Read time: 4 minutes
I think about fighting — and winning — a lot. Maybe you do too. I mean, we have a LOT of fights that we must win in the coming months and years.
Here’s the short list. Building and winning on a new vision for reproductive freedom, beating back efforts to vilify and exploit trans folks and expanding access to gender affirming care, winning the culture wars that are eroding our public discourse and threatening to dismantle public education. Defeating extremists who would make it harder to vote, instead of expanding access to the ballot so that we might see our friends and neighbors reflected in our elected leadership and live an expansive, inclusive version of our democracy.
So how do we do it? I’ve set out to answer that question over the past year while on a bit of a road show across the advocacy, progressive movement, and political sectors. I spoke with former colleagues, lobbyists, and trusted political operatives, and got real about where we fall down — and where we have a chance to really, really win.
Here’s what I heard when talking to colleagues and organizations across movements.
- We must drive cross-movement alignment, because as Audre Lorde said, “There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” We win when we collaborate because we are maximizing our resources and the power of our shared narrative.
- We must be aligned on a compelling, shared theory of change that builds power for the fights ahead and positions us to win major victories — from local communities across the country, all the way to Congress and the White House.
Alignment. It’s that simple. And…we know that it works. It’s exactly what the right has done. We have all watched the rise of unprecedented coordination on the right, fueled by disinformation and a tightly controlled media infrastructure.
We have to have the same laser focus and coordination, but we can do it better and in ways that live out our values. Facing down that behemoth demands true alignment on the levers of change and a clear-eyed sense of the movement ecosystem and each group’s unique role in it. And, wherever possible, we need to be coordinating not only within but across movements.
That’s exactly what I’m here to do. After my year of asking questions, commiserating, and dreaming big, I’m thrilled to share that my colleagues and I at M+R are officially launching M+R Win.
M+R Win is a one-stop campaign strategy shop that marries high-level political strategy with the expert project management and strategic implementation that has been our hallmark for over 30 years. We build bespoke, high-impact campaigns that build power, shift narratives, and grow movements to win big in service of systemic change.
We’ve got the chops for this. M+R has 30 years of relentlessly results-oriented lobbying, advocacy, fundraising, media, advertising, and organizing experience. M+R Win pulls it all together and adds the kind of political perspective and single-minded vision that yields results.
And now a bit about me: I’m Christian LoBue, Executive Vice President at M+R Win — but perhaps more importantly, I am a campaigner and strategist who has spent the last two decades working across progressive movements to build power, shape public opinion, and mobilize folks to WIN.
I came to M+R to start something new and pretty exciting — and that I just haven’t found in all my years deep in the weeds of political change: true movement-wide coordination within the progressive ecosystem, in the form of a one-stop-shop for issue advocacy and electoral strategy needs.
Most recently I served as the Chief of Campaigns at NARAL Pro Choice America overseeing the heart of the organization’s programmatic efforts — government relations, political, digital, and organizing/campaigns. Prior to that, I was a founding staff member of the Voting Rights Lab — Chief of Staff and Head of Campaigns, building critical infrastructure to defend our democracy in the 2020 cycle. I also spent almost 5 years as the in-state chief of staff for Democratic Whip, Katherine Clark (MA-5) learning firsthand how to build strategic coalitions and move legislation through partisan gridlock.
I’ve always been a campaigner at heart, but that time inside made me a stronger strategist — I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of advocacy efforts, and I’ve seen how the sausage gets made. I think we can do better. I think we can PLAY TO WIN.
How about you? If you’re a campaign, coalition, or organization who’s looking to dream big, and get into some very good trouble, we’re your team. I hope you’ll reach out. We’d love to talk.
*This quote is attributed to writer Holly Black. It’s a good one!
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Christian is the Executive Vice President of M+R Win. When she’s not getting in good trouble, you might find her at a Lizzo concert or wrangling her 2 amazing kids alongside their chocolate lab, Kima. Yes, the dog is named after a character on The Wire.