I'm in the Midwest and have been writing about Jason Ritchie (D) in WA-08. I can understand when there is low turnout because people have to go to the polls, have to have ID, have to get off work, the weather is bad, they don't realize there is an election, etc. Washington voters have ballots mailed to them and all they have to do is mail them back. You know the state, you know why Democrats might not participate and you have probably thought of solutions to get them to vote. Let's problem solve. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past, these are very different times and that means everything is in play.
Cruz stopped the House GOP immigration reform bill and there is talk he wants a shutdown. They want to impeach President Obama and are trying to set up a situation on immigration reform where he has to take action using EO's and they can impeach. President Obama is telling them he's going to govern and to bring it on. There is no telling what the wankers in the GOP will do before the election or how it will effect the midterms, but they are clearly declaring war and we should GOTV like crazy and be ready to create some upsets.
This is not 2010. There is no sign of a Republican wave in 2014. Sick of Reichert? Take action to send him home:
Jason Ritchie (D) has been working hard on a shoestring budget. Team Ritchie is not stopping. They are energized and going for the win. We can make a huge impact on his campaign by donating.
Nominate Jason for Mayday PAC funding. My diary with information about Mayday and what they are looking for here. Or you can go directly to the short Mayday PAC form here. This would be a game changer.
More below the fold.
Theory seems to be that turnout is higher when there is a high profile race. Predictions were for 40% participation in Washington's primary because there wasn't a statewide race like Senator.
It's so easy to vote this way that the only reason I could imagine Democrats wouldn't vote is that they don't know the candidate or haven't been touched by his campaign. Team Ritchie is working hard to GOTV. The only thing I could think of that would take it to a new level would be television ads, which means money. You live there or know the voters. What is going on?
Jason and his team have been going all out on grassroots GOTV. Brat showed in VA-07 that when there is an unpopular candidate and a hot-button issue, grassroots can make the difference. Congressional GOP may provide the issues that ignites voters. They are certainly trying to.
Here's what Team Ritchie is doing:
GOTV: Daily phone banking. I know they also go door-to-door, but not the schedule. Research shows that reluctant voters can be mobilized to vote by personal contact AND they are more likely to become repeat voters.
AdAge featured Team Ritchie training in the latest grassroots technology to reach Democratic voters:
...."The VAN" is the hub for the voter file data that is accessed by left-leaning campaigns across the country to organize and manage door-to-door contact lists for canvassing, and ingest new data gathered as by volunteers as they meet with voters....
....Interns working with the Jason Ritchie For Congress in Washington's 8th district got training on the NGP VAN system recently from the Democratic campaign's Field Director Shayna Daitch....
Jason is on Twitter and Facebook. He
writes about political issues for Huffington Post. He recently had a
reddit Q&A.
Direct contact: Jason and his team have been on meet and greets or other events every Saturday.
Endorsements: Almost all, if not all, Democratic organizations and politicians in Washington. Unions, Democratic supporting organizations.
He has been featured in news in WA-08. His team brought Reichert to the attention of Bill Maher who chose him for 1 of 16 worst Republicans in the House for his Flip A District contest.
I'm sure I'm forgetting or don't know about other actions he is taking. Team Ritchie will continue to work hard and reach more voters.
What else can be done? All I can think of is television ads. What are your ideas?
Be a part of the blue tide in WA-08:
Jason Ritchie for Congress
Ritchie For Congress
P.O. Box 2165
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-324-6888
Volunteer
Be a field organizer
Follow Jason on Twitter: @Ritchie4wa8
Like Jason on Facebook: Ritchie for Congress
Let's DO this!