On winning and what it means
By Stephanie Schriock on 08/11/2010 @ 04:08 PM
Late last night, votes were still being counted in Minnesota. Unfortunately, EMILY’s List candidate for governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher came up just a few thousand votes short of one her opponents, Mark Dayton. As an alum of Senator Al Franken’s campaign in the very same state, I can tell you I certainly know the difference a seemingly small number of votes can make. In the end, though, the poll numbers - and who wins because of them - don’t tell the whole story.
Something to consider: Margaret earned 39.8% of the votes, compared to her closest opponent’s 41.3% -- but she was outspent 4 to 1, by Dayton alone. And she faced another self-funding candidate, bringing their total spend to $8 million more than hers. What does this mean? Despite this huge hurdle, Margaret and her team ran a fantastic race, with lots of hard work in grassroots organizing and winning endorsements from her party and newspapers alike. This is testament to Margaret’s strong leadership – and how this is certainly not the last you’ll be hearing from such a promising and talented candidate.
Are we disappointed that we’re not celebrating a Kelliher victory today? Of course. So it goes in politics and in life – we take what we can learn from the experience and look to the next fight. But this one loss is just that – one loss, and we couldn’t be prouder of the positive, effective campaign that Margaret led. We’re looking forward to a win of hers in the very near future.
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MN-Gov: Election Results
By Hilary on 08/10/2010 @ 05:49 PM
Tonight, we will all be watching and waiting to hear the results from Minnesota's primary election.
Follow along with us to track Margaret Anderson Kelliher's numbers as they come in at www.politico.com/2010.
The polls will be closing at 8:00pm central time.
An ally for what?
By Hilary on 08/10/2010 @ 11:31 AM
It seems that the lines are being drawn in Washington state's Senate race. Republican challenger Dino Rossi is trying to take advantage of the harsh political climate to unseat one of our heroes -- Sen. Patty Murray.
Coming back into politics after his recent speaking stint on profiting from foreclosures, Rossi is lining up the heavy hitters of the far-right to do his bidding. He previously touted the endorsement of ultra-conservative Sen. Jim DeMint, the man that called health care reform President Obama's Waterloo and asked himself "‘why didn’t I say that?’” after hearing Cong. Joe Wilson scream "you lie" at the President during his address to Congress.
Now, DeMint and Rossi have a new teammate -- Sen. Tom Coburn. Coburn, known to many of his colleagues as "Dr. No", says that Rossi "will be an ally" if elected to the Senate. And, we wonder -- an ally for what, Mr. Coburn? For protecting Wall Street and big oil? For keeping secret holds and creating gridlock? Or, for forcing out-of-touch conservative values on American families?
Coburn has been a formidable foe of Sen. Murray's in her tenure. They've fought over funding for a radioactive waste clean-up in Patty's home state of Washington and he tried to block her legislation creating the Wild Sky Wilderness Area. Just last month, we were talking about how Coburn asserted that America was more free thirty years ago. Luckily, EL alum Sen. Amy Klobuchar was around to remind him that 30 years ago women in America were not represented at the highest levels of government.
The adage may be that politics makes for strange bedfellows, but in this case these three seem to be peas in a (far-right) pod. One more reason we’re dedicated to working for Sen. Murray!
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Terri Sewell: Commemorating the 45th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
By Hilary on 08/09/2010 @ 05:34 PM
Last week commemorated the 45th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which set in motion not only the expansion of suffrage to millions of African Americans, but also a great change in course for American progressive politics.
Terri Sewell, our candidate in Alabama's 7th congressional district, knows first-hand how hard fought that victory was. Terri blogged on Left in Alabama, sharing her powerful personal story about the difference that the VRA made in her life. Terri writes, "I grew up in Selma in the years immediately after Bloody Sunday. I watched the changes that occurred in our community, including my mother’s election as the first African American woman on the Selma City Council. Change did not come easy in Selma, and the change our President promised for our country will not come easily either. The President made history in November 2008... Now, we are set to make history in Alabama. If elected, I will be the first woman elected in her own right to Congress from Alabama and the first African American woman to serve our state in Congress."
Terri knows just how hard the people of her hometown, people like her mother, fought for change. Now, she fears the so-called "enthusiasm gap" could mean many of the voters who helped make history in 2008 could stay home, and she knows that the Republican Party is just waiting to turn our nation back. Terri continued, "Change will never come if we lose our Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate this November. We can make a difference by voting this November – by exercising that right so many sacrificed for to obtain for all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender."
Don't just take my word for it -- read Terri's entire post on this important issue here.
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On the ground in Minnesota
By Hilary on 08/09/2010 @ 03:41 PM
I just received this great email from my colleague, Jess, who is on the ground with Margaret Anderson Kelliher's campaign in the final stretch before Election Day tomorrow.
I landed in Minnesota yesterday afternoon. It's my first trip out here since I started working at EMILY's List, but definitely not my first time in the state. I lived here for about 4 years while I worked first for the DFL Party (that's what we call the Democratic Party in Minnesota) and then on the campaign of now Senator Al Franken. So I've seen a LOT of Minnesota campaigns up close.
And I was thrilled to find Margaret's campaign headquarters looking exactly how you want a campaign headquarters to look 48 hours before a big election: almost empty. That's because her volunteers were spread out all over Minnesota knocking on doors, talking to their neighbors, in phone call centers, and waiting outside the Fitzgerald Theater to see the final debate before the primary.
I went to join them about an hour before the debate was set to start. And honestly? If I didn't know a thing about the race, I'd have thought she was the only candidate running. Volunteers were everywhere. Red Margaret for Governor t-shirts lined the streets, and supporters were fired up. They held a quick rally featuring Cong. Keith Ellison from Minneapolis, Mayor Chris Coleman from St. Paul, and Sen. Al Franken before cheering our candidate into the theater.
And I don't know if it was the pre-debate love, or the momentum that's been at this campaign's back for weeks now, but Margaret owned that debate. She sounded like a leader -- like a governor ready to pull this state back from two decades of failed leadership. I'm proud to support her, and I couldn't be happier to be back here in Minnesota for the final days.
Can't you just feel the excitement?!
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