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There’s a longstanding belief that openly non-religious candidates are unelectable in the United States. After all, only 60% of Americans say they would vote for a “generally well-qualified” atheist even if that person was from their own party, and there’s only one openly Humanist member of Congress (Rep. Jared Huffman).
But a new crop of openly non-religious candidates, both challengers and incumbents, are challenging that stigma this November.
With the help of the Center for Freethought Equality PAC (the political action arm of the American Humanist Association), I’ve compiled a list of all the openly non-religious candidates running for office at the state and federal level.
This year, there are more “Nones” on the ballot than ever before: Nearly 200 candidates. They use a variety of labels to describe themselves, but they are all people who don’t subscribe to organized religion.
You can check out the full list here:
Because primary season is not yet over in a few states, the list will be updated in the coming weeks leading to November’s elections. But a few things stand out right now:
There are no non-theistic Republicans currently on the list. The few who had appeared on it in the past are no longer in office, including one who resigned last year.
There are a record 12 “Nones” running for Congress, including one (Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania) who has no Republican opponent and one (Kristi Burke of Tennessee) who was an outspoken atheist on YouTube before running for office.
There are over 70 “Nones” running for re-election to the State House or State Senate. (Who knew there were that many openly non-religious lawmakers serving in office right now?!)
While many of the people on the list will not win their races, given that they are in ruby-red districts where they face a steep uphill climb, they have greater freedom to be themselves and not “play it safe” politically. By coming out as non-religious, while never making it the centerpiece of their campaigns, they’re making it much easier for others to follow suit in the future.
This list is bound to change as the election approaches—sometimes because readers inform me about candidates in their districts who are non-religious and sometimes because those candidates out themselves wanting to be included in this particular community! (If that’s you, get in touch!)
Whatever the case, if you notice any errors or omissions in the list, please let me know and I’ll fix it.
(Portions of this article were published earlier)
We at the Center for Freethought Equality PAC are actively working to get these candidates elected - we were the first PAC to donate to Rabb and other humanist candidates who came close to winning like Francesca Hong. Money talks, so we want to see more of these candidates in office, we need to open our wallets.
Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/donate-freethought-nd
Sign up for a free membership if you’re not ready to donate yet: https://www.cfequality.org/membership
-Fish Stark, Executive Director, Center for Freethought Equality (and PAC)
(And comment with your questions!)
Nones running for office? FANTASTIC! Would that we had a few in Ohio, but insofar as I can tell, NOPE. That leaves me voting for Sherrod Brown (whom I would support for ANY office!), and Emilia Sykes, who has her head in the game and makes no excuses.
Frankly, I care a LOT more about COMPETENCE than I do about whatever religious belief either of them may have, and they have both demonstrated that they give a damn. That's what counts.