Bernie In Philly - Anniversary
Candidate Journal: One woman’s journey to bring progressive values to her own “red” corner of Florida.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been two years now since the day this picture was taken and Bernie, that evening, called for the convention to suspend procedural rules and nominate Secretary Clinton. Having gone to Philly with such hopes, experiencing that was difficult, frustrating and sad. The Bernie Campaign inspired so many of us and I hated to see it end. But as the convention disbanded and people headed home, I realized that this couldn’t be the end. Bernie started something much, much bigger than himself.
That set me on the long, winding path to becoming the Democratic nominee for Florida State House in District 106, my very own “red” corner of Florida. I put up my first “journal” here last week, but I’ll be posting periodically to update you on how I got here, what our campaign’s up to and how Kossacks like you can help us as we fight for progressive values at the state level. So, here we go.
I want to start two years ago at the convention in Philly.
I’m not the wallowing type. So after a few days of post-convention heartbreak, I decided that instead of removing myself in frustration I would get even more involved in the Democratic Party and improve our grassroots approach to the electorate.
Then the unthinkable happened: Trump won and I knew we had to kick our activism into overdrive. Clearly, we couldn’t trust that national politicians were going to save us; the only answer was fixing the system from the bottom up. One neighbor at a time.
I was approached to run for State Committeewoman - which ironically I had been preparing for - I just didn't know the opportunity was going to come to me so soon. I knew that if change was going to come, I would have to engage at the state level and change what I could.
I had less than a month to garner votes and my challenger was much better known, but I spoke to voters, gathered allies and laid out my grassroots vision. I didn't have much experience speaking publicly, but I forced myself and I improved. There was enough frustration that a new approach was appealing and I was elected with a clear majority. That was a little scary, but I felt a new confidence and a sense that if I took it one step at a time and did things for the right reason, success would follow.
Be sure and tune in for the next installment and find out how I got all 5 candidates for FDP Chair to come to our city for the first Forum in the State!
If you can, please share our message on social media and help us win this uphill battle by chipping in to fund our campaign!
Honestly, every dollar gets us closer to flipping this seat.
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FLORIDA - STATE HOUSE 106 - SARA MCFADDEN
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