In the past few weeks, I've visited with three amazing women running as first-time candidates for Congress in largely rural districts. I have things to say about the Democratic Party
The Democratic Party has a very narrow definition of what it considers a winnable district, and is not supporting candidates anywhere else. But their definition of "winnable" is self-fulfilling
For many voters in rural districts, their first encounter with the Democratic candidate is seeing their name in the voting booth on Election day. That is because these operations run on a shoestring
To be taken seriously by the Democratic Party, a candidate has to raise $100K. This completely arbitrary number is just a cutoff on some operative's spreadsheet at DNC headquarters
Imagine what it means to raise $100K without help if you have a day job and are running a campaign in a poor district. One very good fundraising event might net you $1000. Your life is consumed by phone calls and fundraisers
That leaves no time to meet voters, travel your district, and actually campaign. Your reward if you hit the $100K figure? The DCCC might "take a look" at your campaign. But they judge districts as competitive based only on past performance.
If a Democratic campaign has never once been adequately funded, of course you're going to see a string of lopsided victories by the Republicans, who pour money into their Congressional races. In a year like this, ANY DISTRICT IS POTENTIALLY WINNABLE. Weird things are happening
The Democratic party is going to burn through millions on TV ads, consultants, social media, and everything else next autumn. But they refuse to raise the *thousands* it would take to secure those victories, if it were spent intelligently right now
Each of the districts I visited is full of amped-up volunteers, has a Republican incumbent who has forgotten how to campaign, and is full of voters who are beyond furious about losing health care. They are starved for funding to start fighting
CA-01, where Jessica Holcombe is running, is home to the Oroville Dam. This dam nearly burst a few weeks ago, a calamity that would have killed thousands.. When Jessica held a town hall in Oroville, the only thing people wanted to talk about was health care.
That's how much this matters to people. These voters deserve a real choice—they deserve to hear from the progressive candidates in their district who are motivated and running for office while holding down full-time work. No Democratic campaign should lack for funding this year.
That's why I'm imploring everyone to donate whatever you can, right now, to Jess King in PA-16 (secure.actblue.com/donate/jesskin…) , Marge Doyle in CA-08 (secure.actblue.com/donate/ts-for-…), Jessica Holcombe in CA-01 (crowdpac.com/campaigns/2458…), or another progressive candidate in a rural district.
