With Kansas CD-04 race wrapped up, it’s time to talk about the things we learned from this race, the narratives we’ve heard out of it, what we can do better and what we’ve done right — and how organizations like Daily Kos are a big part of it. With the election over, it is time to talk about the what happens next and to deal with a little bit of business.
First, we should congratulate and thank our candidate, James Thompson, for stepping into a race when many would say it wasn’t realistic to win.
Before I get to the business, I think it is time to talk about the impact of Daily Kos on races like Kansas CD-04, and I don’t just mean in finances raised. This weekend on Saturday Night Live, one of the digital inserts matched the way I feel sometimes — clicktivism — people who watch, link, share, but seldom do more. But over the last 14 years in relation to Kansas and several other states, Daily Kos has done far more, including helping to set the narrative of how to view a race by actively influencing others and spreading information.
Part of what makes all campaigns work is market perception. For decades, states like Kansas have had one slanted side of the story. Over the last 14 years, I’ve worked to try and change that, but it is the large number of other Kansans who have all written, spoke, wrote, and made their efforts that have come together over the last six years to change the discussion in and about Kansas. Outside advocacy groups in our state have found their voice and have used it to make real impact not just with money, but in changing the discussion.
For that, thank you.
The Elephant In the Room: State & National Party.
State
Before we go too much farther, I want to address the elephant in the room, that is the discussion of the state and the national party. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of thrashing of both organizations — some of which is deserved, some of which isn’t deserved at all. It’s time to really discuss what actually happened.
No story in this election became bigger than how both organizations didn’t do enough — and in many ways, I agree with that, but one portion of the story was, well, wrong. In order to discuss that, we have to lay out how state parties actually work.
In 2016, at the encouragement of a lot of people, myself included, the state party went “all in”, that is to say, we spent basically everything in hopes of racking up wins. And, frankly, it paid off. 13 wins in the state house, with a big portion of it thanks to field and extra services provided by the state directly, in districts like Wichita — the home of this race. Those contacts, registration, and efforts continued to pay off even into this special election.
For state parties, the subject of money isn’t easy, and that means both raising and spending what you recieve. This became a huge issue during the DNC Chair’s race and in discussions here on Daily Kos, about how underfunded state parties are, and how difficult it is for them to act quickly or at all.
Despite what you may read, though, the state party spent a considerable amount of funds raised into CD-04, and the end total spent by state party directly would be closer to thirty thousand rather than the media reported three thousand. While the campaign received a $3k direct cash injection to help with an early expense — polling data — the party support extended far beyond that and included travel stipends related to helping people travel to and stay in Wichita for canvass from other areas of the state, wages of staff who were tasked over to the fourth district, diversion of the digital budget for two months into a GOTV push, provided equipment to the campaign and more.
How do I know? Because I and several other donors responded every time we were asked to help financially or otherwise. Over the last two weeks, the narrative has been: “The state party didn’t help provide money for a piece of mail at the end..” Without going into it, there are a few things that aren’t said here: the item that was needing funding? Thanks to organizations like Daily Kos and donors like you, that item was already shipped. The campaign itself took care of it before the meeting. The campaign should be proud of the fact that, even before we got to the ask, people like you made it possible.
This race did highlight that as always, state parties continue to struggle to raise in the money and support. State parties will never have enough money on hand to support candidates in the way all candidates wish they would, but there is a tightrope you have to walk. Would I sacrifice going all in during 2016 to save money back on the possibility of a race in 2017? No.
National Party
In a DNC forum at Houston, Texas, I encouraged members to consider getting involved in whatever way in Kansas special election CD-04. I brought this up again in Detroit, Maryland and at the DNC elections in Atlanta. This is also true of our other officers, who made phone calls, spoke to others and made our case.
The assessment was made pretty early that if the national party came in to get involved, the thought was it would damage the candidate more than help them. I was told, pretty point blank that a “big bear hug from us right now would be a kiss of death”. While I disagree with that sentiment, as I think a candidate is always associated with their national party no matter what so you might as well get the benefit, I understood the logic as well.
That doesn’t mean I wasn’t disappointed with the way in which this was done; there are other ways around this issue, like making investments in the state party that could then be used to help a candidate. In many ways, the state party became the patsy, absorbing a lot of blame which was undeserved while everyone else skated on by. Let’s put it this way: you go to your friends and ask for monetary help. One friend lives in small, 1,700 SQ foot house. The other friend lives in the nice area of town with a pool house. Your friend in the 1,700 SQ foot house gives you the shirt off their back but can’t give you the food in their cabinets because they have to eat. The friend in the pool house says: eh, I got nothin’. Which friend may have let you down?
DNC and DCCC notified several of us that they would be working to call significant donors on behalf of the Thompson campaign to see if they could scare up direct donations. We’ll see in the end how that worked out.
Daily Kos, Our Revolution, DFA, and others.
Commenters, diarists, and others here on Daily Kos wrote daily about the race in Kansas. While I was away working on other issues in the state house and beginning work toward 2018, numerous writers put a lot of effort into promoting, endorsing, and backing James Thompson. And those efforts mattered.
We sometimes look for someone else to come in and do the work for us, but every campaign in America, big or small, is built 95% by the campaign itself, the donors and people like you. Endorsements and promotion mean little if it doesn’t turn into activism.
And for that, these organizations hit the target. Their endorsements led to money and resources for a campaign, and it again established grassroots-powered politics. To everyone on Daily Kos who contributed, your efforts certainly matter.
All campaigns have issues.
Even winning campaigns have issues; things that need to be fixed, looked at and evaluated for the future. Post 2008, OFA and others looked at what they thought could have gone better. The same was true in 2012. From presidential campaigns to local campaigns, everyone has to go back and look at what worked and what didn’t, something I’ve argued in Nuts & Bolts before.
That’s going to be true here as well. As someone not directly involved in the campaign — outside of talking to them and calling to raise money or donating myself, I’m waiting until I have a better picture and returned data.
I was grateful that members of the campaign, like Marcus Williamson, were always available for me to talk to during the campaign about their needs and what we could do to help; and that we kept communications open.
The Kansas Dominoes start falling..
With the election of Ron Estes, Kansas now has an empty treasurer’s position. While guarding the state treasury right now is a bit like watching a checkbook with barely enough for Pizza in it, filling that post could vacate a state senate seat.
Initially, that was the prevailing wisdom. However, with Medicaid Expansion advocates and budget advocates arguing to overturn the governor’s positions still, the weakness of Estes performance may scare a few Republicans in our state house to do the right thing for the future of our state, making Brownback less likely to pluck a loyal elected.
The May legislative session in our state house could be VERY interesting after this result.