50-State Strategy: North Carolina Democrats "Surge"
Posted by on November 27, 2006 at 11:46 AM
We've said from the beginning that the 50-State Strategy is a long-term plan. We've said from the beginning that it's about investing in every state and asking every American for their vote. We've said it's about the power of organizing at the most local level, and we've said that it's long past time that we've taken the steps to fully support a national party, from coast to coast, that remains strong before, and after, Election Day.
2006 brought some early success stories for the Strategy. Blue states became bluer. Red States are now tinged with purple. In places where the Democratic Party had been a long time gone, it's back and it's thriving. In parts of Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, Georgia, Wyoming, Mississippi and North Carolina, Democrats have made gains.
Not all of these gains can be measured by the win/loss column for Congressional elections. In some states, those gains manifested themselves as higher turnout, greater numbers of registered Democrats, a newly formed county Party organization, a revived group of grassroots activists or a win at the local level. All of these small successes are the keys to achieving larger victories.
North Carolina is a state that had some note-worthy successes in 2006 up and down the ballot. And those successes came, not just at the federal level, where Democrats elected Heath Shuler to Congress, but at the local level, where Dems took control of county commissions and Sheriff's offices.
From the News Observer:
Margaret Johnson was worried on election night that the walls would literally come tumbling down at the Democratic headquarters in the small North Carolina foothills town of Columbus.
Two hundred and fifty rain-soaked people jammed into the 1940s-era building -- a converted church -- to celebrate Democrats' near-sweep in what has been a strong Republican county.
...Such were the dreams of Howard Dean and Jerry Meek when they became chairmen, respectively, of the national and state Democratic parties last year.
Both pushed for spending more money and effort on organizing in Republican-leaning areas such as the North Carolina mountains. Call it their "Leave No Democrat Behind" program.
The election was so good for the Democrats that they hung a banner from the porch of their headquarters in downtown Raleigh that read: "NC Democrats Kicked [and there is a drawing of a donkey]."
And from AP:
For Democrats in western North Carolina, there was more to celebrate on election night than Health Shuler's victory against eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor in the state's marquee race.
In county commission votes and races for sheriff, Democrats did well across the ballot in a part of the state where Republicans have historical links dating to the Civil War and an advantage in voter registration. In Ashe County, for example, Democrats now have a majority on the county commission and the sheriff's post for the first time in about 15 years.
"It had been a long time since we had won anything," said Melba Jones, chairwoman of the county Democratic Party. "We've been the minority and we just haven't had anyone in power in a long time."
Party activists say there was more to how the west was won than a national wave of anti-Republican sentiment spilling out of Washington. The party started work last year, spending time and money to hire staff and organize volunteer efforts to persuade unaffiliated and Republican voters in the region that Democrats better reflected their values.
"The Democratic Party is well-organized and fired up," said Ashe County Sheriff-elect James Williams, who beat his Republican opponent with 51 percent of the vote. "I think everybody worked hard. ... Folks were just ready for a change."
Along with Shuler's win, which gave the party a majority in North Carolina's congressional delegation, Democrats added four western district seats in the state Legislature, part of their overall pick up of as many as seven seats. State Democratic officials also said they picked up 16 seats on county commissions in the western third of the state, earning majorities in five new counties.
The party also won sheriff's races in Ashe, Polk and Watauga counties, where the incumbents were all Republicans.
So what's their secret?
Republicans have had a strong voter base in much of the North Carolina mountains since the Civil War, when farmers tended to support Abraham Lincoln and preserving the union over the cause of Confederate plantation owners. Democratic state party chairman Jerry Meek made the region a priority after his election in early 2005.
"I never thought western North Carolina was out of reach," Meek said.
Meek hired a western regional staff director before the Democratic National Committee agreed to pay for three regional leaders as part of national chairman Howard Dean's "50-state strategy." He also assigned a task force to look at ways to improve the party's fortunes in the area.
But the key was reaching out to voters.
Party volunteer working on a "marginal voter project" made contact with people in five state House districts - most in western North Carolina - who had previously voted only in presidential years.
Ashe County Democrats canvassed neighborhoods for the first time that Jones could remember. They got training from Democrats in Watauga County, which Meek and others hold up as a model. Even though Republicans hold a 6 percentage point advantage in Watauga County in voter registration, Democrats now hold all five commissioner's seats, both legislative seats and the sheriff's office.
"From day one, we surrounded ourselves with bright, energetic people who worked hard," said Steve Goss, a retired Southern Baptist minister and coach who upset heavily favored David Blust in the 45th Senate District, which includes Watauga County.
With the help of Appalachian State University students, the Democratic Party in Watauga County contacts voters year-round to remind them the party is working on local problems. And when they have a success at finding a solution, Meek said, the party lets voters know about it.
Blust, who lost by about 320 votes, said scandals and out-of-control spending by Republican in Congress hurt voter perceptions of the GOP and kept the party faithful at home. But he acknowledged the Democrats' activity swamped him and other Republican candidates in the west.
"All over the mountain area, the Democrats were organized," Blust said. "They smelled blood two years out. They outworked Republicans, no question about it."
"They outworked Republicans." That's the secret. Showing up, doing the hard work, and win or lose, getting up and doing it all over again. People power is the heart of the 50-State Strategy, and when the people believe in the need for a new direction, and believe in a better vision for our county, a little support can go a long way. It's the driving force behind the 50-State Strategy and it's not going away anytime soon!
North Carolina Democrats know it, and so do Democrats in every other state.
Comments (15) «
North Carolina Democrats know it, and so do Democrats in every other state
We know what? How to whistle?
Sorry. I'm still a bit of a skeptic. Don't hate on me though.
;p
Hi FOS,
Not to gainsay you, dear one, but the mountains of NC have always been strongly Democratic. What has changed in the last 30 years is that Republicans are starting to flee Florida after the mess they made of it and are trying to make a mess of my homeland. The meme that the DNC can't win in the south is a lot of beeyess floated by the RNC and, sadly, the DLC as well. This last election was as much of a slap to the DINO DLC'ers as it was to the Republicans.
They'd bett' learn to listen or they'll be out of a job, too.
A lot of us western-Carolinians had felt forgotten by the Party for long time. My parents, their parents and their parents were all strong Democrats. My stepdad always volunteered as either a poll-watcher or challenger. In years where those slots were filled, he would bring the elderly to the polls. My mom's father would often knock on doors and would encourage people to vote Democratic.
G'd rest my stepdad and grandfolks. They would be so proud of their fellow Democrats who came out to vote to rebuild, encourage and refocus our great nation.
Governor Dean's 50-state strategy put boots back on the ground where once we'd felt left out. Your efforts, your recognition of Tarheel Democrats means a great deal. Thank you, thank you so much, Howard Dean and your excellent crew.
Hi HillWill,
Please be patient with my reluctance to embrace the South .I'm what you may call a "recovering victim" of the Southern people and I have issues with them I need to deal with. Sometimes dealing with the South is like having the man who molested you as a child be allowed to move back in the neighborhood. Sorry to be so graphic about it, but now ya know why I'm "iffy" when dealing with the South. Politically speaking, that's exactly what the Democratic Party's outreach to the South feels like to African American Democrats given the history and all.It's hard for me to hear about all these great Democrats pre-1964 because I have a hard time believeing there was such a thing.......
............again, given the history and all.
You know, that Jim Crow...history.
Yup, dear, I'm feeling it. A lot of the South has recovered nicely, but there are still patches where people refuse to let go of the bad and the crazy. People have thrown beer bottles at my windshield, run me off the road, flipped fingers and done worse because I have the HRC [=] sticker on my van and my truck. A couple of times, people have said the awfulest things either to my face or just barely behind my back where it was meant for me to hear.
I know what it feels like when someone wants to make me feel less than human. But it's not all the south and it's sure not limited to just the south, these days. I feel ya, cuz, but healing has to start somewhere. Mezzwell begin right here with you and me. Living well is the best revenge; G'd will take care of His own, hide'n'watch ;-) Maybe it's the spirits of our Native ancestors inspiring us to reach out and grab hands, even though it gets right scary at times. The more hands we grab for doing Good and Right, the less there'll be for the devil to take. Just MHO, luv.
It's Jane Pauley's birthday. It's a really hot summer day here in south australia. I didn't even sign in and yet, the computer knew who I was and here I am, bloggingg the 50 state strategy. There's a Bob Dylan accoustic album playing in the background. There are no Kings Inside the Gates of Eden. My mother, Nina, when they exported her to Australia, she has a very short book about it too, described being in Eden. I began to think she and Jackie kennedy, their paths cross around when my mother got married to my father in Austria. I wrote to her in the 80s I guess, Jackie and she did a book, Moonwalker. The day man landed on the moon I visited a Peyton Place family, scene. Wife a doctor, having sex mind you, with the boy friend on that day. One of their people is now state Attorney General and their complete focus has been the destruction of everything I ever believed in or stood for, even my bank account. And he drove by me yesterday. The reason I am writing is because jane Pauley used to do the Today show which they showed here at midnight. Then a local Tv station found out I used to write to her and they closed it all down. So now there's no news from USA, jane's on Lithium, and the IRA has opened a shop next to my post office using a line from her book as it's name. Traxion.
So happy birthday Jane Pauley.
Great news to see the 50 state strategy work in North Carolina and also in the midwest and Mountain West
Straight Party Voting
I was at the Claremore, Oklahoma Wal-Mart today, November 30, 2006, and I saw the headline "Straight-party voting questioned" in the Daily Progress for Wednesday, November 29, 2006.
I thought to myself, what kind of a fool would question "Straight Party Voting"; it must be some REPUBLICAN trying to confuse Democratic Party voters. But, when I purchased a copy and read the article, it was two Democrats, State Senator Kenneth Corn and State Representative Neil Brannon of OKLAHOMA.
Whatever turnip truck these two fellahs fell off of, they need to climb back on and get processed, canned and labeled for the turnips that they are, and get out of politics if their idea to eliminate "Straight-Party Voting" is the best they can do. I could understand elimination of "Straight-Party Voting" coming from the REPUBLICAN minority in an effort to fractionalize the constituents of the Democratic Party and use "Issue Oriented Politics" in the GENERAL ELECTIONS to do so; but it is difficult to imagine a Democrat that is not working for the REPUBLICAN PARTY making such a statement.
Issue Oriented Politics is for the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS. In the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS constituents of the Democratic Party decide who they want to represent them. If these two fools want to change something, they should change their own behavior and participate in the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS, rather than try to change the GENERAL ELECTION PROCESS from a Constituent Oriented Process, as it is, to an Issue Oriented Process by elimination of "Straight-Party Voting" as a Constituent Oriented Process, where issues and representatives have already been settled in the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS.
This article "Straight-party voting questioned" strikes me as a testing the waters article to see how dumb the electorate is, and whether or not they can be led by these two jokers, and who ever put them up to it, to accept fractionalized divisive complexity that can be used to lead the electorate, constituents of the Democratic Party, against their own best interests in the name of "less confusion".
Thomas G. Miller
Straight Party Voting
I was at the Claremore, Oklahoma Wal-Mart today, November 30, 2006, and I saw the headline "Straight-party voting questioned" in the Daily Progress for Wednesday, November 29, 2006.
I thought to myself, what kind of a fool would question "Straight Party Voting"; it must be some REPUBLICAN trying to confuse Democratic Party voters. But, when I purchased a copy and read the article, it was two Democrats, State Senator Kenneth Corn and State Representative Neil Brannon of OKLAHOMA.
Whatever turnip truck these two fellahs fell off of, they need to climb back on and get processed, canned and labeled for the turnips that they are, and get out of politics if their idea to eliminate "Straight-Party Voting" is the best they can do. I could understand elimination of "Straight-Party Voting" coming from the REPUBLICAN minority in an effort to fractionalize the constituents of the Democratic Party and use "Issue Oriented Politics" in the GENERAL ELECTIONS to do so; but it is difficult to imagine a Democrat that is not working for the REPUBLICAN PARTY making such a statement.
Issue Oriented Politics is for the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS. In the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS constituents of the Democratic Party decide who they want to represent them. If these two fools want to change something, they should change their own behavior and participate in the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS, rather than try to change the GENERAL ELECTION PROCESS from a Constituent Oriented Process, as it is, to an Issue Oriented Process by elimination of "Straight-Party Voting" as a Constituent Oriented Process, where issues and representatives have already been settled in the PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS.
This article "Straight-party voting questioned" strikes me as a testing the waters article to see how dumb the electorate is, and whether or not they can be led by these two jokers, and who ever put them up to it, to accept fractionalized divisive complexity that can be used to lead the electorate, constituents of the Democratic Party, against their own best interests in the name of "less confusion".
Thomas G. Miller
I live in South Carolina, and we didn't win anything on the national level that we didn't already have. And, we won very little on the state and local levels. So, I was wondering why? I think that the National Democratic Party needs to start paying South Carolina more attention. Because in almost all of the southern states (Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, that made progress during the 2006 mid-term election, had more focus from the National Democratic Party.
I sometimes get the feeling that the National Democratic Party thinks that South Carolina is so backwards that it should remain in the grips of the ultra-conservative Republicans.
FreedomOfSpeechForWeThePeople:
It is attitudes like the guy who wrote that article that you referred to that is one of the greatest causes of the south going (and staying) Republican in the past. Since in the past, the National Democratic Party refused to campaign in the south, of course then the southern people would fall for the ultra-conservative Republicans. Because they were the only people that were even trying to get the southern people's vote.
I don't go along with this, let's ignore the south stuff. There are lots of groups in the south right now, that if they were to vote in greater numbers, (African American, Hispanics, women, the under-30 crowd), would vote Democratic and those that could be persuaded to vote Democratic (disgruntled white males (especially those under 50), Native Americans, Asians, Independents, and even some moderate-conservatives, who may not agree with the Democratic Party on some things, but could be persuaded to vote Democratic on issues such as: the economy, social security, education, health care, and the deficit).
So, I agree very much with Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy. The Democratic Party needs to keep going after the votes of everyone that they can possibly get. The only ones that will probably say a definite no to us right now, would probably be the most ultra-conservative religious types, and those that are very racist. And, they are not as great in numbers in the south anymore, as you would think! Let's not forget that we now have 2 generations on the scene now in the south (just like everywhere else), that came along after the Civil Rights Movements of the Old South. There is a New South now, that is trying to embrace blacks, women, moderate-liberals, and moderates in ways that it hasn't before.
Stop thinking that all of us down here are ultra-conservative Republicans, because we are not. I am a strong,moderate Democrat!
Straight-party voting is only needed to avoid confusion and save time. One can not vote individually and vote straight-party both. I like straight-party voting, it is much easier than having to search through all the names and saves time. I do not wish in any way to give up straight party voting.
One must be a registered Democrat to vote a straight-"Democratic Party" ticket. Independents, Greens, and other parties other than Democrat will have to pick through the candidates. It is much easier voting when people know that our voting system in the United States is only TWO PARTY and pick one of the two parties and learn to deal with the Primary Process. The Democratic Party represents the Political Left and the Republican Party represents the Political Right. NO OTHER PARTIES WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE A STRAIGHT "DEMOCRATIC PARTY" TICKET.
The Democratic Party doesn't need to change their ticket because part of the political left doesn't want to join the Democratic Party. If one is a Democrat, it is easier to vote a straight-party ticket. As far as I am concerned, voting straight-party is not confusing and I choose to keep "straight-party ticket" voting.
I agree that the only party that I can see that would gain by the Democrats changing the voting ticket, where Democrats would be unable to choose to vote a straight-party ticket, would be the Right-Wing Republicans, definitely NOT the Democrats.
Apparently, the Democratic Ticket worked well last election, the Democrats are no longer in the minority. It is my opinion that one doesn't go about changing what has worked well enough to put the Democrats back into power. The straight-party ticket makes it easier to vote solidarity in the General Election.
On Election Night, DFA-endorsed candidate Barbara McIlvaine Smith was down by 19 votes in her race for the Pennsylvania state house. She refused to concede, saying, "It is not about winning or losing... It's about making sure our democracy is intact."
Earlier this week the count of absentee and military paper ballots concluded, and Barbara won by 23 votes -- switching the Pennsylvania House from Republican to Democratic for the first time in 12 years.
This powerful victory happened because every paper ballot was counted. But across America votes are increasingly being cast electronically with no paper record. Had the election in Pennsylvania been conducted electronically there is no saying how the race might have been decided.
You helped elect a new Democratic House and Senate in Washington, D.C. It's time to put our majority into action. Ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put paper ballots on the agenda in the new Congress's first 100 hours:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/paperballots
The danger of paperless elections is clear. Look at Sarasota County, Florida. They use paperless touch screen voting machines. In the hotly contested Congressional race there, Election Night ended with Republican Vern Buchanan ahead of Democrat Christine Jennings by less than one-quarter of one percent. This triggered an automatic recount.
On November 20, state election officials certified Buchanan as the winner by 369 votes, despite the fact that there were 18,000 "under-votes" in the county. An under-vote is when a machine reports a vote cast for another office, but not for the Congressional seat. The percentage of under-votes in Democratic leaning Sarasota County was far higher than in surrounding counties. And many voters reported that their votes were not recorded on their electronic ballot. Some said the machine skipped the race while others couldn't find the race listed at all.
Currently this contest is being litigated in the courts. But the results of this election will be forever in doubt because there are no paper ballots to review.
This is unacceptable. Congress has the power to mandate that all elections take place using paper ballots. Ask the new Democratic majority to make it a priority:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/paperballots
The Democrats are committed to an impressive agenda in the first 100 hours of the Congress. They will raise the minimum wage, require Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices, implement the 9/11 Commission security recommendations, cut the interests rates on student loans, and broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds. But Democrats can't stop there.
Let's restore America's faith in Democracy too. Let's make sure that in the first 100 hours the Democratic majority makes paper ballots mandatory:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/paperballots
Jim Dean, Democracy For America Chairman
LavoniaW:
Hang in there. Grassroots Democrats have not forgotten South Carolina. Getting back into power was a big bite for the Democrats, who were pretty much down for the count; but PRAISE THE LORD the major bite got chewed and in the next Primary, kick out all the Democrats that are REPUBLICAN ORIENTED that you can. It is not possible to correct everything at once, but the Grassroots Democrats have done a masterful job at what they have done so far.
Now we need to push the now democratic Congress that's leaning REPUBLICAN LITE back to the left where they belong. And if they don't make that left turn, then WE THE PEOPLE will have to help them in the Primary Elections realize who put them in office. WE THE PEOPLE are the left, not the right-wing CORPORATE ELITE, and our representatives need to learn that WE THE PEOPLE know the difference.
I love the south and the people that live there.Most of them are nice, kind and good. And it's really great that the south is becoming democratic again like it used to be. May the Lord bless ya all.
So when are the Democrats in Congress going to stop patting themselves on the back and start planning one what we are going to do next? So far it sounds like (Republi-lite) business as usual. That's NOT why we elected so many Democrats into the legislature. For sure, for sure.
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