Red Wine & Blue

{{Short description|Political organization}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Red Wine & Blue

| formation = 2019

| abbreviation = RWB

| founder = Katie Paris

| type = 501(c)(4) with independent political action committee

| purpose = political mobilization

| headquarters = Ohio

| subsidiaries = {{unbulleted list|[https://redwine.blue/the-suburban-women-problem/ The Suburban Women Problem Podcast]|SWEEP (Suburban Women Engaged, Empowered, and Pissed) Facebook Group}}

| website = {{URL|https://redwine.blue/}}

}}

Red Wine & Blue (RWB) is a politically left-wing 501(c)(4) organization founded by Katie Paris after the 2018 midterm election. Operating out of suburban swing districts in the United States, RWB engages women at a grassroots level and drives media narratives to better reflect issues faced by the "everyday woman".{{Cite news|date=2020-10-26|title=The Field: Why Suburban Women Changed Their Minds|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/podcasts/the-daily/suburban-women-trump-biden-election.html|access-date=2021-11-05|issn=0362-4331}}

The organization manages a weekly podcast "The Suburban Women Problem",{{cite web | url=https://redwine.blue/the-suburban-women-problem/ | title=The Suburban Women Problem Podcast }} a 215,000-member Facebook group, SWEEP (Suburban Women Engaged, Empowered, and Pissed), and publishes a weekly newsletter, The Sip.{{Cite web|title=Democrats Should Take the "Wine Moms" Seriously|url=https://forgeorganizing.org/article/democrats-should-take-wine-moms-seriously|access-date=2022-02-08|website=THE FORGE|date=15 December 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=This Shaker Heights resident is rallying 'suburban housewives' to rock the vote in 2020|url=https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/street-level/redwineandblue083120.aspx|access-date=2022-02-08|website=Fresh Water Cleveland|language=en-US}}

History

= Founding =

{{Progressivism sidebar}}Red Wine & Blue began its organizing efforts in 2019 with a plan to engage “concerned but unconnected” suburban voters in local races across Ohio.{{Cite web|last=Gomez|first=Henry J.|title=This Progressive Group Sees A Path For Democrats To Win Back Ohio: Suburban Women|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/henrygomez/ohio-democrats-2020-primary-voters|access-date=2022-02-08|website=BuzzFeed News|language=en}} Paris told Buzzfeed News at the time that the group was using these local campaigns to build a roadmap for Democrats to win back Ohio in the 2020 presidential election.

By 2020, a dozen groups in 12 suburban Ohio counties joined the Red Wine & Blue network, and the group began to hold in-person rallies.{{Cite web|date=2020-01-06|title=Can Hidden Networks of Suburban Women Swing the Midwest Blue?|url=https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/the-hidden-networks-of-suburban-women-trying-to-swing-the-midwest-blue/252572/|access-date=2022-02-08|website=OZY}} They also hosted Facebook Live conversations with Ohio Congressional candidates and participated in a friend-to-friend texting program to turn out the vote.{{Cite web|first=Jen |last=Jones Donatelli |date=August 31, 2020|title=This Shaker Heights resident is rallying 'suburban housewives' to rock the vote in 2020|url=https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/street-level/redwineandblue083120.aspx|access-date=2022-02-08|website=Cleveland - Freshwater Media|language=en}}

Red Wine & Blue continued their organizing in Ohio following the 2020 elections. In 2021, the group held a read-in at the State Board of Education to counterprotest an anti-critical race theory demonstration,{{Cite web|title=Concerns over Critical Race Theory spark protests|url=https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2021/09/21/concerns-over-critical-race-theory-spark-protests|access-date=2022-02-08|website=spectrumnews1.com|language=en}} and called on Ohio REALTORS to stop financially supporting Republican state lawmakers that backed a legislative ban on teaching "divisive concepts" in K–12 schools.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-13|title=Democratic group brings concerns about "CRT" bills to realtors' diversity summit|url=https://www.ideastream.org/news/democratic-group-brings-concerns-about-crt-bills-to-realtors-diversity-summit|access-date=2022-02-08|website=Ideastream Public Media|language=en}}

= National expansion =

The same year, Red Wine & Blue announced its intended expansion in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin while still maintaining a presence in its headquarters state.{{Cite web|title=Suburban women helped Biden, Democrats win. This group wants to keep it that way.|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/suburban-women-helped-biden-democrats-win-group-wants-keep-it-n1265880|access-date=2022-02-08|website=NBC News|date=29 April 2021 |language=en}}

References