Some people don’t fully appreciate how important this grassroots groundswell of support is. Not only does it help generate more fundraising and traditional campaigning, it:
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Gets younger groups talking and asking their friends if they’re registered and voting (my GenZ sis just did this to two of her friends).
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Opens fierce dialogue within family about who they’re voting. A niece or nephew may convince an apathetic aunt or uncle to vote blue out of sheer persistence and excitement.
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Gives enthusiasm for younger generations to push back the trolls and propaganda on social media at every corner. More meme generation,etc. This shit matters. Letting propaganda go unchecked without an oppositional view is dangerous.
Plus campaigning involves a lot of literal legwork. I have family who were involved in local politics (in the UK), enough that I’ve seen some of the behind the scenes of electoral strategy and I was surprised at how much it comes down to just sheer number of people campaigning. Door-knocking especially was valuable in gathering data and helping to figure out whether to bring in national campaigning resources (which usually came in the form of greater press coverage and a high profile person to come and campaign, because they can drum up a much larger group of volunteers — even this targeted support was mediated via volunteer labour)
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The AP reports the enthusiasm has also stretched down ballot"
I hope so. We need a surge in anti-GOP voting to clean house all the way from the House and Senate down to the local school boards. GOP toxicity is harming people at every level. They need to be kicked out of office and relegated to the trash heap of history.
Yeah if we can vote these regressives into irrelevance we can then start working on voting the neoliberals into irrelevance and hopefully get meaningful election reform done
This is the dream! Curbstomp the Trumpletons and then start dragging the overton window back to the left so that humane and sane policy starts to seem plausible again to the common American.
If demographics and voting patterns hold out when the boomers are gone the millennials may just do that, especially if Gen Z helps
Speaking completely out of my ass, I think mail-in ballots would do wonders for down ballot engagement. My state has this, and it’s invaluable — often there are weird down ballot measures which are confusingly worded, and sometimes local elections have a “vote for 10 candidates out of the 34 who are running.” Voting at home means I can tackle it at my leisure — no memorization or cheat sheets required.
It’s actually one of the main reasons why I love mail-in voting.
And it’s exactly the reason why Republicans largely don’t want it. Doing “research” is antithetical to the Republican party.
Just remember, no matter how good she’s doing, you still have to VOTE!!!
VOTE, volunteer to give rides to people that wouldn’t be able to vote without it.
Can confirm, since Biden stepped out I’ve gotten three to four texts a day— and I’m in Cali. I can’t imagine what it’s like being in a swing state. They aren’t all asking for money so much as asking if I’m backing Harris.
It’s refreshing having a candidate that can put in 4 years with competence
It’s just nice to have people excited for the election. It felt like a death march with Biden.
