The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, one of my very best volunteers who worked with me on the Obama general election campaign flew to Georgia. This is someone who showed up one day in the late summer to make a few phone calls, and ended up working as a Regional Field Organizer managing some of the most productive phonebanks in the area. Now she's working her heart out for the Martin campaign.
I asked her how it was going. Her e-mail response made me really proud of the organizers working long hours in the rain to deliver this last Senate seat. And it's a reminder of how much they need our help to do it.
Here's what she wrote:
Saturday marked the first official day of GOTV in the Georgia Senate run-off election. And like most worthwhile things in life, there were obstacles at every turn. In the office that I'm working in, organizers stayed up until 3 am frantically assembling walk packets for the following day. We've been asked to knock on 50,000 doors in 2 days . . . . After a couple hours of sleep (literally), I awoke to the sound of thunder and rain. Twenty-four hours later and it still hasn't stopped. In fact, weather forcasts predict rain through Monday evening, which make our door knocking goals seem all the more daunting.
Several hours later, as I ran through the rain draped in a "stylish" garbage bag to deliver canvassing packets to freezing volunteers, I found myself reminiscing about my first Saturday of GOTV during the general election in Berkeley (which was also plagued by rain). During the general, despite the rain, my East Bay offices made a record-number of phone calls that day.
As I told stories about the relentless volunteer base I left behind in California - making phone calls on the sidewalks because there was no more space to sit inside - a Georgia field organizer pinched me and said, "wake up, you're not in Berkeley anymore."
The good news is that the race is within the margin of error. Which means we're still in the race - it's all about turn-out now. But if we're going to pull this thing off we still need help. Please tell everyone to sign up for a shift to make phone calls to Georgia voters. Our President-Elect needs us now more than ever.
Sean Quinn at 538 wrote today about the competing ground games in Georgia, giving the edge to Martin, and noting the many Obama campaign alumni who have come down there to help out or are helping from afar.
In addition to the existing Georgia organizing infrastructure that has stayed on board, at least fifty outside organizers showed up in Georgia within a few days of November 4. The mission: to help Democrat Jim Martin in his U.S. Senate runoff against incumbent Saxby Chambliss. More organizers arrive each day. They're young -- but they're veterans -- and they've jumped right in.
In other parts of the country, including northern and southern California, Obama organizers run phone banks into Georgia on Martin's behalf.
*****
according to Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Martin Matheny, thousands of volunteers were hard at work across the state knocking doors in the rain and making phone calls on Jim Martin's behalf. The lines on Election Day will be much shorter than during the general election, given the much shorter ballot, and Democrats here think that most of its voters are going to turn out on Runoff Day itself.
Lots of unknowns in rainy Georgia.
Lots of unknowns, indeed. Even with all this energy and enthusiasm, it is hard to know what will happen on Tuesday. But what I do know is that we have a real chance to make an impact. The race will be close, and if the people reading this step up and act it could make a difference.
What can you do?
Make calls from home
If you are or near Georgia, volunteer
Find a phonebank near you - below are the Bay Area listings - if you are running a Martin phonebank Monday or Tuesday, post the link in the comments and I'll update the diary.
San Francisco:
Monday 11 to 5, details and sign up here.
Tuesday, 11 to 4, details and sign up here.
Oakland/Berkeley:
Monday 10 to 6, details and sign up here.
Tuesday, 7 - 4, details and sign up here (7 to 10 a.m. at 3250 Adeline).
Walnut Creek:
Monday 9 to 5, details and sign up here.
Tuesday 9 to 4, details and sign up here.