On Democracy’s Front Line

Reimagining Our Infrastructure

There were so many inspiring people, from all corners of the state, in Wednesday’s crowd at the Ohio Statehouse.

Thank you all for showing up! And speaking so clearly.

Your advocacy matters!

But I want to focus on one really important participant I met at the rally, and thanked.

Here he is:

His name is Brad Cotton. He’s an emergency doctor from Circleville.

But he wasn’t there for his medical prowess. He showed up in response to a different emergency.

Brad Cotton came to Columbus because he intends to run against the author of HJR1, the outrageous attack on Ohio’s democracy and its Constitution that sparked Wednesday’s rally in the first place.

That author’s name is Brian Stewart, and like 18 other current GOP state reps, Stewart didn’t face opposition in last year’s election.

I’ve come to believe that the lack of opposition in so many districts is one of the driving forces in the downward spiral we’re seeing in places like Ohio.

Which is why I was so excited to meet and thank Brad.

Yes, gerrymandering is terrible. But uncontested races make it even more of a crisis.

Why?

Because with no connection back to the actual people, and zero accountability, these unchallenged extremists stop being public servants entirely. They live in a world where they get ahead by advancing private interests (for-profit schools, energy bailouts, etc.), attacks on democracy, and social extremism (abortion bans no exceptions), and there’s nothing people can do to stop them even though we pay the price for all of it.

Imagine how much worse their mindset becomes when they can vote for all the toxic things they do, and not even face an actual election to return to power.

Practically speaking, no one running means no one is sending mailers, knocking on doors, airing ads, or telling newspapers: “Our state rep is an extremist. He’s killing our local governments and schools. He gave away your tax dollars to big donors. He’s attacking YOUR power as a citizen. He forced a 10-year old rape victim to go to Indiana.” And so much more.

And it means no one is laying out an alternative vision for the state, the district, or what a state rep could be focused on.

If no one runs, no one hears ANY of that. They hear nothing at all. And amid that helpful silence, the Brian Stewarts of the world waltz back to legislatures every 2 years to do it all over again.

And they get worse as they go, because the warped incentives in a system with no accountability ENCOURAGE them to go further…while the public pays for it all. Which is why they propose arrogant/ outrageous attacks on voters and democracy like HJR1 . Why stop? They have absolutely no fear they will suffer electoral consequences for doing so. And they actually fear the consequences of NOT going along.

And here’s the problem…and the crisis.

There were 19 Brian Stewarts in Ohio last November!

19 uncontested races.

And believe it or not, that was better than most states. Ohio had fewer races without Democrats than most red states.

Florida had 37 seats with no Dem.

Georgia, 52.

Tennessee. 45.

Texas. 41.

On and on.

Democracy, canceled!

This means there are hundreds of GOP legislators around the country who face no accountability, and who are therefore motivated by all the worst incentives. Again, no longer public servants at all, but the opposite—serving extreme and private interests, using public power and our resources to get the job done.

And this also means tens of millions of Americans encounter no democracy at the state legislative level. Which of course dampens turnout at all levels. But also blinds so many to the broader, poisonous role that these rigged legislatures are playing as the FRONT line in the relentless attack on democracy.

OK…so why are there so many of these uncontested races, leading to the downward spiral I describe?

Again, it’s not just gerrymandering, although that’s a huge problem.

It’s more.

It’s that we are so intensely focused on swing states for federal offices we have come to accept that NOT RUNNING in all these places is OK.

And because of that, we have not created an infrastructure that VALUES running everywhere.

And if people in all these areas encounter no infrastructure that values running everywhere…that values them running—they’re not going to run.

Which is why—systematically—we have so many uncontested races, doing all the damage I’ve described. It’s a system designed for that exact result.

So how do we change this?

We create that infrastructure. Then scale it up.

NOW.

Many are working hard to do so. Groups like Run for Something and The States Project are kicking ass!

But I want to introduce you to another piece of infrastructure that we MUST grow in Ohio and in other states.

It’s called Blue Ohio. We started last year, and we crowdfund support to get it directly (and entirely — 100%) into the hands of candidates stepping up to run in the TOUGHEST districts.

Candidates like Brad Cotton.

We show them, through our energy and our dollars, that we are a community that VALUES their run.

And we value them running so much, we start by giving to the candidates running in the toughest districts where’s its hardest to raise money.

We call it our bathtub model—we start filling at the bottom, and work our way up.

Now who would be willing to support this, you might ask?

In Ohio, in 2022, more than 1000 people(!) signed on (in 4 months) to give monthly (avg. $12 or so)…that’s who!

And at even that scale, the support adds up fast.

In 2020, for example, 13 candidates (beyond 18 uncontested races) didn’t even have $5,000 in their campaign accounts.

In 2022, that number dropped to ZERO(!)

Why?

Because Blue Ohio filled the gap. Because we VALUE people running everywhere.

Now, this is just a start.

To help Brad Cotton and candidates running in ALL GOP districts, I want 2,000 Blue Ohio members, then 3,000, then 5,000. That lets us fund all of them. That lifts the water in that bathtub to the brim.

Then let’s go further. Let’s bring this to all states that are interested. There’s a Blue Missouri and a Blue Texas, and we want to be in other states soon as well.

But for now, if you’re in Ohio and fired up like I am, I hope you join us.

Let’s run strong and bring accountability to Brian Stewart and all the right-wingers by helping folks like Brad Cotton. And over time, this will encourage more people like Brad Cotton to step up in the first place

You can join Blue Ohio by linking here.

We also have a monthly call. Our next one is at noon today, where we’ll focus on how we keep raising hell over HJR1, which is on the ropes. Join us, then join that call.

And wherever you live in America, start creating an infrastructure that VALUES RUNNING EVERYWHERE.

No more uncontested races!

And if you need my advice in doing this where you live, subscribe to this newsletter and respond to these emails.