Winning the Midterms

 By Rick Holmes

I’ve grown tired of every election being the most important vote of our lifetimes, but here we are, at junction as dire as any I can recall.

A radical faction has taken over the Republican Party and it has become a threat to the public welfare, to our hard-fought freedoms and to the constitutional order itself. I’ve been traumatized by Jan. 6, shocked by Republican corruption and stunned by the blood shed by extremists and their enablers. I see us losing ground as a nation, especially in states controlled by Republicans, while the worst president in American history prepares his comeback.

I fear for my country like I never have before, and I’m eager to answer its call. But what can I do? I vote, but I live in a safely blue state. I talk to my friends about the political situation, but they already lean blue. There are no Trumpists in my immediate orbit, and no undecided acquaintances in my neighborhood.

The unfortunate reality is that the fate of the republic – or at least the outcome of the November elections – doesn’t depend on the votes of me and my blue state friends. It depends on the votes of people in purple states, people who usually don’t vote in midterms, people who don’t follow politics, people who think the next election doesn’t have anything to do with them. I don’t know those people, and they have no reason to listen to some liberal stranger up in New England.

That’s why I’m doing what I can to empower grassroots activists who know those would-be voters, who live in their communities and share their experiences. I’m supporting organizations that are registering new voters and keeping them engaged, people who are on the ground in contested precincts and ready to counter voter suppression tactics. I’m supporting organizations that are building a Blue Wave not just for November but for all the local, state and national elections that follow.

Organizations like the Carolina Federation and County To County, two groups that are turning purple North Carolina more blue. They are bridging the urban/rural divide, sharing the energy and resources of urban and suburban communities, where Democrats do well, with rural counties where Democrats have struggled. They are committed to “deep canvassing”: local people engaging with their neighbors face-to-face, year-round, listening as well as talking, mobilizing voters not just in races for Congress or the presidency, but for school boards, county commissions and the state legislature. There’s an open Senate seat up for grabs in North Carolina this year, and a Democratic governor – the only thing keeping the state from being another laboratory for Republican extremism – up for re-election. These people are on the front lines of campaigns that could affect us all.

I’m supporting Turn PA Blue and the New Pennsylvania Project, which are using similar grassroots mobilization tools in the Keystone State. They are reaching beyond Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, empowering progressive voters in rural counties where GOP support is strongest. They are signing up new voters where they live, recruiting at flea markets and hair salons, connecting with people in underrepresented communities. Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by just 80,000 votes, notes NPP founder Kadida Kenner, but there are 1.7 million Pennsylvanians who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered. Getting non-voters engaged is critical: An open Senate seat is on the line in Pennsylvania this year, and the Republican nominee for governor is an insurrectionist who all but promises to rig the vote in 2024.

I found these organizations through MetroWest Blue & Beyond (https://www.mwblueandbeyond.com), founded by some Massachusetts friends who have vowed to make a difference in three battleground states. They have sought out grassroots organizations that use the “Stacey Abrams model.” Over 10 years, Abrams and her New Georgia Project forged the multi-racial progressive coalition that delivered Georgia for Democrats in 2020. MWBB is raising money to organizers intent on doing the same thing in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Their third target state is Arizona, where Republican anti-democratic forces run strong and a Democrat-held Senate seat hangs in the balance. We will be holding a zoom meeting June 29 to hear how Arizona Democrats are focusing their efforts. To join the meeting or to donate, visit the MetroWest Blue & Beyond website.

There are other battleground states and other ways to help. There are opportunities to volunteer, mostly phone banking and texting voters, and for those who want to campaign in person, Wisconsin and New Hampshire are lovely in October. And every campaign needs money. You can give to state Democratic parties, the national House and Senate campaigns, individual candidates and PACs too numerous to name. If you can afford to, give to all of them.

I can’t afford to give much, and I’d rather not see my small contributions spent on pollsters, high-priced consultants and 30-second commercials. I choose to invest in engaging new voters, especially in rural and conservative-leaning counties long neglected by Washington Democrats, especially immigrants, minority and young voters.

As the Jan. 6 Committee’s hearings are making ever more clear, we live in a moment when American democracy itself is in peril. We strengthen democracy by engaging more citizens in the political process, by showing that sustained efforts can bring real change. That’s what fueled the Blue Wave in 2018, the highest turnout for a midterm election in a century. That’s what brought more voters than ever to the polls in 2020.

 Let’s do it again in November. Let’s save America.