It's not often that we win in Ohio, but when we do, it feels great.
I wanted to share some thoughts with you about this victory. I was out talking to voters and at several polling locations yesterday in Cuyahoga County. Our Revolution National Field Director Mike Oles was in Cincinnati.
What I saw blew my mind. Every location I stopped at was busy, no matter what time of day it was. There was a steady flow of people voting.
At my last stop in Solon, it was even more impressive. Here I was on an August day, at around 3 pm on a Tuesday. There was a steady stream of voters. I was able to access the parking lot quite easily when I arrived. Heading out, the cars were coming in by such large numbers, I could barely get out of the parking lot!
This is what it should be like and more every election!
Thoughts:
- This election brought together a huge coalition across the state, it was one of the best examples of coalition building I have seen here
- We did have an impact on rural counties, even though they mostly went for Yes
- We need to continue working together in November and in 2024 to keep Brown in the Senate
- The coalition should plan out next steps not only for Reproductive Rights, but other issues Raising the Wage and Fair Districts. It is time to take the power away from the Super Majority and as we saw yesterday, they aren't that super.
Some absolutely wonderful highlights!
Two new Dem Party Chairs really shined with this election.
Kim McCarthy, who is a member of Our Revolution Ohio's statewide committee, a twice endorsed candidate and leader in the Greene County Voices group, was elected to the seat of Greene County Party Chair in 2022.
Kim is an activist and organizer. As such, she has taken the Greene County Democrats to a whole new level of organizing. In a "red" county, they defeated Issue 1.
When I spoke with her today I asked her what they did. Here are some of the things she said:
- They raised $6000 to get 5 billboards in the county. They used the language Republicans would relate to along the lines of Stop the Government from Stealing Your Rights, Defend your RIghts - these worked!
- They got more youth involved, knocked on doors, did postcards and made calls
- They did Honk and Waves with banners
- The ODP gave them great targets and they made sure they reached out to them
A side note from Kim: The county hasn't gone Dem since 1964 when Barry Goldwater ran.
The second party chair who shined is David Brock, the new party chair in Cuyahoga County.
In Cuyahoga County, the party has been in serious decline and ineffective. It was divided due to the 2021 Congressional race and needed new leadership with a winning strategy, enter Dave Brock.
Not only has Dave worked hard to build a stronger party, he has brought together the different factions within the party, something that seemed impossible, but he has worked day in and day out to create a machine that can win.
The numbers in Cuyahoga County were impressive! 38% turnout - last August was 11%, 76% NO - 253,116 (unofficial results).
Cuyahoga is on it's way back to being one of the most important counties in the midwest again!
Side note: In Cleveland Ward 14 the last election in August there were 351 votes, this year it was over 1500! Shout out to the new Ward Leader, Walter Gachuk and Our Revolution Ohio member Jim Booth!
What's next?
- October 10 is the voter registration deadline for November 7 - we must get to work on it!
- November 7 - Reproductive Rights, Marijuana Initiative are on the ballot
- We will be rolling out our list of endorsed candidates for November 7 soon.
- Get organized for 2024!!!
- We are still working with our coalition members to plan for the fall and hopefully beyond.
It takes people, it takes time, it takes organizing and as we have seen it takes money. Please consider becoming a recurring monthly donor to help fund the fight ahead!
Click here.
Watch for our volunteer signup form in our next email after we complete our planning with our coalition partners!
Great work everyone!! This victory is having repercussions across the country, because of all of us.
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