Time to pull together, folks.
We each had our preferred candidates in the primary. Some won, some lost and as of this writing some outcomes are still to be determined. Whether or not your favorite was victorious, there is one critical goal we must not lose sight of in the months ahead: Democrats MUST win and everything is on the line in the November election. Literally. Division has often interfered with Democrats’ ability to unite behind important goals. Some will be tempted to resist supporting the winning candidates. They may have reasons they believe are justified.
But unity has never been a bigger priority. Withholding votes from any Democrat will only ease the way for a continued MAGA agenda of empowering the billionaire class at the expense of the rights, health and pocketbooks of average Americans. If we don’t rein in MAGA now, the time it takes to repair the damage to our country and our communities could balloon from years to decades as we endure two more exhausting years of an unchecked megalomaniacal president who cares only for the wealthy, his own ego and his wallet.
Every one of our candidates is committed to standing up to the MAGA onslaught and rebuilding a government that serves average Americans well and efficiently – whether from DC, Augusta or your town. And we have an incredibly strong lineup:
Graham Platner won more votes in a Maine Democratic US Senate primary than any other candidate in history. A landslide vote. Our candidates vying to succeed Jared Golden in Congressional District 2 and those hoping to succeed Gov. Janet Mills are smart and experienced, and all have vowed to push back against Trump and his enablers. And we need to return our Democratic state legislators to Augusta, add to their numbers, and make sure we have solid Democratic officials in place in our county.
Although we’re still awaiting final numbers, Brian Thomas, who needed 300 write-in votes to qualify for the November ballot as a Hancock County Democratic candidate for probate judge, reports that he got more than that from voters in Lamoine and Bar Harbor. So let’s stay focused on the big picture.
We have 20 weeks until the November elections and we need to make every one of them count. Our June meeting will focus on canvassing: the most effective way of getting undecided and infrequent voters to turn out at the polls. Two experienced canvassers: Anna Vertiel, a coordinator for the Graham Platner campaign, and Abbie McMillen, treasurer of our county Democratic committee, will lead a discussion that addresses the fears some people have about canvassing and explain what it’s really like (fun, actually!) and why it works.
We’ll also have sign-up sheets where you can express interest in participating in one of the many other activities we’ll be organizing:
- Post-card mailings to get out the vote in key campaigns
- Letters to the editor to help get across the most important messages we are spotlighting this year.
- Placing signs with powerful messages that remind people of the many costs of the GOP agenda and how Dems can represent them better.
- Volunteer staffing at the office in Ellsworth.
We look forward to your attendance at HCDC’s June monthly meeting.
Marcia Myers, HCDC Chair
