NAUPAC DECLARATION
THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS CRITICAL SENATORIAL RACES AND
ISSUES OF CONCERN TO THE NIGERIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Traditionally, midterm elections do not attract a lot of attention, but this midterm election is different because of what is at stake. The upcoming 2022 midterm elections are critical because our fundamental human rights are under attack. Should the right-wing politicians gain more seats in the United States Congress, our democracy would be damaged, centuries of hard-fought battles for equal rights threatened and our nation’s insecurity heightened. NAUPAC is committed to raising the consciousness of the Nigerian American community to get out and vote in great numbers in the upcoming midterm elections. We encourage the Nigerian American community to register and collectively vote in support of candidates who can protect the interests of our community in the United States Congress. It is not to our best interest to see further roll backs of our civil liberties if more candidates with extremist ideologies are elected to the US Congress. We are concerned that this will happen with the support of the conservative leaning US Supreme Court Justices, as in the case of Roe v. Wade. We are not confident that civil liberties will be adequately protected by individual states, who will have the power to decide on what protections they will provide residents instead of the previous federal protections for which they fought long and hard. Below is the list of critical issues of concern, and Senators we recommend that members of our community should consider supporting and vote for:

CRITICAL ISSUES OF CONCERN
- Extremism Agitation: The US Congress is facing a fierce battle from people with extremist ideology bent on taking control of the Congress;
- Civil Liberties, Voting and Human Rights: Our undamental rights and freedom are increasingly threatened, including the prospects of rolling back current minorities’ protective laws;
- Security Issues: United States is experiencing alarmingly growing tensions and insecurity felt in many fronts: rising extremism, increasing gun violence, war against our political process, and threat to our democratic principles;
- Financial Issues: Programs designed to ease financial burdens of the average American family are constantly under attack;
- Abortion Rights: We believe in a woman’s right to choose.

THE FIVE DEMOCRATS IN KEY SENATE RACES:






COLLECTIONS OF CANDIDATES POSITIONS
(Not necessarily a representation of each individual candidates’ positions):
⦁ The minimum wage should be a living wage of at least $15 an hour: All work has dignity, and all paychecks must too.
⦁ Health care is a fundamental human right: just like housing, food, and education.
⦁ Climate change is an existential threat: Need to transition to clean energy as quickly as possible, and we can create millions of good union jobs in the process.
⦁ Weed should be legal, nationwide: for jobs, justice, veterans, farmers, and revenue. It’s time to end the failed war on drugs.
⦁ Immigration is what makes America, America: We need a compassionate response to immigration reform that actually treats immigrants like human beings.
⦁ Black Lives Matter: John Fetterman served as mayor of a city that’s more than 80% Black and has championed the idea that Black lives matter since long before it became a hashtag.
⦁ The union way of life is sacred. It’s what built this nation, and it must be protected.
⦁ A woman’s right to an abortion is non-negotiable. Women should have control over their own bodies and their own lives. Period.
⦁ LGBTQIA+ communities deserve equal protections under the law. John Fetterman has always stood for equality and was one of the first elected officials in PA to officiate a same-sex wedding – when it was still illegal.
⦁ Get corporate money out of politics. John Fetterman refuses contributions from corporate PACs, and he signed the “No Fossil Fuel Money” Pledge.