Team,
When the election is tied, as it is now, it seems like we Democrats have two modes: euphoria and panic.
If you’re feeling tempted by either of those, take a deep breath—and then focus.
You’ve got work to do.
But before I talk about how you can turn political freak-out into action,
can you chip in a quick $24 to help us get out the vote and win the tipping point state?
It’s true that the stakes are impossibly high. That the peril, if we lose, is profound.
It’s true that Trump talking about using the U.S. military against “the enemy within” makes clear what Trump’s own Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair, General Mark Milley, means when he says Trump is “fascist to the core.”
And it’s also true that Kamala Harris is phenomenal—that she’s knocking it out of the park in interview and rally after interview and rally, that she crushed Trump in the debate, and that the energy on the ground is through the roof. That’s true, too.
It’s even true that the polls are essentially tied—this race is a statistical tossup.
And not just the presidential— Tammy Baldwin’s race is a toss-up as well, and we’ve got toss-up House races and state legislative races, and Wisconsin is, once again, the land of the nail-biter.
All of that can send you into a tailspin. Because when the race is on a knife’s edge, the slightest breeze in one direction or the other can make you feel like all is lost, or that victory is nigh.
Feel your feelings. It’s natural. Let them wash through you. Think of yourself like a chain-link fence; a huge wind can rattle you, but it can’t knock you down.
Then, once the whoosh has subsided, close your eyes. Inhale. Exhale. And then ask yourself what you can actually do in these final 12 days. And make a plan to do it.
Your goal should be to wake up after Election Day knowing that you did everything in your power. If you do that, win or lose, you’ll have no regrets. The good news—the gift—is that you are not powerless. There ARE things you can do. As long as we’re something resembling a democracy, you have a voice:
First, you can
donate. In the final stretch, you want to give GOTV operations the ability to solve problems quickly with money so that the people involved can focus 100% on actually turning out voters. And here at WisDems, we can absolutely make use of funds.
Second, you can
volunteer. Wherever you might be, and whatever kind of activity you feel comfortable with. You can join a door-to-door canvass. You can join a virtual phone bank.
In Wisconsin, you can even
sign up to be a poll observer, get trained, and then help make sure that every precinct has the coverage it needs—during early vote and on Election Day.
And if you get involved in any of these trainings, ask how to get involved in our friend-to-friend organizing operation.
Learn to organize with Reach. That’s some of the highest-impact work we do, and you can do it from anywhere.
Want more ideas? Here are a few.
- Find your local county party or campaign office and bring in a plate of treats or snacks for the staff and volunteers.
- Show up at an office and ask if they need any help distributing yard signs.
- Text ten friends and ask if THEY can donate or volunteer, or if they’d want a yard sign—and then bring them the sign if they do.
- Oh, and I almost forgot: make your plan to vote. When, where. Remember that in-person early voting has already started in Wisconsin. Find your early vote polling place and hours here.
The best cure for political anxiety is figuring out a real plan to do the work. Once you stop thinking about swing voters in some far-off state and start focusing on the person you’re actually reminding to vote, the world snaps back into focus.
You can’t wring your hands when you’re rolling up your sleeves.
Everyone has a role to play. It’s game time. Let’s do this.
– Ben Wikler
