This evening was my last turn at getting out the vote for Democrats here in Ohio. I will be working Monday and Election Day, and I otherwise don't have any spare time in the evening tomorrow (since I have two young kids at home who need their dad). So I went to the campaign office of Mary Jo Kilroy, to do phone banking for her, Ted Strickland, and the Democrats.
So I went there at 5:25 to make calls. The target audience this week was people who normally vote Democratic, and who we want to reach to GOTV. The main question put to them was, would they be supporting Gov. Ted Strickland and Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy. Of the people I spoke to who gave me their answer, a clear majority indicated they were voting for them or had already voted for them. A minority indicated they were still undecided. Only one person I called clearly indicated they were voting for Republicans. Some people complained they had been bombarded with calls, and I marked most of them as "Do Not Call" so that at least from the Kilroy campaign, they would not be pestered again before Election Day. I also called a lady who told me she worked the phone banks for nine hours yesterday for the Democrats! A tip of my hat to her!
Congresswoman Kilroy herself came to the office while I was there to make calls, asking for voters to support her. People might be skeptical that the person on the other end of the line is actually their member of Congress, but Mary Jo was working the phone bank just like the rest of us. It illustrates to me that politics, at its best, can be the kind of retail politics that we were doing this evening.
I wanted to thank Congresswoman Kilroy for all the things she has done for us: a first step on financial regulation, supporting the public option, and the "hands off Social Security" pledge, among other things. I hope she has a chance to carry on with the work she has started these past two years. When I went to leave, she was busy on the phone with someone so I didn't get a chance to introduce myself.
After 2 1/2 hours, I went home to my wife and my kids, who were already in bed. I feel better knowing that I made an attempt to reach people and get out the vote. If Kilroy, Strickland, and other Democrats win on Tuesday night, I will know that I made a difference. If they don't succeed, then at least I know I have tried.