More than the midterms are at stake in this election.
It’s about the future of progressive politics.
While being the non-Trump option could be enough for Democrats to win both houses of Congress, it’s not the best long-term strategy. A post-Trump age will eventually come (they can’t “Weekend at Bernie’s” a sleepy president forever), and even if Democrats seize power, without a clearly defined agenda and funds for local organizing, we will repeat the same mistakes that led to the near collapse of our Democracy.
It’s time to get serious about a ground game beyond the major races.
Grassroots organizer Yasmin Rajy recently gave an interview to The Guardian in which she outlines the Democrats’ biggest obstacle. It’s not the GOP.
It’s their lack of investment in the party’s future: local and state offices.
“Something under-discussed that keeps me up at night is if we are not building long-term, durable power, by 2030 we are going to wake up to an election where, if we don’t have power in the states, we will not be able to win congressional majorities because of how bad redistricting will look,” Radjy told The Guardian. “Population shifts are clear in California and New York – two big blue states essential for presidential math – and they will be losing electoral college votes starting in 2030. Texas and Florida are the inverse – they are going to gain power.”
“If we don’t treat the midterms as our most important moment to build infrastructure while there’s money pouring in, while there’s energy to have a shot at winning tough Republican seats in a way we can sustain, we are going to lose without question in the future, because we will have squandered an opportunity,” she said.
The opportunity is real.
Last week, I wrote about Texas and how it’s a people of color-majority state that the Democratic Party should invest in on the local level. The same could easily be applied to Florida, which is almost 50 percent people of color. And with the Cuban population under attack by anti-immigration proponents within the GOP, this long-time Republican base is in play.
The Democrats need to step up their efforts in the redistricting battles that have taken place throughout the country, from Missouri to North Carolina. They also need to invest in a real Southern strategy instead of abandoning Black and Brown voters below the Mason-Dixon line. With Georgia going purple and Texas finally being in play with its unpopular governor and policies, now is the time to back up community organizers in those states, as well as Mississippi and Louisiana. Black Southerners are preparing for a fight and are ready. They just need the national party’s support to help them win locally and statewide.
Why do we need to focus on the grassroots instead of solely on flashier national races?
It’s about the future.
An aggressive, local ground game sets the stage for more progressive politicians to push back against GOP gerrymandering and to stop toxic GOP tactics on the ground level so they don’t get a chance to blow up on the national stage.
Imagine if the anti-DEI or trans rights fights were minimized or snuffed out from infancy because more progressives were involved in our school boards, city councils, or running for county commissioner. What if these state houses actually reflected the diversity of their states, instead of being overwhelmingly white when the white population is in decline across the United States?
Democrats are raising a lot of money right now, and funneling these dollars into the grassroots should be critical. In fact, the grassroots should be leading the way. Community organizers made Georgia turn blue in 2020 and 2024. With national support, they can turn those gains into real power. Instead of taking a wait-and-see approach with Keisha Lance Bottoms and her run for governor, they could go all in on Georgia.
Right now, Bottoms is leading in the race, but has a real funding gap. Why is this, when Georgia is just as important as Texas, just as important as Florida, to the Democrats’ future? The future of the Democratic Party is in the South. The future of the Democratic Party is in the grassroots.
This should be the beginning of a bright, diverse future—a Democratic coalition that reflects us all, regardless of class, race, gender, or sexuality—not an endgame.
Don’t let the momentum die after the Midterms.
