Gather ‘round, friends, and you will hear tales of men with dreams as they try to remake the South and breathe new life into the US Senate at a time in history when we need them most. There is nothing more important today — and tomorrow — than Democrats keeping the House and taking back the Senate. The differences between Warren and Biden and Bernie and Pete matter naught if we don’t have the Senate. So settle in, grab a coffee and let me tell you the stories of two candidates who want to help us do just that.
Mike Espy
First up, and closest to my heart, is Mike Espy. If you don’t know Espy’s backstory and why his election to the Senate is so meaningful, read on. I guarantee you will walk away inspired.
Mike is the great grandson of Mississippi slaves. His grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Huddleston (b. 1876) was one of the most prominent black businessmen in the state. He imbued his family with the spirit of public service and his grandson, a lawyer who practiced at legal aid early in his career, has done him proud. Espy is the first nonwhite Secretary of Agriculture under Clinton, first nonwhite Congressman since reconstruction and locally, Assistant Secretary of State to Mississippi Legal Services, a Assistant Secretary of the State to the Public Lands Division, and Assistant State Attorney General. His family is Mississippi, the best parts of its heart.
I am a white Democrat from Mississippi. My family’s history stretches back as far in the state as Espy’s, but we owned the slaves. I left the state in my rearview mirror but I know it. I know that POC and white liberals (and yes, there are some out there in the oddest places!) often feel uninspired or afraid to vote. They feel it does not make enough of a difference to bother or take a risk. Or the ballot box is too far away and they cannot even get to it. Today, we change that.
Mike’s opponent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, is the worst of the South. She presents herself as intellectually limited and marinated in the guns and butternut nonsense that has helped make Mississippi last in basically everything. She is an embarrassment to us all.
Can Mike Win?
Yes, but he needs us now:
In announcing his 2020 candidacy Nov. 12, Espy said he wants to build on his base of support from the 2018 race, focusing particularly on increasing the turnout among African American voters. Espy says he also has data showing which Republican-leaning precincts in Mississippi are most likely to flip to Democratic.
The college town of Starkville, for example, is receptive to Democrats. The mostly white Jackson suburb of Madison County had a slight Democratic majority in the Nov. 5 governor’s election….
...“We didn’t get into the field knocking on doors until the end of August,” Espy said. “And even though we raised $7 million, it didn’t come in until October. So, there wasn’t enough time in that political cycle to mount a robust, vigorous campaign that it would take to defeat a Republican.”
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Join his campaign today!
Jaime Harrison
Jaime’s story is different from that of Mike Espy. Jamie was born in grinding poverty in South Carolina to a teenager. His grandparents brought him up in a mobile home where they could not always afford to pay the electric bills. But Jaime fought and he would up at Yale as an undergrad. After Yale, he hit law school at Georgetown. He paid off his student loan debt through a lobbying job at the Podesta group, where his clients included the United Way. He also worked for Jim Clyburn in the House.
Can Jaime Win?
Well….
Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is statistically tied with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, with the staunch pro-Trump incumbent seeing his favorability ratings plummet among independent voters.
Graham, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, is clinging to a 2-percentage point lead over Harrison, 47 to 45 percent, with nearly 10 percent of voters surveyed still remaining undecided about their 2020 vote. As the Change Research/Post and Courier newspaper poll notes, Graham performs poorly in hypothetical November election matchups as well as with voters who do not identify solely as Republicans. The statistical dead heat between Graham and Harrison, who has pulled in record fundraising in recent weeks, comes as the GOP senator has become one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken supporters during the ongoing impeachment inquiry.
“[Senator Lindsey Graham] looks extremely vulnerable against Democratic contender Jaime Harrison,” the South Carolina pollsters noted among their key findings. “While South Carolina does not support impeaching President Trump, a majority of voters would like Senator Graham to approach the impeachment inquiry with an open mind, rather than leap to the president’s defense before hearing evidence.”
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There is one thing to know about Jamie Harrison, former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party: Jamie Harrison wants to beat Lindsey Graham. And considering that Jaime’s entire life has been an uphill climb, I am not betting against this plucky kid. Graham is stuck to Trump. Jaime is already shockingly close to Graham in the polls.
Let's put him over the top!
I hope you enjoyed meeting Mike and Jaime. Neither race is gaining a huge amount of national attention but both races are critical — Mike’s win would be historic for his state whereas Jaime could topple Trump’s lickspittle Lindsey Graham. We have a year to pull it off! Let’s do it!
AND, if YOU would like to write about a Democrat running in a downticket race, you can see that we’ve busted out the end of our schedule and would love to hear about your idea, in this thread or kosmailed to the group! Not just challengers like Mike and Jaime, but also incumbents, many of whom have been particularly targeted by republicans because they are vulnerable in some way. Here’s a thing you can do to help them! -belinda ridgewood
DKHIVE Group Guidelines
The DKHive Community group has been created by former Kamala2020 Group members to positively support efforts to re-take the Senate and keep Democratic control of the House of Representatives.
We will support candidates supported by Senator Harris as well as other candidates, especially women, POC, and down-ballot democrats in local races.
All should be made to feel welcome here. What’s not welcomed here is petty bickering over any of our preferred candidates, or personal attacks on fellow Democrats. We’re not responsible for the actions of others who may offend, insult or attempt to sow discord and disunity — that’s on them.
What we are responsible for are our own words and actions — that’s 100% on us.
We’d like to ask all group members, as well as those dropping by who support or are interested in Democratic control of the Senate and House, that we not respond to negativity from other campaigns’ supporters with even more negativity. Let’s do better than our best and respond with respect, humor or try to hold our peace.
(FYI: Zero Tolerance for Misogyny/Misogynoir)
😋 ❤️ 😋 💜
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If you would like to join our group, please ask for an invitation in the comments, and one will be KosMailed to you.
Our members will largely share in writing diaries, in much the same fashion as we did with the Kamala2020 group — all voices are welcome. We hope to continue with regular 2 or 3 x weekly diaries, although we will vary the publish times of the diaries throughout the week. Suggestions on this are welcome! Sign-ups will begin immediately!
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Please volunteer for the down-ballot effort!
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
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Upcoming schedule:
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Saturday |
Dec 14 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Monday |
Dec 16 |
10 am ET (8 MT) |
A7sam |
Thursday |
Dec 19 |
12 pm ET |
rflctammt |
Saturday |
Dec 21 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Monday |
Dec 23 |
12 pm ET ( 9 PT) |
Gay CA Democrat |
Thursday |
Dec 26 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Saturday |
Dec 28 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Monday |
Dec 30 |
8 am ET |
thumbsupcecil |
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