If They Follow This Playbook, Democrats Can Win in the Suburbs This Fall

[DinahMoeHum]

I received this article from my state senator in NY, Shelley Mayer (NY-37)

Here, she tells how she won her special election back in April (to fill out the term of the previous state senator who is now my county executive)

If They Follow This Playbook, Democrats Can Win in the Suburbs This Fall

http://www.insidesources.com/follow-playbook-democrats-can-win-suburbs-fall/

Our campaign was powered by an army of more than 3,000 volunteers who knocked on tens of thousands of doors, made phone calls, attended rallies, and helped get the word out. We were able to knock on 60,000 doors over the last five days of the campaign.

What made this manpower possible was our campaign’s efforts to build a broad coalition of unions, Democratic activists, Indivisible groups, women’s groups and community groups. We called it a “Big Tent” because everyone did not have to agree on every issue.
Pipefitters and electricians worked alongside Planned Parenthood supporters;
Teamsters and hospital workers canvassed together with members of Indivisible;
teachers and bus drivers worked with community activists.

Many of our volunteers never knew someone in a union.
And many union members were unfamiliar with the upper-middle-class, highly educated women that flocked to my campaign.
The marriage of these groups and volunteers doesn’t just happen — it requires a specific degree of dedication to relationship and coalition building that often gets lip service but is rarely central to the campaign strategy because most consultants still favor media and mail, not mobilization at the grassroots.

A face-to-face program played a crucial role in getting our message to voters, because, as any candidate who has run for office in the era of President Trump can tell you, breaking through all the noise is an immense challenge. That is why we complemented our canvassing with big investments in digital advertising,

Much more at the link.

http://www.insidesources.com/follow-playbook-democrats-can-win-suburbs-fall/

Once more, from Shelley Mayer:

With so much on the line, wealthy conservative donors and special interests spent millions in attack ads to stop me from being elected. We beat them because we built a unique coalition geared to increasing turnout through intensive face-to-face contact, not because of an inexorable Blue Wave. While my experience was in a state senate race, it is one Democratic candidates for Congress should learn from to know how to win this fall.

(boldface emphasis mine - DMH)