My absolute favorite diary on DailyKos was Markos's "Leave Everything on the Road" piece and the piece that spawned it from the 2008 cycle. And since then, I've pushed myself to go above and beyond just passively sorting through the "donate or die" e-mails and watching from the sidelines.
So with that in mind, I took out the credit card and bought myself a ticket from New Jersey to Kentucky (arrived yesterday) because I wanted to "leave everything on the road" for Alison Lundergan Grimes in Lexington, Kentucky. Some very kind volunteers are putting me up in their guest room in the historic section of town, and the campaign put me right to work knocking doors. So far, I've knocked 110 doors and confirmed 35 voters, who are either "strongly" in support of Alison or "leaning" toward Alison. I've gotten a few lawn signs up (and happy to report that I haven't seen a single Mitch sign anywhere). It's great to finally be here on the ground, feeling the excitement of the volunteers and the voters I've been speaking to. Voters knew that Elizabeth Warren was in Louisville last night and that Hillary's coming back this weekend.
I'd been planning this trip for for a few weeks now and wrote about my plans previously (see KY-Sen: This Jersey Boy is Moving to Kentucky (w/ FAQ)). It goes without saying, but Senator, Mitch McConnell (or as we call him, the "wax granny") has been responsible for thwarting progress on anything and everything that could help move our country forward. Thus, I view getting him the heck out of there will not only be good for Kentucky, but the rest of us as well.
So, let's get this done! Let's all "leave everything on the road" and get Alison and the rest of the Democrats over the finish line on November 4!
Thu Oct 30, 2014 at 7:30 AM PT: UPDATE: I'm now starting Day 3 and I'm happy to say that yesterday I hit the milestone of 250 doors knocked with a contact rate averaging between 20 and 25 percent (depending on the time of day) of which 85 to 90 percent are sure-fire Alison voters. The rest are mostly undecided I've only encountered one Democrat who says she's voting McConnell so far. I'm aiming to hit the 400 doors mark today!
Thu Oct 30, 2014 at 7:35 AM PT: UPDATE: I'm just getting starting on Day 3 on the ground here in Kentucky. She's got a pretty tight field team, who inform me this state has never had a State-wide GOTV effort before. I'm hoping that makes the difference in Alison's being just a couple of points behind in the polls.
Yesterday, I hit the milestone of knocking 250 doors, all registered Democrats and likely voters. I'm averaging a 20 to 25 percent contact rate (depending on the time of day), of which 85 to 90 percent are definite or leaning Alison supporters. The rest are mostly undecided though I encountered my first Democrat who's backing Mitch McConnell yesterday. Today, I'm shooting for 400 knocked doors! WERK IT!