Continuing from @Timex 2020 thread, top of the ticket races draw the lion’s share of the attention and dollars every cycle. Most of those candidates will have more than enough money to wage viable campaigns. And too many great candidates lower on the ballot get overlooked during all the hullabaloo, to our detriment. From local races to state legislative races to statewide offices and in many states, judges. It was the AGs, Secretaries of State and Legislatures in the states that defended the goal in 2020. We need to re-elect them and add to their numbers.
Quite often folks that turn out fail to complete the ballot as they don’t know about these candidates because the campaign lacks the resources to get their message out, or the campaign overlooks some voters that might be persuadable but are infrequent voters and the campaign doesn’t know how to target them, or both. Talent and money are in limited supply and downballot races are often run by neophytes.
So learn about those other candidates, give them your money when possible and your time and skills many of which are transferable to campaigns. Shitposting will not help them win.
I am NOT saying don’t give to the marquee races, but please factor in the needier campaigns.
I know my U.S. state(Kentucky) is in need of poll workers and I’m thinking hard about it. I travel for a living, usually on short notice, and so I haven’t.
This realm is where the current fascists had their groundwork laid in the 90’s when Rush etc. had them going door to door.
If you are a Democratic candidate for any office from dog catcher to senator in November of 2022 and you’re not looking closely at the results in Kansas yesterday on a ballot referendum to repeal a constitutional amendment to eliminate protections on abortion…well, you’re doing campaign malpractice.
As a country we love the status quo, which sure, often to our detriment. But in this case if you’re a Democrat and not running on the Roe v Wade status quo, what the hell are you even doing? If Kansas can deal a pretty resounding rebuke to the “pro-life” movement, pretty much goddamn anywhere else can too.
The breadth of that rebuke was astonishing. I haven’t dug into the numbers but it appears the No vote outperformed Biden in every county. Which is a big deal.
Kansas folks that I have been talking to initial take is that they saw a surge of Democratic votes but that GOP women also leaned into messaging around self-determination.
I believe we will see a lot more Democrats start talking about abortion rather than the genteel term right to choose.
A big question will be to what extent the impetus to vote on abortion will translate to a vote on Congressional and other candidates. A related question is HOW to connect abortion to voting on specific candidates.
Each Dem candidate needs to be thinking about this right now, and working to take aggressive action. And the most effective action is probably going to vary by locality.
I think that will vary, state by state, district by district. Might work great in some places, less so in others, and hopefully candidates are spending their Augusts doing message testing, and I say that not just because it’s what I get to do for a living. :)
But the one message that we’ve got ample sample sizes and even election-based evidence on is that messaging this as a status quo thing – and pointing out the ridiculous women’s health dangers created by inflexible anti-abortion politics – absolutely works. And it worked great in Kansas.
That is 100% the rub, as they say. I think it’s incredibly likely that ballot measures on legislation/congressional amendments will attract far more pro-choice voters than individual candidates will.
But with that said, it’s pretty clear just how unpopular the Roe overturn decision was with voters, and it does seem like votes can be persuaded and moved if Republican candidates are called out for it.
(Spoiler: Democrats are still going to lose the House in November. But they might save the Senate.)
Down ballot race outcomes have consequences in the states, where all of us Americans live. As we celebrate the victory yesterday, let’s think about those that contributed to it. Pro-abortion leaders are planning to mobilize support for the justices.
Dear Janet, I’m your huckleberry. Take my money. A little spam in my inbox and letters in my mailbox is such a small price to pay to stop a Paul LePage redux.
It is encouraging that there are no independent or third party candidates in the 2022 ME gubernatorial race. LePage won twice with less than 50% of ballots cast because a third candidate, Elliot Cutler (recently nailed on child porn charges, the fucker) spoiled the race for LePage both times that he ran. Janet won with over 50% of the vote.
Ballot Initiative Strategy Center does a great job of tracking and supporting progressive ballot measures in the US. One of the strategies is to place a measure on the ballot that will be a welcomed reform and will hopefully appeal to and boost turnout of elements of the progressive voting base. Think marijuana decriminalization measure = more younger voters turning out. Convincing those voters to vote for candidates on the ballot is the job of smart campaigns.
Here is a list of ballot measures to watch. Giving to one, like the Fair Elections measure in Arizona could also help Mark Kelly win his senate re-elect if it boosts turnout of pro-democracy voters. I contributed to that one and will support the reproductive freedom measure in Michigan once it qualifies for the ballot.
So much money in politics now. Janet Mills governor of Maine looks to be in a very strong position though I place no confidence in the poll referenced in this article. I do think that she will win. LePage was and is dangerous.
