(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Did you do a thing? Great! Now you can do another. (House Action Diary #1) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-29 Yesterday, I wrote a little bit of a thing with the intention of making it easier for folks her to find a place to put their money or energy to help ensure Democratic control of the Senate. THIS DIARY HAS LOTS OF NICE LINKS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO HELP US IN THE SENATE The House can be a little overwhelming to navigate unless you have a tight race in your area. So, here are a few races that are going to make a huge difference this year. Today, I am presenting some resources to make it easier for you to help flip the House blue. And we need the house, because goddamn republicans can’t even be trusted to do simple shit like honor election results and we need to keep their grubby little Putin-lovin’ hands off the levers of power. Most (I think all but one) of the candidates here is listed on Oath as top 6 priority races for US House control. Oath, by the way, is a tool for making the biggest impact with your money. They assign every race a score of 0 — 10 on three factors: Competitiveness, Financial Need, and Stakes. The first two are pretty self-descriptive. The stakes factor is described by them as: While every vote matters, turning out additional voters in some races may have a larger impact than others. Oath looks for races that could determine Democratic control of an entire chamber (tipping point seats) or where one voter may have multiple close elections on their ballot (nested races). Here is more information on their ranking system. I am not affiliated with Oath in any way. But it does seem like a pretty good tool for getting the most bang for your buck, depending on what priorities you have. You can filter by issue, so if you want to spread some dollars around to candidates (or organizations) that are climate hawks or social justice warriors, you have those options. Today, I just hit the button that prioritized “US House Control” because, well... The reason we need to flip the House is pretty simple: Trump could win. If he does, we need to ensure we have the majority in at least one chamber of Congress to act as a check against his extremist agenda. Holding the Senate majority is going to be tough — with Democrats defending the seven closest seats — making the battle for the House a must-win. There are 22 races rated as Toss Up by the Cook Political Report, but Oath has identified the candidates who need funding most right now. As of today, The race for majority is tied with 21 labeled as tossup. Before I get to the candidates… my pitch for phonebanking. Phone banking is NOT glorious. Phone banking is not even that much fun for most folks (especially the remote phone banking where you don’t even get to sit in room with other people and get pizza or donuts for your efforts). Phone-banking will not fully utilize your unique potential and skills. But… Phone banking matters. Contact matters. Personal contact really matters. People understand that e-mail blast and bulk text messaging requires little effort. And people like to feel special. People feel special when effort is made on their behalf. Personal contact really matters. People understand that e-mail blast and bulk text messaging requires little effort. And people like to feel special. People feel special when effort is made on their behalf. Phone-banking is a connection to the candidate and the campaign . People are not just getting a request for money or other support. They are having a conversation with a representative from the campaign (yeah, even a first time phone-banker counts). They can ask questions and share thoughts. . People are not just getting a request for money or other support. They are having a conversation with a representative from the campaign (yeah, even a first time phone-banker counts). They can ask questions and share thoughts. Phone banking is effective . It is why campaigns still do it. Whether the mission of the day is activating other volunteers, turning likely voters into confirmed voters, changing hearts and minds, or good ol’ getting out the vote, it works. . It is why campaigns still do it. Whether the mission of the day is activating other volunteers, turning likely voters into confirmed voters, changing hearts and minds, or good ol’ getting out the vote, it works. Phone banking is eternal. It is probably safe to say that NO race will get to election day with nobody left to call. So, don’t assume that a few other people will pick up the slack and call everyone next week or that “they can’t possibly need one more person calling”. If phones are cool enough for this guy, they are cool enough for you Wanna know a bit more about remote phone-banking before saying yes and saving the world? Here’s how it works (95% of the time): Join a zoom call provided through the link to the phone-bank event Get a quick heads up on the mission for the day Get a quick tutorial on the Virtual Phone Bank tool that will be used that day Open up that Virtual Phone Bank in a browser window Make calls while zoom call is in the background, so you can give a shout to someone if you have a question Debrief End Zoom Call Pat yourself on the back Now… on to the candidates…. Look at this. She’s at the beach. I can’t think many better places to go canvass for a weekend. (fair warning: NJ 7 doesn’t really have much beach, but it ain’t far to the Jersey Shore for some seafood and scenery after doing Democracy’s work) NJ 7 — Sue Altman Susan Altman in the one candidate listed here that is not on short (top 6) list provided by the above-mentioned Oath, but this race does get 7.5 out of 10 on their site, so still pretty solid. I’m putting her at the top of the list because she only candidate on this list that is not in a swing state. This means that this race could be easily overlooked by both national parties. Also, she is running in a part of the country that makes it easy for A LOT of progressives in the NY/ Southern New England area to get out there and pound the pavement for her. Bonus: this district includes DonOld’s Bedminster joint. She’s a progressive candidate running in a swingy suburban district. She fits the bill of electing more & BETTER Democrats. Supports DC statehood and expanding the Supreme Court. Curbing corruption and limiting of dark money in politics are high priorities of her campaign. She also has a solid history of climate action. SUE ALTMAN’S WEBSITE (with donation splash page, of course) Lots of opportunities to canvass or otherwise volunteer. Show her some support on twitter. And here’s a little story about her and the importance of this race. Working class ethic for a little while, I’d say. PA 7 — Susan Wild Just across the river from Sue’s New Jersey District, between Philly and the Poconos is PA 7. The main city here is Allentown. It is a mix of urban and rural. And it is currently represented by Susan Wild. We want to keep it that way. She defines herself by her working class upbringing and ethic, her ability to work across the aisle and her dedication to actively listening to her constituents. Her highlighted issues are bread and butter issues: access to healthcare, affordable higher education, veteran affairs, fixing the USPS, and supporting domestic manufacturing. SUSAN WILD’S WEBSITE HER EVENTS ON MOBILIZE Help keep Congress Wild! Or Wild in Congress. Yeah, that second one. PA 8 — Matt Cartwright He’s the one on the left. Matt Cartwright is looking to hold his district that went to Trump in 2020. It holds the distinction of being the most republican leaning district in the country to be represented by a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. MATT’S WEBSITE Lots o’ Stuff for Matt on Mobilize Didn’t see a Cartwright specific virtual phonebank, but if you have your heart set on lending a hand and a voice to PA, Virtual (from Anywhere) Phonebank (Harris/ Walz And if you want a nice little article written a couple of years ago that looks into his success in a red district, go check this article. NC 1 — Don Davis He’s the one the right. North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District is a huge chunk of northeastern NC that extends from the coast to fringes of the Research Triangle. Despite a bit of coastline and a bit of triangle, it is largely rural with a history of generational poverty. Don Davis seems like a helluva guy. Worked in the fields when he was younger. Coordinated Air Force One operation at Andrews when he was in the Air Force. Became a small town mayor. Has worked as log time educator. Went to DC in 2022 and id looking to hold his seat this year. HERE’S DON’S WEBSITE DON’S TWITTER DON’S FACEBOOK Back tomorrow with Part 2. It’ll look a whole like this one. But different names. 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