50-State Strategy: Go West!
Roll Call has an article talking about how the 50-State Strategy is playing out in the Western states.
In Wyoming:
In 2004, Mike Gierau and other Wyoming Democratic leaders wanted to boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket's local profile by securing some bumper stickers. But helping local Democrats in a state that the ticket was certain to lose in a landslide was not exactly the first priority of either the national party or the presidential campaign. So Gierau, now the state party chairman, was reduced to ordering the items from an online store.What a difference two years - and a new Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean - can make.
As part of Dean's strategy to build up the Democratic Party infrastructure in all 50 states, the DNC has committed $120,000 to Wyoming over two years - enough to hire a field director and a communications director, rather than just an executive director, as in the past.
The DNC also donated $5,000 to jump-start the party's grass-roots organization, said party executive director Kyle DeBeer. The party plans to have teams of 25 volunteers deployed in 57 key precincts on Election Day.
"I don't see that as too much money to create a presence and rattle the boat and win some more seats" in the Republican-dominated Legislature, said Democratic state Rep. Pete Jorgensen, who also serves as a Democratic national committeeman. Jorgensen argued that House challenger Gary Trauner might be able to knock off Rep. Barbara Cubin (R) this fall and that Democrats may be able to defeat some of the weaker Republican legislators. If so, he said, "that would be money well spent."
The idea behind Dean's 50-state strategy is to rebuild the Democratic Party, even in long-forsaken areas, from the ground up. Fundamentally, it is a long-term plan for Democratic revival.
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"We understand the situation in swing seats, and that's important, but if we don't stand up in places like Wyoming, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy - we'll always stay where we are," Gierau said. Since the money was allocated, "we've gotten more candidates running and more quality candidates for state legislative seats. We've got a contested primary for county treasurer in Teton County, Wyo. - an office we had not filed for in 30 years."
Gierau and other Democrats in the Mountain West are realistic about their chances.
In Wyoming, for instance, rather than unrealistically shooting for a legislative takeover, Gierau and Jorgensen talk of flipping a couple legislative seats, which would enable Democrats and moderate Republicans to prevent GOP leaders from overriding a Freudenthal veto.
In Montana:
In 2004 and 2002, for instance, Democrats Brian Schweitzer and Dave Freudenthal won the governorships of Montana and Wyoming, respectively, and the party won control of the Montana House and Senate two years ago. This year, Sen Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) is in a fight for his political life....
To many party insiders, such developments suggest that the Mountain West could be one of the most important growth areas for Democrats in the coming years.
"The attention and financial help has created a historic shift in most of the states of the Rocky Mountain West," said former Rep. Pat Williams (D-Mont.). "One party, the Republicans, thought they could win the Rockies if they tilted their Stetson just so, and my party believes that if you come out to [the ski resort area of] Sun Valley once every four years, you'll win the west. Dean has seen it otherwise."
In Missoula, Mont., state House Democratic Leader Dave Wanzenried said in lightly populated regions, even a little money "can make a difference in legislative races and county elections." Winning such races builds up a farm team for higher office, he added - a crucial factor in rebuilding the party over the medium- and long term. The Dean money, he said, is "absolutely a good thing."
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The DNC funds either directly or indirectly have aided Democrat Jon Tester, who's challenging Burns, Montana's three-term Republican Senator, said Chuck Denowh, the executive director of the Montana Republican Party.
"I think it will have a major impact here, and I worry about that money, as well as 527 committee money," he said. Measured by ad rates and cost of living, "we're a 'cheap' state, and it doesn't take much to make a difference."
In Idaho:
Though Idaho lags well behind Montana in evidence of a Democratic resurgence, Democrats are targeting an open House seat in which the GOP nominee, Bill Sali, won a divisive primary with just 26 percent of the vote. And in the gubernatorial race, Democratic newspaper publisher Jerry Brady is making a second aggressive run, squaring off against Rep. Butch Otter (R).Money from the DNC "has made a world of difference," said former Rep. Richard Stallings, now the state Democratic Party chairman in Idaho. "It has essentially tripled my staff, from two to six. For years, we were unable to respond to every stupid thing the other side said about us. Now, I've got a full-time press person, a very good former reporter, plus two community organizers, one for the north and one for the south, and a fundraiser. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time."
In some cases, said Corey Taule of the Idaho Falls Post-Register, local Democratic Web sites are now much better than those of their GOP counterparts.
"The Dean money has inspired people to work harder, because they know the party has the assets to back us up," added John McGimpsey, who's running for the Legislature from an Idaho Falls-area district. "Having two field coordinators is incredibly helpful in getting candidates information and teaching us how to use the databases and the other infrastructure."
Former Idaho state Rep. Jim Hansen (D), who's challenging Rep. Mike Simpson (R), added that "there's been a good grass-roots organization on the ground for years, but it hasn't been reinforced until now. It's been ignored by the national party."
In a nutshell - this is what the 50-State Strategy looks like on the ground. When you take these words:
The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country, and we're getting started right now with a massive effort to fund organizers on the ground in every state.The ultimate goal? An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single precinct in the country.
And then turn them into a reality. You get hundreds of trained organizers and volunteers working side by side to move their precincts, towns, counties, states and country forward.
More on Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
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