Hope is Not Our Hamartia
The truth behind the Democratic strategy in elections
By Ella Burch
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
THE WARNING ALARMS HAVE BEEN SOUNDING FOR WEEKS: don’t feel optimistic, don’t stop working, and don’t dare to feel comfortable. In short — avoid Hillary Clinton and the Democrats’ 2016 hamartia. Democratic enthusiasm is high, grassroots campaigns in deep red states have been gaining traction, and candidates in swing races have polled better than projected. We have been cautioned for months about misplaced optimism; a sense of confidence will lead to our laziness and our downfall.
I’ve seen, however, how this optimism and confidence has done the opposite; the prospect of the “blue wave” has spurred us in the last six months to embody the importance of these local elections. I work on a State House and a Senate campaign in Alabama, and when we have confidence, we can defy odds. Alabama’s midterms are a microcosm of the elections on a national scale. With close races across the state and promising polling numbers, Democrats are gaining traction in one of the reddest states in the country. Our hopefulness that victory is possible has led us to put in hours each week getting out the vote, gather in larger numbers as the election approaches, and reach out to voters every day regardless of opponents’ idleness.
It seems the real misplaced optimism and comfort, at least in Alabama, lies in the Republican camps. With a lack of volunteers, citizen donations, and grassroots effort, local Republican campaigns are relying on an inflated guarantee that Alabama will unfailingly vote red. As an opposition researcher, I signed up for volunteer email lists, followed social media accounts, and delved into records of opposing campaigns to see how they plan to win the election. In this I found that local Republican campaigns are doing nothing to reach out to their base for support and volunteers.
This seems to bode well for Democratic victory in the midterms, but this piece of data may have little bearing on the realities of the voting results. In a state with many districts in which most of the voting population is white and older, it may not make a difference whether these voters are contacted by any campaign, as they will turn out and vote according singularly to their party preference, which is likely to be Republican.
Though we may not ever sway the older white population, the young and middle-aged moderate voters are also minimally contacted by either side. If this population is willing to consider each candidate based on merit, it is imperative to reach out and emphasize our candidates’ commitment to governing and making change. That has inspired our strategy since before the primaries. By reaching out not only to solid Democrats and young people, but to moderate voters, we hope to gain name recognition and support across the aisle. Polling reveals that this strategy may be the difference in Alabama, as moderates and center-leaning Republicans don’t usually support Trump and hope that the midterms will act as a check on the President’s power. This won’t work unless we put in the time to connect to our voters, however.
Even in the last few days following up to the election, local Democrats have been meeting with their constituents and bolstering manpower as much as possible. Our hopefulness has driven us in our efforts and helped us to inspire and unite our base. We are aware of the reality: Alabama won’t be engulfed in the blue wave, but with our combined efforts, we may turn a blood-red state purple. I spoke to a hopeful Democratic candidate for House District 20, Linda Meigs. When I asked what gives her the confidence that she can win, her eyes lit up.
“What’s invigorated me is my experiences knocking on doors. I’m coming up on 6000 doors, and it will be 6 months tomorrow of canvassing seven days a week. It’s invigorated me because I can listen to the voters and engage in civil dialogue; we’ve found more common ground than expected, regardless of party. It’s been encouraging and I’m feeling more hopeful after every door.”
Meigs is just one of the inspiring Democratic candidates in Alabama whose magnetic personality and vibrantly enthusiastic supporters have expanded her name recognition and base. The differentiator in this election cycle, and specifically in these local campaigns, is the personal nature of our efforts. These candidates don’t just run things behind the scenes and make appearances. They are directly calling their constituents, meeting with people, and knocking on voters’ doors to establish a deeper connection than the D beside their name.
This election cycle, our confidence is different from that of 2016; we don’t feel guaranteed, we don’t deny reality, and we aren’t going to stop working until the polls close. Despite all obstacles, we are simply harnessing our hope to propel us forward in making the blue wave a reality.
