(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . From the Trenches [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-07-22 From the Trenches... I am a Democratic Party Chair for a small rural county. A county that slowly moved from voting Democratic (the last time was the first Obama election in 2008) to voting Republican. A county with many MAGA activists. The transformation from majority Democratic to majority Republican was simultaneous with a decline in local jobs. Young people leave the county. Blue collar jobs disappeared to be replaced with fewer and lower paying tourist jobs. I want to share how the change in the Democratic ticket was anticipated and is viewed here. The debate shocked the Democratic activists. We politely acknowledged Joe did not do well. In the ground game we moved ahead but some were demoralized. We have wonderful local candidates. They correctly deflected the issue. Our activists were digging in with door knocking and phone calling to support our state ticket. But at the doors people wanted to talk about the Presidential ticket. We were getting unsolicited comments about who should be running. We made it clear we were not discussing this issue at our meetings or on our website or Facebook page. But separately our Executive Committee members confided they were in contact with elected officials from our state to advocate for a switch. Our state assigned field organizer, a 20-year-old student from our county, told me privately after a canvass over the Fourth of July weekend that he would love to see Kamala as the nominee. He said he had always been a Harris fanboy. I had a discussion with a formerly homeless man in his thirties, who I had helped since 2018. He had moved to a rural county to get away from his drug addicted friends and contacts, and now lives in a sobriety house. His coworkers and friends are all Trump supporters and he had been getting the message about Biden’s cognitive decline for months. He wasn’t going to support Biden. He would parrot some Trump talking points but didn’t like Trump either. Over the same Fourth of July weekend, I asked him what he thought of Harris. He surprised me. He said he “liked hearing her explain things. She is very good at explaining things and making things clear.” Over the next two weeks I heard from many people that they had contacted their Democratic electeds to say they wanted a switch and preferred Harris. My sister. My physical therapist. Over and over I heard that people were demoralized at our prospects and hoping for a change. Last Friday we jointly sponsored a candidate night with the county Republican Party. We heard from 15 state and local candidates followed by informal discussions. But no mention of the national ticket. When President Biden announced his decision on Sunday, it was met with enthusiasm and excitement. Phone calls and texts in support of Harris. This is so good for our ability to organize. People are motivated to volunteer. This is a shot in the arm for us. We are increasing our chances up and down the ballot. Take advantage of this reset. Volunteer and organize for a win! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/7/22/2256914/-From-the-Trenches?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=community_spotlight&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/