So last night I was down in Lumberton to join the Robeson County Democrats for an after-work mix and mingle. It wasn’t a huge event—maybe about fifteen or so people total—but it was a nice time, and honestly, I really love it when I'm able to have more personal conversations about this campaign with folks.
It was also oddly refreshing.
It’s no secret that this has been a rough week at the legislature. Democrats have spent the last two days watching as the GOP have rammed their gerrymandered maps down our state’s throat. And, well, we haven’t been quiet about it, but there also wasn’t anything we could actually do to prevent it. That’s just how things are in a legislative superminority—and it can be draining, frankly, to feel like you’re constantly being run over without even a moment to dart out of the road.
But then I went down to Robeson County. See, the folks I talked to last night weren’t worn down the way a lot of us in the legislative have been. If you know about our state’s political geography, you’ll know that Robeson used to be a reliably Democratic-leaning place. But over the last few years, as Democrats have stopped trying to compete in rural areas, it’s drifted away from us. It’d be easy for our active Democrats down there to become discouraged, seeing their county slip away in spite of their best efforts. But they aren’t. They’re fighters, and they see what Republicans have been doing up in Raleigh, and they’re ready to hit back.
And they need us fighting back alongside them.
The Robeson Dems have been fighting for every vote for years, but our rural county parties don’t have the resources to turn the tide on their own. And particularly in the media environment we live in nowadays, it can be extremely difficult for voters to even see the work that their local Democrats are doing unless our statewide and federal candidates are right there alongside them.
It’s on each and every one of us to compete for every vote in every place we can, because the voters we’ve lost need to see that the Democratic Party, as a unit, gives a damn about them. And the voters down in Robeson—or McDowell, or Perquimans, or Surry County—deserve candidates who are going to show up and fight for them.
Because what’s become abundantly clear over the last two elections is that we need those voters. It’s not enough to compete in Wake, Guilford, Mecklenburg, and our other big, urban counties. It’s not enough anymore to just say, “well, Democrats support the good things” and hope that the whole state hears us. We have to show up in places we haven’t—even in places where being an out and proud Democrat is a little uncomfortable!
If we show folks we’re in their corner, we can start building back what we’ve lost and then maybe next time, we aren't going to be forced to sit there and take it as the Republicans try to steamroll us.
John, it’s almost the end of October, and that means we’re assessing where our fundraising is and looking toward the end of the year. With the legislature finally out of session, that also means I can really put my foot on the gas and start hitting the campaign trail much, much harder than I have so far.
But doing so isn't going to be easy. It’s absolutely critical that we put together a statewide coalition next year that speaks to every corner of our state—and that means showing up everywhere and getting our message out to every voter we possibly can. The Republicans are going to be throwing everything they have at us, and unlike my likely GOP opponent, I can't just cut myself checks any time I need. So if you can spare it, I’m asking you to step up and make a contribution to my campaign—any amount will help.
