lieu does not receive funding from The Resurgent Left, but Mueller said he’s excited about the event. He said his group’s message resonates with a number of progressive politicians, including Lieu.
“It’s really easy, actually, to get politicians to come to these events because if they’re a good person and truly dedicated to their constituents then they’re more than willing to find ways to engage,” he said. “And they tend to like what it is that we’re doing, because we’re young, because we’re creating this next generation donor base.”
The event will be held at The Brixton (2827 Pico Blvd). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25.
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