Senator-Elect Fetterman may be on to something here...

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/i-think-senator-elect-fetterman-is-on.html

Democratic voter turnout, even in statewide elections, can be suppressed by the fact that no one is running on their side of the ballot in state legislative races, or even in some of the congressional elections. In almost a decade, only two candidates for statewide office ever held an event in the county to rally support among Democratic voters. Josh Shapiro did in 2016, running for Attorney General, and again this time around while running for Governor. And John Fetterman did this year, running for the Senate.

Fetterman improved on Biden's 2020 margins in 56 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania. He did not flip a single Trump county, but picking up from 3-5% more of the Democratic vote equals a lot of votes, perhaps the actual margin of his win.

It might be a good strategy for Democrats to go pay visits to supporters in Rural counties and small towns. They're there, and it obviously works to improve vote totals.

[quaint]

1. I support the fifty-state strategy as well.

wikipedia

Howard Dean pursued an explicit "fifty-state strategy" as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, putting resources into building a Democratic Party presence even where Democrats had been thought unlikely to win federal positions, in hopes that getting Democrats elected to local and state positions, and increasing awareness of Democrats in previously conceded areas, would result in growing successes in future elections. Democrats who supported the strategy have said that abandoning "red states" as lost causes only allowed the Republican Party to grow even stronger in areas where it was unchallenged, resulting in lopsided losses for Democrats in even more races.

We shouldn't let Republicans run unopposed anywhere.

[Peregrine Took]

2. Howard Dean was the best party head ever. n/t

[Gore1FL]

4. That he was forced out and replaced for "party unity" makes me cry. nt

[childfreebychoice]

6. I nominate Stacy to be head of getting out the vote.

[ananda]

18. Seconded!

!!!

[soldierant]

27. Me too.

[yankee87]

16. Agreed

50 state strategy

[MacKasey]

35. Totally agree!

I still am a Deaniacs!!

[calimary]

45. So am I!

LOVED Howard Dean! Still do!

He led the Fifty-State Strategy. That was his thing.

[calcin]

43. Agree

Agree that Howard Dean was the best DNC Head. He turned it around so fast with his 50 state strategy. (Usually lurk but commenting tonight 😬

[Alexander Of Assyria]

13. Yes. In a nutshell get out a slice of the largest block of voters...the non voters.

Fettermans margin of victory was all that it appears.

[matelize]

15. Correct strategy

I agree completely with with the strategy Howard Dean tried to implement, and never understood why the powers that be never continued that approach.

[Glaisne]

40. We shouldn't let Republicans run unopposed anywhere.

Bingo!
Democrats conceding Red States, Red Counties, Red Districts as lost causes is a losing strategy and is the height of contempt. Howard Dean was right.
We shouldn't let Republicans run unopposed anywhere.

[cyclonefence]

3. Tip O'Neill was at a coctail party and saw a lady from his old neighborhood

She said "You know, Tip, I never did vote for you." He asked her why, and she said "You never came and asked me to."

A long time ago, when I was a committeeperson here in PA, we found that the candidates who were most successful were the ones who personally went door-to-door and actually asked people to vote for them. This is not practical in larger districts, so holding relatively small meet-and-greets, with lots of mingling and flesh-pressing, would imo be a very good strategy.

[Lonestarblue]

10. Republicans have been trying to woo more of the Hispanic vote in Texas. One thing they've done

is create community centers with special activities for kids, movie nights, etc.—all the while using the gatherings to sell local voters on Republican propaganda and how good Republicans are for the community. I’m sure they had help from the national party to do this. National Democrats mostly ignore Texas, and many Congressional districts do not have an opposing candidate so the Republicans just walk to victory. We really do need Democrats to be visible as working for the community. The 50-state strategy was a good one that needs to be resurrected.

[Farmer-Rick]

36. That can backfire

A local candidate for a county seat came by to our farm once. He was obnoxious as they get. Going on about how he would know who voted for him and who didn't, so we better vote for him.

Sure A**hole, needless to say we didn't vote for his fat butt.

Going door to door if you're an a**hole, may just make things worse for you.

[LiberalLovinLug]

5. Jeez, its not rocket science.

How do Democratic candidates, or more likely the State or National strategists, still need to be told this.

[NBachers]

7. Gee, there's a novel concept.

[KPN]

8. Somehow this seems like a no brainer to me.

I’m guessing it’s easier to have the goal of doing than actually doing it. Or is it that some candidates focus strictly on the larger population centers?

[Captain Zero]

14. JFK campaign used his sisters for tea parties.

Organized locally. Community Ladies invited by the party host. Then one or more of his sisters showed up asked for votes and asked attendees to go ask their friends for votes. It's how he won primaries.

There's lots of ways that micro campaigning can be done, but somebody has to actually do it.

[twodogsbarking]

11. Both Shapiro and Fetterman genuinely are concerned about people.

It shows. Behind the campaign personalities they are remarkable humans.
Looking forward to their terms in office and more in the future.

[Richard D]

12. Something to really consider here . . .

. . . is that likely the majority of those who vote for republics may have Fox "news" and right-wing talk radio as their only real source of information about democratic candidates. And, those sources can be heavily edited and even deep-faked.

[Joe Cool]

17. Butler County resident here

The article is spot on. It's depressing at times being a Democrat in Butler County. Fetterman and Shapiro are (hopefully) the type of Democratic candidates the party has nationwide going forward.

[Orange Buffoon]

19. Pressing the flesh

In 1980 I worked a summer internship on a small-town weekly in Minneapolis, Kansas. Keith Sebelius was retiring from his seat in the Big First district, covering all of western and central Kansas. Two Republican challengers showed up in town the same day to campaign. Pat Roberts showed up at a breakfast at the George Washington Carver Inn (GWC lived in Minneapolis for a time as a boy) at 6:30 and spoke for most of an hour to a group of around 10 people. His opponent, Steve something-or-other, merely came into the newspaper office to be interviewed, which I did across the counter. We ran both stories on the front page that week, at more or less equal length, but I chose to give Roberts the top spot above the fold, because he had put forth more effort, instead of just sauntering in to the newspaper office looking for publicity. Not that I was ever a fan of Pat Roberts, but he was the better candidate in terms of meeting the electorate. I was impressed that he had shown up at the crack of dawn to speak to a handful of citizens over breakfast. That's how you win elections. --Incidentally, I looked it up, and the Big First district only ever had one Democrat representing it, way back in the mid '50s. He served one term and was defeated for reelection.

[jaxexpat]

20. Can't be said too loudly or as often as necessary.

We're giving the elections away to the GOP when we ignore the "heartland". Imagine the impact had Ryan won Ohio! I mean, after all, who the fuck is J D Vance but a common MAGA moron who will betray his constituency?

[bpj62]

21. Mark Warner in Virginia

Back when Mark Warner was running for Governor in Virginia he made it a point to go to as many towns as possible because outside of Northern Virginia he was not well known. He campaign sponsored a car during the Martinsville 500, he went to a ton of Memorial Day and July 4th parades and parties. It paid off because he was elected very easily and when he ran for Senate he had already laid that ground work.

Some people will never vote for you but like the poster said it shows the voters that you care and that you want thier vote. I think too many candidates are scared of a possible gotcha moment so they stick to strictly controlled and scheduled events.

[Dravot]

22. 50-state strategy?

Think, rather, in terms of a 3,000-county strategy.

I'm sure even the reddest county in the reddest state has a Democratic Executive Committee already. Build from that.

[catrose]

24. Beto O'Rourke has visited all 254 Texas counties, both when running for Sen & Gov

During the Big Texas Freeze, he put supplies in his car and drove across the state, delivering them. I can't imagine not voting for him; he obviously cares so much. And yet 10% more folks voted for Abbott for governor--after he visited all the counties. Texas is weird.

[summer_in_TX]

42. When blue voters are much less than 20 percent of the population of a

county, the blue folks often feel unable to speak out, especially with the level of hostility those on the right have had stirred up in them by RW talk radio, Fox News, etc.

They only feel safe enough to talk about their beliefs in like-minded groups. There's a bit of surreptitiousness in feeling out someone they don't know to see how freely they can talk.

Social control is exerted by ostracizing the out-group. If you can hide, you won't experience that.

I doubt that very many very red rural counties have Democratic Executive Committees unless the percentage of blue voters is more like thirty percent or more.

[gopiscrap]

53. welcome to DU

[multigraincracker]

23. Working Class Hero...

Democrats have forgotten about a whole group of voters.

[appalachiablue]

44. +1

[rubbersole]

25. AOC did this in the Bronx.

She beat the #4 Dem in the house with the door knocking strategy.

[brooklynite]

26. Whenever I've said that, the response is that its not worth it....

...that everyone in the red counties is a Trumpist Bible-thumper.

We need to EXPAND out pool of voters, not contract it.

[Elessar Zappa]

29. Exactly.

If we can turn a county that votes 85% for *insert Republican politician* to a margin of 65%, it would be worth it.

[jonstl08]

28. wish the Dem Senate candidate did that

The Missouri Dem US senate candidate this cycle did not take this approach. She mostly stayed in the urban areas of the state and did not venture to the rural areas. She lost pretty badly.

[mountain grammy]

30. This is a fact..

in my red county for the first time in my 30+ years up here, my county gave the majority of votes to the top of the ticket, Polis, 50.93% and Bennet and Neguse with the most county votes at 49% each. They all campaigned here even in the redneck towns.
Our state is doing pretty well, our county is doing better than ever so duhhhhh!

all other Democrats lost in the county, but the issue to approve a marijuana dispensary in my little town won by ONE vote... 120-119.. don't let anyone tell you your vote doesn't count.

[Ford_Prefect]

31. SHHHHHHHH!!! Don't tell the MSM or Megacorporate America. They can't spin it so they don't like it.

It won't sell more radial tires, or deodorant, or overpriced personalized snack foods. They can't monetize it or weaponize it.

Personally I'd like to give the Corpo-media a piece of my mind. The only problem is it would go right over their pointy little heads. Failing that I'd want to grab them by the "Hearts and Minds" and introduce them to the idea that a sincere prayer for forgiveness might be in order.

[mwooldri]

32. Run in every seat.

NC Dems, I'm speaking to you!

[moose65]

41. Amen to that!

The NC Dems infuriate me sometimes. They left SO many state senate and house seats uncontested, including my state senate seat in the mountains. That’s no way to win.

Also, although they seem to think that urban counties can win us statewide elections, the turnout in most of our urban counties was horrible this year. Cumberland County (Fayetteville) had less than 40% turnout, and even the biggest counties of Wake and Mecklenburg were in the 50s.

The NC Dems need to focus on the boring work of registering voters and getting them to the polls. Cheri Beasley could have won with a little better urban turnout, plus reaching out to the many Black and Native voters who live in rural areas. EVERY vote counts in statewide elections.

[mnhtnbb]

47. Durham turnout was pathetic

Barely over 50% registered voters. If all the registered Dems in Orange and Durham counties had turned out to vote, Beasley could have picked up close to 100,000 votes. Add in the low turnout from Mecklenburg and Wake, and she could have beaten Budd. It was entirely doable.

The NC Democratic party needs new leadership, IMO. A real shot in the arm of Howard Dean's type of enthusiasm and strategy. But, hey, what do I know? I'm just an old white damn Yankee.

[Uncle Joe]

33. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread lees

[LakeArenal]

34. "In The olden days"...

Both parties would come to the door and ask if they could plant a yard sign. Free….
Then, of course, people would donate.

[NullTuples]

37. Wait, wait, wait: So television ads and press releases are not as effect as talking to people?

Someone should write this down.

(Sarcasm. The older I get, the more I feel like so many lessons from the past have been discarded)

[barbtries]

38. it saddens me greatly

that this did not work for Beto. he put in the miles and still he lost.

[Kid Berwyn]

39. Excellent analysis.

People can’t be expected to vote for a ghost.

[calimary]

46. Yes indeed!

If you want to represent them, you’ve gotta get out there and meet ‘em!

[oldsoftie]

48. Here in GA were I live I was a registered republican for years because of stuff like this

If I wanted ANY say in the primaries I had to be republican because there just weren't any Dem candidates. Years prior it was the total opposite!

[2naSalit]

49. Really a no-brainer...

But the practice of meeting the constituents has become passe for too many politicians.

[twodogsbarking]

50. I start to laugh now every time Oz's face is on TV. Thanks John.

[lambchopp59]

51. Echo: good strategy for Democrats to go pay visits to supporters in Rural counties and small towns.

That is not only the demographic Democrats are weak with: A great deal of televised programming of any sort tends towards urban-centric and occasionally portraying the hayseed idiot in the country. It's profiling at some of it's worst.

I own retirement property in one of the most remote sections of the western U.S.. Yes there are hayseed idiotic drive biggum truck goofball Trump sticker idiots. They're boisterous and hard to ignore. I know of one in my area. One who are among those:
Who've worn out their welcome mat with the significantly larger population of either "moderate" Republicans and Dems are sick to death of them.
I'll reiterate: I know of one. One. Trump supporter in miles around. Both my neighbors, Democrats, one retired RN. The lady I buy my eggs from down the road, Democrat with an education Masters degree, retired. One other who is very limited education but also staunch Democrat. But there's a problem.
Radio is often so outnumbered RW, christofascist garbage that everyone has the only NPR station on in the barn, but they go to classical music all damn day after 9 a.m., great to calm the chickens but puts everyone else to sleep.
The area of northeastern Arizona I'm heading to has nothing but RW crazy all around the dial.
It's all so many potential voters get exposed to it's ridiculous.
Voters who can be swung if only exposed to some reality that Democrats everywhere need to seriously make up lost ground.

[True Blue American]

52. Not one prominent Democrat

Bothered to show up in Ohio for Tim Ryan, not one! The party also did not put money in to help him.

Ohio put Obama over the top in his first election. Republicans poured millions into Ohio for Vance.

We will not soon forget this. Maybe Vance will be like DeWine who lost his Senate seat to Sherrod. Run for AG, then Governor. But we lost our fighter in Congress!