Spreading the Blue Wave across the country
In the final weeks of the 2018 election season, 100 Progressive Turnout Project (PTP) Fellows have infused new, vibrant energy into 31 Democratic congressional campaigns across the country.
Some PTP-endorsed candidates have been campaigning for well over a year, and campaigning for any amount of time in a hotly contested district will tire out even the most committed and robust team.
“These are the most important few weeks for the campaign and candidates, and there needs to be a constant flow of positive energy in a work environment that can easily tire people out,” says Aubrey Taylor, a Fellow in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District (PA-07).
Rather than allow such vital campaigns fall vulnerable to fatigue, PTP Fellows are picking up the slack wherever they can find it, and they’re doing whatever they can to help our candidates finish strong on November 6th.
For some Fellows that means canvassing and phone banking. For others, it means leading teams of volunteers and interns in districts where the volunteer base has swelled beyond expectations.
Donovan Rinker-Morris, a Fellow in California’s 39th Congressional District (CA-39), reports that volunteer turnout grew from 5-20 people per event in March to about 100-200 or more per event in October.
“That sort of volunteer increase strains bandwidth,” says Donovan. “As numbers grew, logistical demands grew along with them, and other campaign priorities – signage, letters to the editor in local press, social media engagement, and special volunteer projects – all fell to the side. I help with each matter as needed.”
This is the inaugural year for PTP’s Fellows Program, and the cohort, gathered by Fellows Program Manager CeCe Grant, represents an impressive array of professional backgrounds including an adult education teacher, a social worker, a Harvard-trained lawyer, and campus and political organizers, among others.
Each day, as the Fellows lend support to their campaigns, they simultaneously impart lessons learned long ago and absorb new knowledge – lessons about teamwork, communication, accountability, and organizing.
“The most important thing I’ve learned as a Fellow is that action is necessary,” says Savannah Crabtree, a Fellow in Georgia’s 1st congressional district. “We need organizations like Progressive Turnout Project to connect people wanting to do something but not totally knowing where to start.”
Nearby in Georgia’s 7th congressional district, Fellow Kate Burn says of her experience, “I’ve learned that teamwork makes things happen.”
And in Kansas’ 3rd congressional district, Fellow Alexandrea Bisges says, “The most important lesson I’ve learned as a Fellow is obvious, but critical: organization is king. Much of running a clean, efficient political campaign is managing a constant stream of logistics, communication, and coordination in way that is efficient, professional, accurate, and prompt.”
Most, if not all, of our Fellows were moved to political action by the 2016 election and Donald Trump’s runaway presidency. Some Fellows are working in their home Districts while others have travelled many miles to lend their support to a district in need. One or two Fellows are considering careers in politics; a handful will continue their work in education and with non-profits; and still others have their sights set on graduate school, law and public policy programs.
What unites PTP Fellows is their shared commitment to making this country a better, more progressive place.
In Ohio’s 14th congressional district, Fellow Tyler Novak had this to say: “The canvassing, the personalization of talking to voters, getting out the vote, entering data, and the sense of community working with the Betsy Rader campaign has really made it feel like we are all in this together making a difference.”
Indeed, Progressive Turnout Project teams across the country are “all in this together making a difference.”
