Morgan Harper, who gained national prominence when she primaried Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty in Ohio’s 3rd congressional district on April 28, transitioning from her campaign back to community activism was the only move that made sense, especially given the progressive issues at the core of her campaign.
The lawyer is now organizing with Until We Do It to distribute protective face masks throughout central Ohio, as well as working with Fighting Corporate Monopolies at a national level. She’s also showing up to local protests condemning police brutality, though when she first showed up, “people were surprised I was out there in some way, even though it was very natural for me,” she said. “I think people are so used to the style of politics where, after the campaign and after you don’t need the vote, you go away and they don’t necessarily see you. So the fact that I was showing up and I was standing side by side with them protesting against the inequality, I think that did mean something to people."
“People are still really paying attention and listening to the messages that we’re putting out there,” she said of her team, who still uses the @MH4OH social handles they established for her campaign. That sentiment could be applied to broader sentiment around former candidates. Where camera crews may have once left everyone but the formal winner in the background, social media has democratized the ways in which former candidates can still affect change. As Harper said, past supporters “are still looking to us for guidance on what’s the right thing for them to plug into.”
A traumatic first run could discourage plenty of women from trying to run again — as Harper pointed out, campaigning “isn’t for everyone because you’re very, very vulnerable.” Or perhaps a woman considering her own run might see the way women in politics are treated by their colleagues and the broader public, and decide to engage themselves elsewhere.
