“In '22, abortion rights had the biggest impact where it was literally on the ballot, less so when trying to draw the connection in candidate races. That has changed. Voters clearly made the connection that voting for GOP candidates = abortion bans.” -Tom Bonier, Political Analyst
Friends - we did it! Thanks to focused and dedicated work on the ground (as well as your consistent postcard writing efforts) democracy won resoundingly in an off-year election cycle!
OHIO:
Not only did voters choose to enshrine reproductive rights into the Ohio state constitution, they did it despite the decidedly undemocratic shenanigans of the GOP Ohio State legislature and secretary of state, who tried to make it more difficult to amend the constitution through a costly August Special election*, then blanketed the state with disinformation about the measure (including through official state websites and propaganda ads by that Tucker guy). The Republican Secretary of State also quietly dropped 26,000 voters from the rolls less than two weeks from the mid-September voter registration deadline.
Abortion rights passed anyway. By 10 points. Along with the legalization of recreational marijuana, also by 10 points. And youth voter turnout remains high. Coincidence? Hmmmmm.
*Note that both measures passed at about 57%, which is less than the 60% threshold that the GOP attempted to establish with their proposed amendment. Had that amendment passed in August, both measures would have failed. Your effort to stop them has made a difference!
VIRGINIA:
Governor Glen Youngkin promised a “15-week abortion ‘compromise’” if voters allowed the GOP to take over both legislative branches in Virginia. Youngkin undoubtedly hoped that this move would “soften” the GOP abortion stance for voters, solidify a blueprint for GOP legislative dominance in other states, and nurture his own private presidential ambitions.
Virginia voters wisely saw that an abortion “compromise” was actually a ban. Consequently, the “moderate” MAGA-in-sheep’s clothing governor not only failed to produce a trifecta, but the Virginia democrats held onto the Senate and flipped the VA House of Delegates to blue.
The win in Virginia will not only protect the abortion rights - the only state in the South without an abortion ban - it has also elected the only out transgender delegate in the South by elevating Delegate Danica Roem, the first known transgender delegate, to the state senate. Let THAT be a blueprint for red states. BWAHAHAHAHA.For an extra dose of schadenfreude, the happy outcome for VA Dems means that House minority leader Don Scott of Portsmouth will likely be elevated to the first Black House speaker in Virginia history.
Did I mention that Governor Youngkin has now announced he will no longer be running for president in 2024? Sad.
More Great News!
Kentucky reelected its Democratic Governor, Andy Beshear, over Daniel Cameron, the Republican Attorney General who defended the draconian state-wide abortion ban and failed to bring charges against police officers who killed Breonna Taylor during a mistaken drug raid that went horribly wrong. Pennsylvania citizens gave their Supreme Court a 5 - 2 liberal majority when they voted in Democratic candidate Dan McCaffery, a proponent of protecting reproductive, voting and other rights. Moms for Liberty, the “Parent’s Rights” extremist group tied to the Heritage Foundation and proponents of book bans and white-washing history, faced major pushback by the communities they ran in. The group’s candidates lost bigly across the country, failing in over 70% of their targeted school board races.
Did you notice how all this good news has at least some tangential relationship to reproductive rights (and/or civil rights)? Put a pin in that for this coming year.
Now What?
There are countless other great election outcomes, but let’s take a moment to reflect on where we go from here.
First, let’s briefly address that recent infamous NYT/Siena poll. While I won’t be so bold as to declare “Polls, SCHMOLLS!”, I will point out that both Obama’s and Clinton’s polling numbers were worse than Biden’s a year out from their respective elections. I’ll also point out that neither I, nor most people I know, nor ANY young people, answer calls from polling organizations. And that outlier polls pushing our fear buttons are the ongoing economic model for media outlets who need clickbait for advertising dollars.
That being said, a Joe Biden candidacy has an enthusiasm problem despite his accomplishments. No, inflation is not his fault! Yes, the economic wave that Trump rode was the outcome of the Obama administration’s policies! Yes, Trump is a criminal! All of that and more is true, but we have to develop strategies to address these points and have respectful, yet persuasive conversations with friends, family, and neighbors from now until November 2024 - a real task in a polarized media landscape rife with disinformation. Please contact us if you have some ideas and would like to share them on the Blue Wave Blog! Not a writer? Send us your brilliant idea anyway - we’ll write it up and credit you for the idea.
We also need your help as we gear up for the 2024 election season. Blue Wave will launch multiple strategic campaigns next year to help us protect our rights and democracy. 2024 will be a critical year for the country and a big year for Blue Wave! We’ll need many more writers, more contributions to our Activist Assistance Fund, and more volunteers to help with shipping and events. If you’re not already on our update list, feel free to sign up here as we'll be moving fast as 2024 progresses.
We’re also happy to speak to pro-democracy groups who are interested in our mission and/or how to do effective postcarding. If you’re interested in inviting us to speak to your group, please email speaking@bluewavepostcards.org.
Thanks once more for all your help, whether writing postcards, attending our postcard parties, or donating to our Activist Assistance Fund! We appreciate it all and are so happy to celebrate our 2023 wins together!
Keep it up, my friends - our real challenges lie ahead but We. Can. Do. This. Together.
Love you like democracy -
-Lisa, Marketing Director/SoBo Coordinator