Why Must We Win?
Imagine a “new normal” where you no longer learn on a regular basis that your government and elected officials:
If you want this “new normal” world, then progressives must win, now and always.
From 2008 through 2015, Democrats lost 35.7% of state governorships that they previously held, 20.3% of state legislature seats, 19.3% of U.S. House seats, and 10.2% of U.S. Senate seats—followed by the 2016 presidential election:
No! Following the loss of Democratic seats in 2016, voters are energized to revert to progressive control at state and federal levels. To gauge the energy, look at Indivisible groups and the Women’s March in January 17, 2017.
How Do We Win?
At DemsWin, we understand how to engage and mobilize voters. We run campaigns to win elections — not to come in as a “respectable” second.
Many political scientists believe a lack of voter engagement and Republicans’ success with gerrymandering are the main drivers behind recent Democrat electoral losses.
In this article, Howard Dean (former Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee) argued that Democrats who rallied around President Obama neglected to focus their energies on state and local elections. Dean views this as “a fundamental misunderstanding of how human beings work.”
As many of us recognize that Democrats must win, and that we must mobilize/energize voters at local, state, and federal levels, too many political operatives, consultants and strategists continue to use ineffective “spray and pray” tactics. We must switch to modern, data-driven tactics for identifying, mobilizing, and energizing targeted groups of voters who will affect outcomes.
Consider these facts:
- Pew Research indicates that race relations worsened after the 2016 election, and that race will be a key factor in pending elections.
- Voter demographics are changing as young and nonwhite individuals become increasingly politically active.
- College-educated women tend to support non-conservative issues.
To win,
- We have to understand which voters are already energized, and how to energize and mobilize additional voters.
- We have to understand how voters experience, see, hear and behave.
- We have to use modern, data-driven campaign methods.
To further understand voters, read this Pew Research study on political typology.
Democrats and Progressives must harness this energy and win, in 2018 and beyond.