Mayors in major American cities all over the country in red states and blue states are a huge source of strength for democrats.
So why don’t more of them seek higher office?
I feel like in senate races like in North Carolina and Texas we could have done better with a mayor from one of those states’ major cities as the candidate instead of a state senator nobody has ever heard of. Most people that don’t pay attention to politics much don’t even know who their own state Senator is! But they do know their mayor.
Mayors have a built in base of supporters that have already voted for them before and higher name recognition than almost anybody else that could run.
Imho we should be utilizing this strength more than we do and recruit more mayors to seek higher office as governors and/or senators.
Did all the postcard and letter writing have an effect? How about all the phone banking from everywhere? It certainly wasn't money as some of the well funded campaigns lost
I am really interested in knowing how effective phone banking is. Can you share analysis of the VSA work? The Philly example you cite, Dan, makes a strong argument for educational postcarding, supported by in-person, on-the-ground work.
I am involved with a local activist organization with about 100 active members. Our members really get involved when asked. E.g. we wrote over 7000 postcards in support of blue candidates this election. We have impacted local legislative elections and helped Ds win in races where Rs have won for years with a combination of postcards, phone banking and shoe leather. I would be interested to know if anyone has done good research on what really works. I am concerned about member burnout if we can't really see impact.
This is great, thanks Dan. It is striking how complicated and inconsistent the mail-in voting process is from state to state. When you think about people who've voted in person one way suddenly faced with multiple envelopes, signatures, and complex rules it is comforting to know that a postcard with dead simple instructions can help. But what can we do to fix the root cause? To standardise, simplify and secure "remote voting" across the nation so that we don't wind up here again? Seems both the RNC and DNC would want that, wouldn't/shouldn't they?
Very good piece and I look forward to the continued series! One of my biggest sources of hand wringing since the election is how we sustainably win everywhere, and your discussion about building sustained grassroots movements in Atlanta and parts of Philly are very interesting. Hopefully this can be turned into a model for Democratic organizing in cities in other red-turning-purple states. This is clearly our bedrock to winning statewide consistently, and I'm looking forward to reading about how we solidify our new suburban coalition, and make gains into the areas that seem to be slipping from our grasp that are keeping us from making gains in state government chambers. Worried, not panicked!
Much as I wanted to believe the rosy projections (and polls) of flipping the Senate, in many states it seemed to rest on some dubious assumptions that voters would split their tickets. Yet increased polarization would seemingly argue otherwise. As far as I can tell, it only happened in ME, with GA TBD.
Do the data tell us a different story? Or maybe there's urban/suburban/rural variation? what should this mean for future strategy?
I'm very interested in hearing what Dan says but my personal fear is that Biden won because of anti-Trump Republicans who voted the party line the rest of the way.
My other fear is that Democrats have been branded in the negative from the policies espoused by some. Let me say for the record I am not, never was, never will be a Socialist. I disavow Tanta Rosie and my grandfather (but still love them) :)
We seem to be very good at creating memes that Republicans hit us over the head with, Green new Deal, Medicare For All, BLM (which I am an ardent supporter of). Most Biden voters are sophisticated and not scared off by these memes. It is the unsophisticated voters in rural area that we need.
PS what memes do we use on them other than preexisting conditions.
Also curious how congressional and state legislative incumbents elected for the first time in '18 who won in '20 won their races. Obviously, quite a few were too close for comfort, but their might be something to learn from candidates who won (Katie Porter and Josh Harder, to name two in California) versus those who, unfortunately, lost (Gil Cisneros and Harley Rouda).
Mayors in major American cities all over the country in red states and blue states are a huge source of strength for democrats.
So why don’t more of them seek higher office?
I feel like in senate races like in North Carolina and Texas we could have done better with a mayor from one of those states’ major cities as the candidate instead of a state senator nobody has ever heard of. Most people that don’t pay attention to politics much don’t even know who their own state Senator is! But they do know their mayor.
Mayors have a built in base of supporters that have already voted for them before and higher name recognition than almost anybody else that could run.
Imho we should be utilizing this strength more than we do and recruit more mayors to seek higher office as governors and/or senators.
We love Mayor Pete.
Did all the postcard and letter writing have an effect? How about all the phone banking from everywhere? It certainly wasn't money as some of the well funded campaigns lost
I am really interested in knowing how effective phone banking is. Can you share analysis of the VSA work? The Philly example you cite, Dan, makes a strong argument for educational postcarding, supported by in-person, on-the-ground work.
I am involved with a local activist organization with about 100 active members. Our members really get involved when asked. E.g. we wrote over 7000 postcards in support of blue candidates this election. We have impacted local legislative elections and helped Ds win in races where Rs have won for years with a combination of postcards, phone banking and shoe leather. I would be interested to know if anyone has done good research on what really works. I am concerned about member burnout if we can't really see impact.
I lived in SD when Daschle lost. Totally broke my heart. That was a tough one!
This is great, thanks Dan. It is striking how complicated and inconsistent the mail-in voting process is from state to state. When you think about people who've voted in person one way suddenly faced with multiple envelopes, signatures, and complex rules it is comforting to know that a postcard with dead simple instructions can help. But what can we do to fix the root cause? To standardise, simplify and secure "remote voting" across the nation so that we don't wind up here again? Seems both the RNC and DNC would want that, wouldn't/shouldn't they?
Very good piece and I look forward to the continued series! One of my biggest sources of hand wringing since the election is how we sustainably win everywhere, and your discussion about building sustained grassroots movements in Atlanta and parts of Philly are very interesting. Hopefully this can be turned into a model for Democratic organizing in cities in other red-turning-purple states. This is clearly our bedrock to winning statewide consistently, and I'm looking forward to reading about how we solidify our new suburban coalition, and make gains into the areas that seem to be slipping from our grasp that are keeping us from making gains in state government chambers. Worried, not panicked!
Dan, is it true that many GA voters have been disenfranchised since the election and would need to re-register to vote in the run offs in Jan?
Question: Ticket Splitting: Alive or Dead?
Much as I wanted to believe the rosy projections (and polls) of flipping the Senate, in many states it seemed to rest on some dubious assumptions that voters would split their tickets. Yet increased polarization would seemingly argue otherwise. As far as I can tell, it only happened in ME, with GA TBD.
Do the data tell us a different story? Or maybe there's urban/suburban/rural variation? what should this mean for future strategy?
I'm very interested in hearing what Dan says but my personal fear is that Biden won because of anti-Trump Republicans who voted the party line the rest of the way.
My other fear is that Democrats have been branded in the negative from the policies espoused by some. Let me say for the record I am not, never was, never will be a Socialist. I disavow Tanta Rosie and my grandfather (but still love them) :)
I agree with your assessment. I don’t think the riots helped either.
We seem to be very good at creating memes that Republicans hit us over the head with, Green new Deal, Medicare For All, BLM (which I am an ardent supporter of). Most Biden voters are sophisticated and not scared off by these memes. It is the unsophisticated voters in rural area that we need.
PS what memes do we use on them other than preexisting conditions.
Dan - to what do you attribute the ticket splitting where Biden won the district but down-ballot candidates lost? The same for state wide elections?
Also curious how congressional and state legislative incumbents elected for the first time in '18 who won in '20 won their races. Obviously, quite a few were too close for comfort, but their might be something to learn from candidates who won (Katie Porter and Josh Harder, to name two in California) versus those who, unfortunately, lost (Gil Cisneros and Harley Rouda).
Hi Dan, thanks for your thoughts—illuminating as always. At some point would love to hear what you think about David Shor's analysis of the election results. Do Dem activists need to be more honest with themselves about which progressive policies are broadly popular and which aren't? (Not that you need a link, but if others are interested: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/12/2020-election-analysis-democrats-future-david-shor-interview-436334)