One of my three resolutions at Netroots Nations was to help Steve Young get elected in the California 48th US Congressional District in November.
I met Steve at the Chicago YearlyKos and I bumped into him at several events last year. He is one of us.
In Austin we had a chance to talk at length. He is a very smart, very progressive and very hard working. And I cannot think of much we disagreed on. We are very different people but when it comes to the direction we want America and Southern California to go there is no daylight between him and I.
His opponent is far right Repug John Campbell.
This is the 1st on a series of diaries I will publish until November.
I am NOT going to ask for $$$ for Steve. I just want your best thoughts.
And I have some ideas based on the results of a recent poll in his district. More below.
Here is a summary of the results of the poll;
Survey conducted June 25 through July 1, 2008
Number of participants = 400
Margin of Error = 5%
- While Campbell is well known (80%), his favorable rating is only 37%.
- Young is not as well known (37%), but favorability is the same.
- Campbell is ahead on the first ballot 46 to 32. However, on the second ballot, Young is ahead 43 to 37. About 20 percent of voters are undecided, the bulk of these are Independents (27).
- Veterans Benefits work for ALL groups.
- Issues that work with Independents are protecting the environment and energy independence. But because they are less ideologically conservative than most Republicans, they want federal support for projects in Orange County that will protect watersheds like Aliso Creek.
- Campbell’s vote against veterans benefits has traction with older Republican Men. The number of Republicans who voted for Young doubled from Ballot 1 to Ballot 2.
After the polled voters were given a synopsis of Steve's positions on issues they cared about the results went from 46-32 in favor of Campbell to 43-37 in favor of Steve Young.
It seems that veterans benefits can be a winning issue for Steve given the large number of veterans in his district, perhaps as much as 20% of voters.
Local environmental issues can also give him an edge.
My quest is to enlist the brain trust of the progressive blogosphere to find a way to get Steve's stand on the issues out to as many people in his district as possible.
I am looking for out-of-the-box ideas.
Campbell has no need to raise funds, he has inherited millions and made even more as a car dealership owner. He recently sold most of his dealerships to GM and only kept the Saab dealership in Santa Ana.
Campbell was elected in a special election in December 2005 which he won by 60% to 40% in one of the most Republican districts in the nation, replacing Christopher Cox, who resigned his seat of 17 years to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This is the 48th US Congressional District.
Home of a lot of wealthy people but also a lot of middle class Americans who are underwater in their mortgages.
There are some Hispanic/Latino voters who we'll try to get registered.
And veterans.
So fellow progressive bloggers. I am here to listen to your ideas on how to turn this reddest of districts into a nice ocean blue.
I lived many years in this district and I go back there often. Until 2005 it remained Bush country. But this has been changing.
The survey also shed light on how the district voters think about different issues;
And if you feel like contributing $$$ after all, I have created this Act Blue page.
Here is Steve on veteran benefits, it will tell you a lot about Steve;