Something’s happening in Virginia. Women are not only at the forefront of the Resistance, they’re a force in the 2017 election. Though you may not read about their work in the headlines. They’re all but ignored by the cable news pundits. But if you know how critical the upcoming November 7th election in Virginia is to our democracy, you can thank the grassroots women who are making Virginia matter.
When grassroots activist Christine Bachman told the 50 plus grassroots leaders gathered in the church basement that she was putting together a presentation explaining why the Virginia election mattered to folks outside the state, she envisioned a simple PowerPoint. However, within a few weeks Christine’s vision had turned into a collection of top-notch resources for voters, volunteers, and donors.
How did this happen? The grassroots women of Virginia got to work. Stair Calhoun of Network NoVA wasted no time bringing folks together to brainstorm content. “We needed this and we needed it now,” explained Stair. Soon the presentation had a makeover from designer Krystal Henson. Teresa Cordova and Julianne Otto turned the PowerPoint into a voiceover video. Stair had a 2-min animated version produced for social media. Luisa Boyarski compiled candidate profiles and issue analyses. Then came the development of online fundraising campaigns and handouts. With the help of Denis Orsinger and Mary Jo Ammon a web site was built. The result is a digital hub of resources under the banner Why Virginia Matters that launched this week.
The women who pulled this together were awakened by the 2016 election and many consider the Women’s March as their first political act. They range from millennials to mature and have one united goal: flip the Virginia House of Delegates blue in November!
Why focus on the state races? What happened in the 2016 election was the result of conservatives pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into remaking the political map employing three main strategies. First, Republicans quietly amassed control of state legislatures to gain the ability to call a Constitutional Convention (they’re only one state away from being able to rewrite our federal Constitution and your rights). Second, these Republican state legislators not only enacted extremist agendas, they also rigged U.S. Congressional districts thereby giving an extra 17 seats nationwide to Republican legislators, who are impacting federal legislation. And thirdly, by passing laws to suppress traditionally Democratic voters, Republican state legislators have diminished the likelihood of a Democrat being elected president.
When you put all the pieces together, it’s clear that the path to fixing this mess is through state races. The place to start is Virginia with its statewide election for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and 100 Delegate seats up for grab this year. This purple state could be turned blue with many of these Delegate seats potentially flippable due to their history of voting Democrat (Clinton in 2016 and Warner and McAuliffe in 2014). In fact, the magic number in 2017 is 17, with 17 seats needed to win back the majority in the General Assembly and 17 districts who voted for Clinton in 2016.
The challenge is to get voters to the polls in this off-year election that traditionally has low voter turnout. But the grassroots women aren’t deterred; they’re activated and energized.
When many groups waited to support the new wave of candidates who emerged after the 2016 election to challenge the Republican incumbents in the House of Delegates until after the primary, the grassroots women stepped up. The result was the highest democratic turnout for an off-year primary election in Virginia history with over 540,000 ballots cast.
Another first in this election is the number of women running. Not only were there a record number of women running in the primary, there will be an historic 40 women on the ballot in November.
After the primary over 350 grassroots women came together at a Women’s Summit to focus on how to flip Virginia blue. Though the resistance is predominately women, it’s not exclusively women. In fact, many men attended the Summit. Barb Jones, one of the event organizers, recounts one of the standout moments of the day was when all the candidates stood together on the packed stage: “We jumped to our feet and gave them a standing ovation. You could feel the electricity in the room.” Next year’s Women’s Summit is already scheduled for June 23, 2018.
The candidates know who helps. When Virginia Beach candidate Kelly Fowler (D21) was questioning whether to continue her campaign due to the uphill battle of fundraising, the grassroots cavalry responded with fundraising appeals and calls for volunteers injecting new enthusiasm into her campaign. Karl Bach, Fowler’s campaign manager, had to turn off his phone alerts for contributions because it was constantly beeping.
With the election just two months away, these women are now hard at work exciting volunteers and voters by making sure there is something for everyone. They’re organizing canvassing events and phone banking opportunities. On any day of the week, there are Dining for Democracy dinners and fundraising receptions to attend. And for the crafty, the scribes, or the shy, there are lots and lots of postcard writing parties through Postcards4VA.
The story of this election cycle is one of women stepping up and taking charge. Not only to run for office, but in doing the critical work of getting people out to vote. As their slogan says, When We Vote We WIN.
Learn more about the upcoming election and what you can do by watching “Why Virginia Matters 2017.”