When a race is won by such slim margins, consultants, activists, specific causes and issues will be brought up as the “key factor” in what put someone over the top. Today, with Conor Lamb’s victory, every decision made by the campaign will be dissected, debated, and every person who came up with an ad, mail piece or commercial will believe they put things over the top.
And, to some degree, every element definitely helps. One item that won’t get enough praise, though, will be the efforts by the Pennsylvania Democratic State Party, as well as local organizations and the campaign to mobilize and turnout voters to the polls, especially voters with disabilities — because in the end, more important than any other item, is taking voters who believe in your cause and changing them from believers sitting at home, to believers who vote.
It is time to talk about why state efforts on this front are sometimes wildly underappreciated, but why their impact matters.
in Pennsylvania, in order to get an absentee ballot, you have to have a reason. While some states have moved to all mail ballots, or other advanced voting plans, in Pennsylvania, voting by absentee (mail) ballot is a process of application, service, and return.
Those key components are an ongoing work that state parties and local organizations put in whether a campaign is ongoing or not, to cultivate connections with voters, to make sure they are registered and prepared to vote absentee, and that when they receive their ballot, they turn it back in.
This process called a “ballot chase” is critical for most Democratic efforts. In terms of money spent, volunteers offered, connections provided, mail sent and TV ads played, it is this connection with voters who have difficulty turning out that doesn’t just help us win elections, it builds the kind of party we believe in — one where every member has a voice, where every voter has value, and where we respect the right of that voter to be heard.
Republicans had looked into red counties where Republicans had built up solid leads for Saccone — but as absentee ballots came in, they made little headway. Why is this true? Why weren’t absentee ballots in those areas overwhelmingly Republican?
Because Democratic efforts to reach out to our voters in all communities made sure that the vote came in, and that if you wanted to vote, the party worked to provide you the ability to do so.
As votes were counted in, it was the absentees that provided the margin.
State and National organizations sometimes take a lot of heat from candidates for not doing enough. As I watched the results in Pennsylvania though, as it became close and eventually provided a victory I knew that today, campaign consultants, advocates, mail houses, and TV ad creators would get a lot of credit. Conor Lamb’s strategy, his issues, and his message will be gamed out in series of articles. “How did he do it”?
And in an office somewhere, a state party, a county party, and other workers will continue their ongoing effort to reach out to every voter, whether there is a campaign ongoing or not; to identify those voters who struggle to get to the polls and provide them an opportunity.
They won’t get a lot of mainstream ink this week. But every party staffer, every door knocker, every field organizer who took the effort to make sure that those who otherwise couldn’t vote had a voice — YOU, that’s right YOU — were a major reason why the Democratic caucus grew.