Friends,

This doesn’t happen often, but it just happened, so I’ll tell you about it.

I knocked on a door and a middle-aged man answered. I gave my short intro.

He invited me inside. This is rare, but I usually say yes. I sensed this guy was a little tense, but I stepped inside.

He asked if I am a Republican or a Democrat. I said Democrat.

Things changed instantly.

First he hit me with, “How many more abortions do you want people to have?”

Before I could answer, he said, “The F.B.I. is totally corrupt. That’s what we’re seeing now.”

Then he starts in on Nancy Pelosi. Then the Squad.

In situations like this, my approach is to stay quiet, wait for them to run out of breath, and then say something that changes the energy.

So after he emphatically told me that I would never have his vote, I looked him in the eye and calmly said, “Sir, I’m not here for your vote. I’m here because I’m running to represent you in Congress, and it’s my job to listen.”

That slowed him down a bit, he said he appreciated it, but he was up for round two. So he went in on the 2020 election and ballots in Arizona.

Then wrapped up again, saying, “I just don’t trust any of you. Not one bit.”

I said, “I get that. You don’t have to trust me. But if there’s ever anything I can do for you, I want you to know you can get in touch.”

Then I gave him my card and told him I check my email every day.

He shook my hand, said he would pray for me, and we parted ways.

Two quick thoughts on the experience:

1. The biggest disagreement I have with this man is probably in how we get our information. Clearly, we have very different opinions about which sources are credible. I try to keep that in mind when I see the chasm between my politics and his. We’re both downstream of our initial decisions about where to find good information.
    
2. Part of my job is to hear everyone out, while still not giving any ground to conspiracy theories. It’s something I’ve worked on and gotten better at over time. I’ve had the opportunity to get lots of practice, so please don’t judge yourself too harshly if you believe in the same approach but sometimes fall short. If you had knocked on thousands of doors, you’d be much better at it.

Let’s win this election. Let’s win it for the right reasons and in the right way. I think we’re going to do it. And this gentleman would never believe it, but I think our community will be better if we do.

I’ll keep knocking doors if you’ll keep supporting our campaign.

Thanks, as always,
Jeff

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