Summary: Is there one checklist to use to determine candidate viability? Who are the decision makers in this process? Candidate viability changes, ebbs and flows, depending on a myriad of factors from popularity to money. <br> <br> Joy brings her guests political strategists Rebecca Katz and Jessica Byrd to the front of the class to discuss the ever changing criteria of the abstract phenomena of candidate viability. <br> <br> Rebecca Katz (@RebeccaKKatz) is a progressive communications consultant and founder of <a href="https://newdealstrategies.com/">New Deal Strategies</a> created to help lift up the voices of women, people of color, the working class, and the LGBTQ community.<br> <br> Jessica Byrd (@JessicaLBYRD) is the former chief of staff to Stacey Abrams campaign for governor and the founder of <a href="https://www.threepointstrategies.org/">Three Points Strategies</a> created to work at the intersection of electoral politics and social justice with candidates and organizations across the country seeking electoral power for transformative change.<br> <br> Reading List<br> Learn more about candidate viability and how you can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of candidates with this reading list.<br> <br> * How to Judge a Candidate - <a href="https://www.lwv.org/blog/how-judge-candidate">League of Women Voters</a><br> * Just What Makes A Presidential Candidate Viable? - <a href="https://ivn.us/2016/08/15/just-makes-candidate-viable/">Independent Voter Network</a><br> * Re-engineering politicians: How activist groups choose our candidates—long before we vote - <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/re-engineering-politicians-how-activist-groups-choose-our-politicians-long-before-we-vote/">Brookings Institute</a><br> * The Psychology of Electability - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/on-the-face-of-it-the-psychology-of-electability">New Yorker</a><br> * Electability: What Is It? Who Defines It? - <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2019/02/21/electability-what-is-it-who-defines-it">WGBH</a><br> * What Does It Mean To Be Electable? - <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/electable/">Dictionary.com</a><br>
