I’m busy being disappointed by the results, so thought I’d share my thoughts with y’all from the district. I spent a few weekends volunteering and canvassing with the campaign, the first time I’ve ever done something like this. Learned a lot. Here’s what I would like to share
- Parties are stuck in their old ruts still. The Democratic Party and the Ossoff Campaign both focused on bringing out existing Dem voters rather than converting moderate Republicans or independents. Because Georgia does not register people by party, the only way to ID somebody by party is by whether they’ve voted in party primaries in the past. This really limits the pool of people to contact, and you end up contacting the same people over and over again.
- Yard signs matter. At a meeting early on I heard a Democratic Party representative try to tell people that signs were a waste of money, but this is a clear case where they are important. I heard over and over again how many people had felt alone in a sea of red only to be heartened by how many people had Ossoff signs. It also helped bring attention to the race.
- There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. We received 3 mailers a day for several weeks. When I was canvassing I had many people roll their eyes when I asked if they knew there was an election coming. More aggravating was multiple calls from out-of-state. Once I told the first caller that I was sure to vote and that I was even volunteering for the campaign, they should have taken me off the list. They might have turned off a few people with that.
- The scripts provided by the party are awful. I learned really quickly that asking people in person who they intend to vote for before you say who you work for makes them very uncomfortable. I had my best results just asking if they knew there was an election coming up, and then saying why I was supporting Jon.
- Also, as the election got closer, it was just stupid to ask if somebody knew if it was coming. Everybody on our list had been contacted multiple times. Instead, I got much better responses when I told them something useful and new, such as that there was new early voting at the Dunwoody library.
- Huge mistake by Ossoff not to move back into the district right away. I know he has a girlfriend in school nearby, but the most common complaint I heard (from Dems) was that he doesn’t live in the district. He should have gotten an apartment by a MARTA line as soon as he decided to run. Big mistake- he couldn’t even vote for himself in the election today. A must-fix for the runoff.
- A hearty “F-you” to Ron Slotin, who sucked up more than a few blue votes, especially in his old district in Dunwoody. He even repeated a few attack lines long after he had no chance to make the runoff. There were three other no-name Dems, but a real professional should have seen the writing on the wall
- Stupid mistake by the DCCC to send out a mailer informing voters that their voting record is “average”. My elderly neighbor was angry to see that after she has volunteered and voted in every primary and minor election for 30 years. Way to insult your constituency, jerks.
- Traffic problems in Atlanta might have played an issue. I-285 is in bad shape for most of the day, and there were only 2 early voting locations in DeKalb County (one for just a week). I feel like this made it harder for the easternmost part of the district, Tucker, to get their votes out. DeKalb County needs to have more early voting locations. Seriously, if the Republicans can gerrymander the district and hold polls open late in Alpharetta, the least DeKalb can do is help people vote close to home.
A couple of thoughts moving forward.
- My big hope for this election was that Republicans around the country would start to be more worried about losing to a Democrat in a general election than losing to a Tea Partier in a primary. All of the Tea Partiers are going home now, crying into their hats. This is progress
- Jon needs to make a concerted effort to win over moderate Republicans. Go to some of the office parks in Alpharetta and Roswell and hold town hall meetings. Everybody here knows gay people and immigrants who will be hurt- remind them of that.
- Trump is not loved here at all. Karen Handel was the least rah-rah for Trump and she’ll cruise to #2. He needs to be the #1 issue, all the time. I thought Jon was playing it safe for too long. You can’t win anything by listing faults you don’t have. Make Trump’s tax returns and emoluments and corruption the main topic all the time.
- This is still winnable. Every Democrat is still fired up and will show up. Karen Handel will be the toughest of the Republicans to beat, but she’s not loved on the right. Unfortunately, Trump can still bring the right wing to bear. We’re going to have to work
Don’t give up, folks. Getting this close is a huge accomplishment, but that last bit is what counts. Let’s do this.
------------------------------------------
Update: 4/19 5 PM. Wow! Thanks for the recommendations and responses everybody! I’ve thought of a few more things to add
- If you’re calling into the district from elsewhere, texting is a much less intrusive way of contacting people. Phone calls demand an immediate pickup and conversation or listening to a voicemail and take more time. I was much less annoyed by the 5 text messages I got. Keep it simple, tell them when they can vote and where.
- I heard several people happily mention the postcards they got urging them to vote for Jon. That’s a really good grassroots way for people to make a difference from outside the district. One of those is more effective than 50 slick professional mailers.
- To the campaign: when somebody says they’re going to vote, TAKE YES FOR AN ANSWER. Might have lost a few voters that way. Once early voting has closed, you can check if they’ve voted or not and follow up before the final voting day if they haven’t.
- This is more outside my expertise, but there are lots of apartment complexes in Roswell/Doraville/East Cobb that should be a target-rich environment for new voters. Lots of young professionals and people new to the district moving in every year. Send some of the swaths of excited volunteers to set up a table in the courtyard on a weeknight. (This might not work if registration is closed for the runoff, but good for future elections).
- Everybody was pretty pleased that the only thing Republicans could come up with on Jon was that he once dressed like Han Solo and acted goofy. Those ads were probably more of a help honestly- this is a nerd-heavy district.
- The only other thing they could use against him was “bad pictures of Nancy Pelosi”. Seriously. It was pathetic. But also a reason why I think Dems need to put fresh faces in charge in Washington. “Bad pictures of Nancy Pelosi” will be used in every single House race in 2018 if they don’t. It will be harder to win if the promise is to go back to the same leadership we had before.
I know everybody was hoping for a quick win, but if the runoff is a clear referrendum on Trump and we win that’s an even stronger message to send to Washington. LET’S DO THIS