No Dem Left Behind is a one-of-a-kind grassroots movement dedicated to electing democrats in rural communities to Congress. Our mission is to bring the party together in a way we’ve never seen before by focusing on areas that have often been overlooked. NBLB is organizing and elevating rural Democrats, expanding the Democratic base in rural America, and working to send more Democrats to Congress. Democrats and Republicans had become increasingly politically polarized and geographically isolated. As a result, Democrats in historically red, rural districts are being forgotten, so much so that even if people wanted to organize and build a movement, they had limited access to organizing infrastructure and resources. No Dem Left Behind founder and executive director, Hassan Martini decided to take on the challenge of rural Democrats. Hassan “wanted to work on a movement, not just a campaign.” So he launched No Dem Left Behind. Every election cycle, we build a coalition of candidates from across the nation, who support one another’s candidacy and work with one another to win elections. We provide the forum for the candidates to work together, provide training on effective campaign strategies, and host virtual town halls to reach constituents across sometimes broad geographic regions. We leverage social media for digital organizing where we build community and inspire activists to become “boots on the ground” volunteers in rural communities. Polarization is more likely to occur in homogeneous communities where people don’t interact with people of differing ideologies. But what if a Democrat from their community ran for office? What if a coalition of candidates running in rural or rural-suburban districts supported each other, sharing information and resources? No Dem Left Behind is a movement grounded in the knowledge that interacting with our candidates will change the perception of Democrats and the Democratic party in rural communities over time. We can close the ideological gap and bring people together based on shared values and issues that matter to everyone living and working in rural and small town America. This gives other rural Democrats the courage to throw their hat in the ring and help down ballot candidates as well. We know that change doesn’t happen overnight, or even in one campaign cycle; but it will happen if we start laying the groundwork right now.