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Just Kidding, This Is Anything But Boring

In This Blog


  • Sixteen Thousand And Seventeen Newly Registered Voters

  • Rural America Will Save Our Democracy: Focus On Down Ballot Races

  • UK And France Pave The Way For US

  • Potpourri: Data Dives And Readings


 

Sixteen Thousand and Seventeen Newly Registered Voters


In 2024, there will be thirty thousand newly registered voters in Central and Eastern Washington across twenty counties and Rural Americans United will ensure everyone of them is contacted. This significant group is largely young, Latinx, new citizens, and has been ignored. Without a voting history, their political leanings cannot be known, and political parties and campaigns cannot afford to spend their limited resources on unknown voters. We at Rural Americans United recognize the strategic and moral imperative to immunize this group early against far-right extremism and engage them in building a long-term relationship with Democratic values.



This month Rural Americans United will send sixteen thousand and seventeen postcards to newly registered voters and will continue to send them every month as long as funding allows. Our contact with newly registered voters provides an information trail to access basic and important information on resources, general voting information, government structure, and how to fill out a ballot. After the election, we will perform a data analysis to determine the project's impact on newly registered voter turnout for the general election, and this information will be made available.


It is simple math. Voters who identify as Democrats represent about 32% of all voters. Unless we expand our Democratic base, we will always struggle to hold the line, much less confidently bring quality of life and safety to our neighbors in Central and Eastern Washington.


We do not have a benefactor to fund our organization. All of our work is made possible by the generous donations from our neighbors like yourself. Please make a recurring donation so we can continue to advance Democratic Values in our communities.




 

Rural America Will Save Our Democracy: Focus On Down Ballot Races


It is no secret that during Senate and Presidential election years, down-ballot races in Central and Eastern Washington, as well as rural areas across America, tend to suffer. These races often lose several percentage points due to Republican energy, strategic Democratic voting, lack of investment in areas with few votes, and even less money for campaigns. This issue is further magnified by failing to recognize our rural identity, using messages that trigger rather than convince us, and outright ignoring about 50% of our potential voters: Latinx, Indigenous, and youth. So why is this election cycle different?


Luck is defined as the intersection of preparation and timing, and this is what we have this year. Two races that benefit most from this favorable alignment are Congressional District 5 (CD5) and Legislative District 14 (LD14).


In CD5, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to flip a staunch Republican district with the retirement of Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. In LD14, the district has been redrawn to provide fairness in representation, giving us three strong candidates with manageable opponents.


Key Candidates:

  • Maria Beltran is running for the Senate seat. With her experience in Olympia politics, she has assembled a world-class campaign team. Her opponent, Republican Curtis King, has held the position since 2007 but is considered a weak candidate against Beltran’s strong ideas.

  • Chelsea Dimas is running for House position 1. Her primary opponent, Republican Gloria Mendoza, is the top fundraiser among all House candidates so far. However, Mendoza recently lost a mayoral election in Grandview, suggesting her base is weak. This raises questions about her qualifications for a higher position.

  • Ana Ruiz Kennedy is running for House position 2. She is in a strong position after the incumbent, Republican Gina Mosbrucker, was drawn out of the district, leaving the seat vacant. Ruiz Kennedy’s main opponent, Republican Deb Manjarrez, is a past chair of the Yakima Republicans but has limited recognition. Kennedy’s strengths lie in her seasoned election skills and deep connection with Pasco, the most populated area of LD14.


There are many other strong candidates across Central and Eastern Washington deserving attention. We will write about them as information comes in. For now, let's focus on LD14 and its strengths and weaknesses.


Challenges:

Ironically, the greatest strength for the LD14 candidates is also proving to be a weakness. Local non-profits, national non-profits, endorsing organizations, and deep-pocket Seattle Democrats have been eager to show support for our strong Latina candidates due to the redistricting attention. However, despite this support, these candidates are far behind their opponents in raising money. It is unacceptable that organizations seeking the spotlight in our race do not properly fund the opportunity, leaving our candidates struggling to raise money instead of focusing on campaigning.


Another challenge is the strength of the Yakima County Republicans. They have become the gold standard in Washington State for their organization and effectiveness in taking over local elected positions, such as city council, school board, chambers of commerce, county commissioners, and other key positions. This allows them to hire and appoint like-minded individuals who can advance their agenda through governmental mechanisms. (Rural Americans United will write more on MAGA's effective use of rural communities as test beds for Project 2025.)


The Importance of Down-Ballot Elections:

This Presidential election year offers a chance to focus on local elections that impact our daily lives. By running strong down-ballot campaigns, we can build a foundation for Democratic representation in Central and Eastern Washington. Supporting these local races is one of the best ways to demonstrate Democratic strength.


Let's keep an eye on LD14 and its strengths and weaknesses, and support our candidates to ensure they succeed.



 


UK And France Pave The Way For US


Revelry in the streets! A historic wave sweeps the country, pushing out the far-right and its policies of hate, lies, oppression, and fascism into the obscurity they deserve. Is this the headline for November 8, 2024? It will be, but for now, it is the headline across Europe. Another major confirmation of the inadequacy of the far-right is glaringly put into perspective. The far-right's bellicose antics, which provide a morbid fixation for media, social media influencers, and, at least in the US, Democrats, are but a charade of weak performance. The far-right’s bluster, so intense that it seems to be both the elephant in the room and the room itself, is nothing more than a paper tiger caught in a hurricane.


Our concerns are very real in the US, where the far-right has gained far more attention than should ever have been allowed. For the media to support a fabric of lies, deceit, and gaslighting without question while expecting perfection from Democrats is beyond hypocrisy; it is criminal. We once had a rule of law, Fairness Doctrine, that provided for balanced and responsible journalism. But President Reagan gutted it to advance his ridiculous and nonsensical economic policies that robbed the middle and lower classes of trillions of dollars in wealth, weaponized our social support nets against people of color, and sent Social Security on a trajectory of failure.



What do we have now? We have a wonderment: a backlash is taking place that is unprecedented. Arizona, Nevada, Arkansas, and five other states will see abortion rights on the ballot. The large number of supporters of these ballot initiatives dwarfs the far-right's call for a barbarous and unconstitutional infringement on women’s health and freedom (AP News). But most importantly, the media is being taken to task. The torrent of outrage against the media for letting Project 2025 go unspoken, allowing a 34-time convicted felon with convictions of sexual assault, fraud, and a litany of criminals surrounding him go unchallenged, is underway. President Biden has shifted from defense to offense, and the media’s feet are being held to the fire to present fair and balanced news that represents the true state of our nation and competence based on a factual analysis of the accomplishments of the two presidential candidates.



Rural Americans United started a pledge drive: Silence - Denied, encouraging people to refuse media coverage of the morally bankrupt Trump and to demand that President Biden and the Democrats' herculean accomplishments in these three short years be told, and it is working. Thank you to all who took the pledge or committed to it in practice. We will no longer define ourselves by the worst of us, but rather celebrate the greatness of our accomplishments.


 


Potpourri: Data Dives And Readings




Thank you for reading,





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