INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Category: Candidates

  • Are You The One?

    Contributed by Amara Willey.

    What do we make of 5 million Democratic candidates running for president? How does one stand out?

    It’s not a new thing that many people put themselves forward to be the Democratic candidate for President. In the 2016 election, four candidates dropped out before the primaries began, leaving eight candidates to run for the Democratic nomination. In 2008, two candidates withdrew before the primaries, leaving eight candidates still running, including President Barack Obama.  

    With 21 confirmed Democratic candidates for the 2020 race, we can expect some will drop out before the primary, but there are still more than we may know what to do with. How do we start to narrow the field?

    Understandably people are concerned that we need one strong candidate that can defeat the Republican incumbent in 2020. So far, none of the candidates has yet pulled into a resounding lead, but it’s still early.

    Voters care about the issues in 2020, but they also care about electability. At the moment most candidates are running on similar platforms — universal healthcare, climate change regulations, reducing inequality, and improving conditions for the middle class.

    For the last four presidential elections, the economy has been the biggest issue for voters, according to Pew Research Center, In 2016, 84% of voters said the economy was a “very important” factor in deciding how to cast their presidential vote. In 2012 and 2008, it was 87%, while it was the top issue of concern for 78% of voters in 2004. At the moment, the economy is doing pretty well under the current administration.

    The good news is that 96% of 1,007 registered voters polled said it is very or somewhat important that a presidential candidate take “aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change,” according to a survey conducted by research firm SSRS for CNN and released this month. This outstripped Medicare for All, stricter gun laws, and free public college tuition as priority concerns. As we know, the current administration has climate change so far off its radar that it was removed from the White House website just after the inauguration.

    However, issues are not the deciding factor in a presidential election. Concerns about electability, especially with so many Democratic hopefuls, are paramount for many voters. Paul Blumenthal cautions in the Huffington Post, “As Democrats eye their 2020 White House candidates, it’s best to recall that the “electability” path is littered with the bodies of losers.” He recalls other elections, particularly the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, where we had two likeable candidates, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, neither of whom ultimately became president. And although Hillary Clinton made electability part of her platform in 2016, ultimately she wasn’t, and the dark horse, the unelectable Donald Trump, was.

    In February, opinion writer Jennifer Rubin warned in The Washington Post that “we should be wary about expecting voters to distinguish between candidates they like and ones that are “electable.” Very often, voters become convinced that the persons they like will be liked by others.”

    An encouraging poll conducted in February by Monmouth University indicates that 57% of voters polled say it’s time for a new president. The poll further found that a majority of 56% of Democrats and left-leaning independents prefer someone who would be a strong candidate against Trump even if they disagree with that candidate on most issues.  Just 33% say they would prefer a nominee who they are aligned with on the issues even if that person would have a hard time beating Trump. Democratic women (61%) are more likely than men (45%) to say they would put their policy positions aside in order to get a nominee who could beat Trump, the Monmouth University Polling Institute reported.

    Sources:

    https://thinkprogress.org/climate-change-democrat-voters-2020-election-5cdf0424044e/

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/2020-democrats-electability_n_5ccb4a10e4b0d123955076ad

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/05/heres-thing-about-electability/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ccaa386fb56c

    https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_US_020419/

  • What Makes Jane or Dick Run — For Office?

    Contributed by Amara Willey & Deb Kline.

    Why would anyone put themselves out there to run for office in today’s political climate? Fortunately, many do as in this most recent election we saw a significant increase in the number of candidates. Still, there are many areas – local politics especially – where there are unopposed seats. Is this your year? Hear from some who have taken the leap.

    Tom Malinowksi, Representative from NJ CD7, U.S. House of Representatives

    What inspired you to run?

    After the election in 2016, I was fired from my job at the State Department by President Trump, which was not the normal way the government transitions to a new administration. I knew first and foremost that in my next job I wanted to be in a position where I could fight back against the injustices I saw happening in our government.  Helping take back the House of Representatives was the greatest impact I could have made at the time, and my district happened to be one of the most flippable in the country. After thinking about everything we could achieve with a House under democratic control- the Gateway Tunnel, universal background checks, getting the SALT deduction back, affordable healthcare- it was an easy decision after that.

    What are three key things you learned?

    I learned a lot over the last two years, but the most important thing was the power of grassroots organizing, and that includes groups like Indivisible. On the campaign we built up an amazing network of volunteers across the district, and I could not have won without them. We had a lot of big rallies with hundreds of people attending, and it was fantastic to see that enthusiasm, but it was really those first few events that taught me the power of democracy. I was speaking with small groups in supporter’s living rooms trying to win over one vote at a time. I had never run for office before, and those experiences taught me how to be a candidate, and really listen to the issues that my constituents care about.

    What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking about running?

    I say do it! This past election season we saw an unprecedented number of women and minorities running for office which is amazing. We need voices from every background representing us not just in Congress, but every level of government. It is not a decision to make lightly, but it’s always worthwhile to try and better the community you live in.

    Would you do it again?

    Absolutely. Running for Congress was an amazing experience and representing New Jersey’s 7 district is one of the greatest honors of my life. Growing up an immigrant kid from Poland I was so proud to call New Jersey home, and living here gave my mother and I opportunities we never would have gotten in Poland. Every day I get to give back to my state and fight to make this country better, and there isn’t much more I could ask for out of a job.

    Helen Tai – Former Representative, Pennsylvania State General Assembly

    When she ran for Solebury Supervisor, Helen Tai felt that she owed it to the community. As the board of Supervisors changed during the six years she was involved with it, from being entirely Republican to entirely Democratic, Helen found satisfaction from being able to get things done in the town she loves. She was surprised at how much money it took to run for the Pennsylvania state legislature ($500K for the special election; $600K for the regular election), and once she won the special election, at how difficult it was to learn how to govern while engaging in all the things she needed to do to be reelected, like fundraising and knocking on doors. Her races garnered a lot of support, not just locally but nationally as well. She recalls what it felt like to have members of Indivisible Baltimore drive up to canvass for her, and how getting donations from far-flung locations like California and Hawaii helped energize her campaign. What she didn’t realize was how factors that weren’t straightforward can affect an election, citing how the Congressional race brought out more Republican voters than was expected. She says she wouldn’t run for the state assembly again, preferring to work in the background for now on renewable energy and gun safety issues. She’s also active with the Bucks County Democrats in revamping some of the way the party functions and with training other would-be candidates.

    Rielly Karsh – Councilwoman, Town of Clinton, NJ

    Although she has always been involved in activism, Rielly decided to run when she began listening to herself encourage people to seek office with Action Together New Jersey. She believes that women, and moms especially, have the ability to make positive impact for all walks of life. She learned a lot from the process of her candidacy. She found out that she is good at running – the average candidate runs three times before s/he wins; Rielly won her first election. She also realized that she can help others run and began a business called Moms Running. She counsels, “Don’t let fear get in your way. Don’t think you don’t have enough experience – you learn by doing it.” She also encourages people to know why they are running. “You need a deeper reason than wanting to do good,” she says.

    Stacey Abrams, former Representative, Georgia General Assembly (2007-2017), Democratic candidate, Governor (2018)

    “My reason for running was simple. I love our country and its promise of opportunity for all. And I stand here tonight because I hold fast to my father’s credo. Together, we are coming for America, for a better America.”

    Feb 5, 2019 – Rebuttal to the State of the Union address

  • Make a Run for It! Resources and What You Need to Know (WYNTK)

    Contributed by Amara Willey. 

    Running for office in Hunterdon County – WYNTK: County Clerk Mary Melfi is your go-to resource. Here’s a link to a page with tons of helpful information. Mary has a very extensive packet of information at her office for political hopefuls. She is also willing to sit down with a potential candidate and go over what needs to happen to get on the ballot. She would like to see more women take on governing roles. “Women bring a totally different dynamic to politics. I think women are more analytical, solution-oriented, and think outside of box,” she says.

    • Important date! Monday, April 1st — deadline for all Partisan Candidates to File Petitions for the June Primary. State Candidates file with the State Division of Elections, County Candidates with the County Clerk’s office and Local Candidates with their Municipal Clerk. (N.J.S.A.19:23-14)

    Running for office in Pennsylvania – WYNTK: The Pennsylvania Department of State provides a wealth of information on this site: Running For Office

    • Important dates:
      • February 19 — First day to circulate and file nomination petitions
      • March 12 — Last day to circulate and file nomination petitions

    Candidate training resources

    General

    • Emerge is a candidate training program for Democratic women:
    • Moms Running is a coaching business run by Clinton Councilwoman Rielly Karsh and others to help mothers who want to get into politics
    • National Democratic Training Committee runs a self-study program https://www.traindemocrats.org/home/
    • Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics has their nonpartisan candidate training program, Ready to Run scheduled for March 15-16
    • She Should Run offers free online courses and an incubator for women considering a run for office. Have a younger woman interested? They even offer a parents or mentor’s program for activities to do with them. https://www.sheshouldrun.org/incubator

    Pennsylvania

    • Bucks County Dems will be having a forum at their next meeting on how to complete the petition to become a candidate. http://bucksdemocrats.org/. Working Families Party will be sponsoring training on March 30 for Democratic candidates that have submitted petitions (Deadline: March 12). http://workingfamilies.org/
    • Training is planned but not yet scheduled for using Votebuilder and specific topics like how to present a stump speech (Sign up for email lists with Solebury Democrats, Bucks County Democrats and check Helen Tai’s Facebook and website for these upcoming topics).

    New Jersey

    • In conjunction with the National Democratic training, New Jersey Democrats are planning candidate trainings on March 23rd and 24th. The 23rd is in Morris County and the 24th is in Bergen. The location has not been confirmed yet. https://njdems.org/our-events/

  • The Blue Wave Election Re-Cap and Update

    Contributed by Paige Barnett.

    The midterm elections were, to say the least, a real humdinger — a nail biter. They quite literally kept us on the edge of our seats.  “What ifs” come to mind: What if all the canvassing didn’t work? What if people didn’t get their postcards? What if people don’t care?  What if we don’t flip the House? What if? But…YOU DID IT! YOU REALLY DID IT! Door by door, post card by post card, voter by voter — you built the Blue Wave.  YOU showed up and YOU made it happen.

    So, how did it all go down on election night?  Initially, early returns on the night of November 6th seemed to indicate Democrats may have only gained a high tide, at best.  But then, one by one, as an increasing number of precincts reported, more blue ripples and streaks started turning up. Then – just like that, the Blue Wave surfaced with a might and glory that had not been seen in over 30 years.

    In New Jersey, only one Congressional District in the entire state remained red when all votes were counted. Tom Malinowski unseated Leonard Lance in District 7. Mikie Sherrill filled a seat in the 11th District that had been held by Republicans for more than 30 years. And, after an eight-day delay in a very tight race, Andy Kim unseated incumbent Tom MacArthur in District 3. And, Senator Bob Menendez clinched his bid for re-election, besting former pharma exec and Trump supporter, Bob Hugin.

    In Pennsylvania, the U.S. Senate seat was held by Bob Casey, and Tom Wolf won re-election for governor. Overall in the keystone state, Democrats held the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 18th districts and flipped the 5th, 6th, 7th and 17th districts for the House.¹

    We were saddened by some losses in hard-fought races, however.  Scott Wallace failed to unseat incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick for House of Representatives in Pennsylvania Congressional District 1.  While Helen Tai was successful in her bid in the May special election for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, she was unseated by Wendi Thomas for PA District 178 House of Representatives.  

    The governor’s races in Georgia and Florida were unfortunate losses for Democrats.  In a speech, Stacey Abrams refused to concede and called out the purging of the state’s voter rolls and suppression largely aimed at African-Americans.  Abrams has since filed a federal lawsuit.³ The Florida governor’s race found Andrew Gillum conceding 11 days after the election to the Republican candidate, Ron DeSantis.

    More recent election calls included Senate races in Florida and Arizona.  Republicans flipped the Florida seat, installing former governor Rick Scott, but Democrats flipped the Arizona seat by electing the first openly bi-sexual woman, Kyrsten Sinema.  The final Senate race was determined in a runoff MIssissippi on Nov. 27, with the Republican incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, holding her seat against her challenger Mike Espy, Democrat.  In addition, delayed election results saw more Blue waves roll in with six House seats gained in California and one each in New York, Maine and Utah.⁴ In total, the Blue Wave secured 40 seats for Democratic legislators.

    It’s important to note that even where Democrats lost, the margin of victory in traditionally Red states and districts was significantly narrower than previous elections. Further, the election smashed records for expanding representation from broader demographics, with most running on the Democratic ticket. For the first time, elected officials are looking more like the rest of America with:

    • The first Muslim women to run and be elected are Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashid Talib (D-MI).  
    • The first Native American women elected are Deb Haaland (D-NM) and Sharice Davids (D-KS).  Davids is also the first openly gay woman to be elected to congress.
    • Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is the first African American woman elected to Congress from her state.  
    • Jared Polis (D-CO) is the first openly gay and first Jewish man elected governor of his state.  
    • Chris Pappas (D-NH) is the first openly gay man elected to Congress for his state.  
    • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the youngest woman elected to U.S. Congress.  
    • Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is the first female Senator to represent her state.
    • Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) is the first Latino female governor of New Mexico.  
    • Janet Mills (D-ME) is the first female governor of Maine.   
    • 107 women ran and won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.⁶  

    To summarize, the hard work done by the Blue Wave saw the Democrats gain control of the House and flip seven governorships. Democrats saw a net gain in six state trifectas, meaning they control the state’s governorship, state senate and state house.  Currently, Democrats hold 14 state trifectas while Republicans still hold 23 and 13 states remain divided.⁵

    As a whole, the Blue Wave moved the entire country to the left. 317 out of 435 Congressional districts (73%) were more blue on Election Day than they were in 2016.  That is an amazing feat! Never underestimate the power of the people.

    That is progress.

  • Celebrate or Take Heart

    Contributed by Amara Willey. 

    It has been clear from the outset that we are playing a long game in the realm of healthy democracy. With the current president in the news every day with new and distasteful messages, it may be difficult to maintain optimism about our Republic and the fail-safes the founding fathers created to protect it. If nothing else, however, the last two years have motivated people to become more politically active and involved in the process, which is vital to the functioning of a healthy democracy in the first place.

    NJ-7 Congressional candidate, Tom Malinowski, reassures us that we aren’t in the realm of dictatorship despite current worries about where the country is going. Malinowski came to the United States from Communist Poland when he was 6 years old and had the “human rights beat” in the State Department under President Obama. From that perspective, he said that even as a young boy, this country felt completely different from Poland.

    At a recent coffee, Malinowski shared what he saw as the likely outcome if Democrats take the House and Republicans keep the Senate. As the majority party in the House, Democrats would have the opportunity to:

    • Set the policy agenda for the House,
    • Negotiate with Senate Republicans to get bills passed, and
    • Work to pass laws already approved by the Senate that the Speaker of the House has been keeping off the floor.

    If the president chooses not to sign or to veto legislation passed by Congress, that will send a clear message to voters, Malinowski says.

    Despite many complaints about the electoral college, our country’s emphasis on states’ rights can actually help us through the next decade. The good news for checks and balances is the number of gubernatorial races that are likely to go Blue. Having Democratic governors sets the stage for the Election in 2020, not just as an indicator of backlash and in terms of testing messages that sway voters, but also as a force to drive policy agendas at the state level. When a national election is close, state government can have an impact on the outcome.

    Taking a longer view, state officials will begin the process of redistricting once the census is completed in 2020. This will set the stage through 2030 for fair voting. If state-level Democrats do well in this election and in 2020, much of the GOP gerrymandering that happened ten years ago can be reversed.

    We’ve been working for two long years towards a saner government, and we hope the outcome of this election demonstrates that. We aren’t done, however. Whatever happens on Nov. 6, we can take a couple of days to celebrate or mourn, however we like, and then we need to get back out there doing what we’ve been doing for the last two years.