I have written extensively (some might even say excessively) about the special election to fill the House seat vacated by John Boehner. I became interested in this race when Democratic candidate Corey Foister wrote an introductory diary about himself and his race. In this red district, he faced off against Republican Warren Davidson, a darling of the Club for Growth and the tea party and recipient of lots of outside spending in the 15-person Republican primary.
Last Tuesday, with most eyes glued to the final big day of the presidential primary, OH-08 voted for Davidson, 77-21. While this was a rout, I also believe it represents a real missed opportunity for Democrats. The raw vote count was 21,537-5,904, meaning that Corey’s primary vote total of 33,165 would have been easily enough to win the general election comfortably. There is a simple reason for this difference: The primary was on the same date as the presidential primary, resulting in a higher turnout. But I want to state it again: There were more than enough Demoratic voters to win this district, but they didn’t show up.
Getting voters to the polls is a hard job that requires lots of ressources, but it can be done. Unfortunately, Corey’s campaign, like many candidates in red districts, was totally underfunded. One can argue that ressources are scarce, but on the same day Democrats blew 34 million dollars on the presidential primary in California, with basically only bragging rights on the line. Meanwhile, over in Ohio, the newest member of the Freedom Caucus got close to a free pass to Washington.
Here at DailyKos, everybody supports the 50 state strategy. Howard Dean is a hero for implementing it, Tim Kaine and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are villains for not continuing it. But day to day, nearly the entire focus of both the front page and the community diaries is on very few “sexy” races, mostly the presidential contest with some high-profile Senate races mixed in. But “more and better Democrats” can’t begin with candidates at the US Senate level. It must begin with the Coreys of the party, candidates who are willing to take on difficult races. Last Tuesday, we lost an opportunity to support a great candidate and a long-shot bid to make a big electoral gain. But there are many more opportunities out there. There are many candidates who are willing to fight the hard fights. We need to have their backs!