Hey there, John!
My name is Deb Parker. I am from Tuscola County, Michigan, and I am the chair of the Tuscola County Democratic Party in what we call the “thumb region” of Michigan.
For two years, I have had the honor to serve as chair of the Tuscola County Democratic Party. Prior to this, I chaired our Indivisible group, Indivisible in the Thumb. For a long time, our Democratic Party was afraid to be visible in a county that is dominated by Republicans. But, thanks to the help of Rural Power Lab, we were given the strength and support that we needed to persevere and stay strong despite our odds.
At the Tuscola County Democratic Party, our vision is to be as visible as possible while providing service to our community. We are here to support our candidates and help promote Democratic principles. We believe everyone deserves a voice, a place, and a purpose in their county, and we strive every day to provide that to our community. So far, we’ve made strides we never thought possible. We had three food drives to supply food banks throughout our county, we assisted the local Health Department with COVID vaccine clinics, we participated in community events, and we have a social media committee that follows our legislature and supports those doing the right thing and corrects those that are not being truthful.
Through Rural Power Lab’s support, the Tuscola County party is staffing community events where Democratic candidates can be seen and meet with voters -- something we couldn’t do in 2018 and 2019. For example, we just made it through our county fair, which was a wonderful experience for candidates and voters alike! We had a booth at the fair we staffed for six days from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm - we gave out free popcorn, helped people figure out what their new districts were, registered voters, and provided a place for our candidates to meet people from their districts.
We are now in our office that we’ll have through the November election, again thanks to Rural Power Lab's support. The office will be open 6 days a week until the election. From the office, we will distribute signs and campaign literature and help people register to vote. We will phone bank and text during office hours to keep us busy. We have a fairly small but mighty group of Dems in our local party. Each person has a special talent that allows us to get all kinds of things done!

But, despite our fantastic team and groundbreaking progress, our challenges as a Democratic party in a rural, Republican-run area are never-ending. GOP extremism, misinformation, and radical tactics are at an all-time high, and they’ll stop at nothing to overshadow us, especially in the upcoming election.
It will be hard work to try and win in a swing state like ours, but luckily, through Rural Power Lab, we have the foundational support we need to take a shot. It’s through Movement Labs’ efforts that my county has gotten this far, and it's through their program that we’ll go even further.
Sincerely,
Deb Parker
Chairwoman of the Tuscola County Democrats
Rapid Resist Action
5515 S. Hyde Park Blvd. # 1N
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
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