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Progressive Neighbors Election 2024 Post-Mortem

Election Day was a disaster.  We kept getting told “That’s Not Who We Are,” but apparently that is who we are.  About a third of the country didn’t vote, about a third voted for Trump and a third for Harris, but Harris lost the popular vote and most of the swing states, even though the margins were small (1-2%).  Sexism, racism and xenophobia surely played a role in Harris’ loss.

We did score some victories like breaking the supermajority in the NC Legislature.  In Maryland we elected Angela Alsobrooks our next Senator and April McClain Delaney (narrowly).  We prevented a MAGA candidate’s election to the County School Board.  We passed Question 1 enshrining Reproductive rights in our constitution (Reproductive rights won in most places where it was on the ballot and even got a majority in Florida (57%), though they changed the rules and now require 60% for ballot initiatives.).  We did lose though (by 2 to 1) on Question A in Montgomery County preventing Marc Elrich from running for a third term.  We lost 3-4 Senate seats but could have lost several more.  If the Republicans hold on to the House, they will only have a narrow (about a 3 seat) majority which, this past term, has made the House almost ungovernable.  

Most Republicans who got reelected did so by narrow margins.  Scott Perry in PA CD10 won reelection by only 2% (about 6,000 votes).   While Harris/Walz raised a ton of money, lots of outside dark money groups weighed in, particularly at the last minute.  Harris ran a picture perfect campaign, though she had only 107 days to do it.  Tons of people volunteered, traveled out of state, canvassed, made phone calls, wrote postcards, donated money.  Everyone did much more than they ever had to help.  Jamie Raskin raised $2 million for Democracy Summer, trained about 1,000 college students to help campaigns all over the country and personally campaigned in 27 states.   It was truly inspiring.  Yet it wasn’t enough.

It’s OK and necessary to take some time to recover and for self-care.  We need to recuperate.  Then we need to reflect, analyze and reorient our strategies while focusing on resisting the Trump/Project 2025 agenda.  We have to maintain hope and persevere.  Here are a few things I hope for.

  • Trump says climate change is a hoax, but his closest advisor Elon Musk believes in climate change and that electric cars are the future.  Could he convince Trump to retain some of the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act?
  • The money from the Infrastructure bill is going disproportionately to red states.  Local Representatives and Senators proudly touted the money they brought home and the new bridges and roads that will be created.  Are they ready to throw that all away?
  • While Trump is ready to sell out Ukraine to Putin, several Republican Senators strongly back Ukraine and see the need to continue support for them.
  • The war in Gaza is horrific and will get worse under Trump.  Those who voted against Harris because of the war (in Michigan Jill Stein got a substantial number of votes) should be motivated to exert enormous pressure on the new Administration to stop giving Netanyahu carte blanche.
  • While Trump wants to increase fossil fuel production, even more than current levels, to lower fuel costs, fossil fuels are increasingly uncompetitive.  Solar, wind and geothermal costs are coming down rapidly.  Businesses will switch to the cheapest fuel, though the transition may not be as quick.  (How will his supporters react when he does not bring down the cost of gasoline to $1.87/gallon as he bragged?)
  • Of the 53 Republican Senators, how many will break ranks in specific issues (a la John McCain) like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski?  It only takes 4 of them to stop legislation (like repeal of the Affordable Care Act) and they have nowhere near enough to prevent a filibuster.
  • Are all these “free trade” market-oriented Republicans OK with huge tariffs or will some of them resist?
  • Trump and Vance claim to be “family-friendly” and support expanding the child tax credit and giving support to family caregivers.  Will Republicans support such legislation?
  • Musk proposes cutting $2 trillion from the Federal budget, which is impossible.
  • On immigration, it will also be impossible to round up and deport 12 million people.  Businesses that rely on immigrant workers, like construction, hospitality, landscaping, and restaurants, will resist mass deportation efforts, which would also result in wages hikes and higher prices.
  • On Reproductive rights, Trump has said he would veto a national ban and is the “Father of IVF.”  Of course he can’t be trusted, but I don’t see a national ban passing a filibuster and as several “red” states have enshrined reproductive rights in their state constitutions, I suspect Senators from those states might be reluctant to support a national ban.

Every time there is progress, there is a backlash.  And every time the Right takes charge they overreach.  The 2026 Senate map is more favorable to Democrats.  The House could be won back by flipping only a few seats.  Whiplash is inevitable as the pendulum swings back the other way. This election was a setback and a shocking one.  Most of us believed that given a choice between a hopeful qualified progressive candidate (who moved clearly to the center) and a convicted felon the choice would be obvious to most people.  Yet, the false narrative spun by the Right (stolen rigged elections, dangerous immigrants, rising crime, the worst economy, trans students taking over, they’re eating the dogs) prevailed.  One thing I think we have learned is that we have self-segregated geographically and in our media habits.    We all live in a bubble.  How many of us have friends or neighbors who have very different political views?  One thing we need to do moving forward is to start talking and listening to others and treating others as human beings and not “the enemy.” They may believe these false narratives, but we shouldn’t blame them.  Blame the right-wing media and corporate interests who propagate these lies.  White men voted overwhelmingly for Trump.  We need to figure out why and, as Bernie suggests, focus more on working class issues.

Meanwhile, we will continue to do the work, particularly at the local level where we have had a positive impact.  We have a lot of work to do.  Let’s get to it.  Don’t give up hope.  The successes we have had (ending the Vietnam War, the Women’s movement, the Environmental Movement, the LGBTQ+ Movement) all came from years of organizing and perseverance. We can do this together.

Progressive Neighbors September 2024

Two Months and Counting

The Fall election is approaching fast.  There is a lot to do these last two months.

Campaigning:

There are a number of important races this year in Maryland.  Of course, we hope for a strong showing for the Harris/Walz ticket.  And we need Jamie Raskin to get reelected.  But there are two close races in the state that could come down to the wire.  

Senate race to elect Angela Alsobrooks: 

The Democrats are likely going to lose the West Virginia Senate seat but retain all their incumbents.  This means a 50-50 Senate with Democrats in charge if Harris and Walz win.  Walz would be the tie breaking vote, as Harris was the first two years of the Biden Administration.  But, if Maryland elects Hogan to the Senate, Republicans would be in charge and could block most important legislation and appointments.  Alsobrooks would also be an important vote to protect reproductive rights.  This is why is it crucial we elect Angela Alsobrooks as our next Senator from Maryland.  She should be the first black woman elected as Senator from Maryland (and only the second woman) as well as only the third black woman ever elected to the Senate!  The latest polls show it is a close race.  Hogan has better name recognition from 8 years as Governor and an undeserved reputation as a moderate.  He makes a lot of claims to be a “maverick” in the John McCain tradition, but his election would still leave the Senate in Republican control no matter how he votes and he will be under tremendous pressure to vote with leadership.  Please donate and volunteer to the Alsobrooks campaign.  There is door-knocking, phone banking and letter writing going on every day.  She has a campaign office in downtown Silver Spring across from Mi Rancho.

House race to elect April McClain Delaney: 

The closest race in Maryland will be to replace David Trone in Western Maryland/Northern Montgomery County.  April Delaney is in a close race against Neil Parrott.  The House currently is under Republican control but just barely.  Winning or losing a few seats will determine control of the House next year.  The Democrats have a great chance of flipping the house, due in part to massive efforts like Raskin’s Democracy Summer.  But every seat matters.  We cannot lose this Western Maryland seat.  You can donate to Delaney’s campaign here or volunteer for her campaign here.  Getting as many votes as we can in northern Montgomery County (e.g. Gaithersburg) could make the difference.  Flipping the House will put Jamie Raskin in charge of the House Oversight Committee instead of Rep. Comer who has misused this office to go after political opponents with frivolous investigations.

Out of State Races:

You can also volunteer to work in Pennsylvania which will be critical to Harris winning in November.  A 1 ½-2 hour drive north to York or Harrisburg will take you to Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, currently represented by Scott Perry, one of the worst election deniers/MAGA extremists.  Janelle Stelson is the Democrat running against him.  She is a former news anchor in that area and has a lot of name recognition and favorability.  Polls show her in a competitive race.  Every weekend there are caravans of volunteers going up there to canvass through NOPE, Silver Spring Progressive Action, and others.  Check Janelle’s website for more information.  If you are even more ambitious, drive down to North Carolina to help turn NC Blue.  Virginia also has some tight races, particularly in the southern part of the state (VA-7).

Our website has a section on “Election Links” which lists a large number of groups you could work with.

Montgomery County School Board: 

There are three races for school board this fall:

In the Primary we endorsed Rita Montoya, Natalie Zimmerman and Laura Stewart.

The most important of these races is District 2 where Brenda Diaz, who is aligned with conservative causes, needs to be defeated.  Questionnaires for all these candidates can be found on our website: At Large, District 2, District 4. 

Ballot Questions:

There will be two ballot questions on the ballot this fall.  One State-wide question (Question 1) is posed to enshrine reproductive freedom in the Maryland State Constitution and we recommend you vote in favor of it.

The second one is a local Montgomery County Ballot Question (Question A) which was placed on the ballot by Republicans.  The goal is to limit the County Executive to two terms rather than the current three terms.  Council members are limited to three terms.  This was placed on the ballot specifically to prevent County Executive Marc Elrich from running for a third term in 2026.  Republicans who can’t win at the ballot box in Montgomery County are trying for this undemocratic end run.  We strongly oppose this and recommend you vote No and tell your friends to vote No as well.

The stakes are high this fall.  The election will be close.  It is coming up fast.  As Michelle Obama said at the convention, it is important to “Do Something” and “Leave it all on the field” per Coach Walz.  We don’t have many days left.  Whatever you are doing to help, do more.  Give an extra $10 or $20, volunteer for an extra shift canvassing, write another 50 postcards, make another 50 phone calls, ta

Progressive Neighbors June 2024

With the Primary behind us, we have a lot of work do to before the general election. In
Maryland we have two very competitive elections: the Senate race and the 6th District
Congressional race. Both are critical to keeping/winning Democratic Control of the House and Senate. We encourage you to get involved in the Alsobrooks Campaign and the Delaney Campaign.

Every year we say that this election is the most important one of our lifetimes. We don’t think that is an exaggeration this year. The stakes are high and the future of our country and our democracy rests on it.

Thank you in advance for all you will be doing this summer and fall.

How To Get Involved:

Sign up here to volunteer to help Alsobrooks. She is having a kickoff campaign
weekend June 29th-30th . The Party has also posted a website highlighting all the Hogan vetoes during his eight years as governor.

Sign up here to help with the Delaney Campaign. Please make campaign donations to both campaigns. These will be close races. We can’t afford Republicans in control of either house of Congress.

Our other major job over the next 4 months is to reelect Joe Biden. We have differences our with Joe Biden, but he has been the most progressive President since FDR and has made tremendous strides on the environment, the economy, and the social justice agenda, to name a few. It would be unthinkable to sit home or not vote for him. The alternative would be chaos and a right-wing theocratic takeover.

You can help the campaign by volunteering with them or one of the many organizations listed on our resources page.

You may also want to consider traveling to Pennsylvania, Virginia or North Carolina to help win those battlegrounds states. York, PA, for example, has a competitive race to beat Scott Perry, one of the leaders of the Freedom Caucus and is only an hour and a half drive from Silver Spring.

You can and should, of course, also support Jamie Raskin’s Democracy Summer program to help flip the House.

Progressive Neighbors February 2024

Every election cycle we hear that this one is the most important in our lifetime.  Well in this case it may actually be true.  We have three critical tasks this November: Reelect Joe Biden, Hold or expand the Democrats margin in the Senate, and Retake the House.  Holding the Senate just became more difficult with Hogan’s entry into the Maryland Senate race.  We have three open House seats in Maryland, which is unprecedented, and at least one of them is in a purple district.  Achieving these objectives depends on having good candidates. 

In the Presidential race, Joe Biden will undoubtedly be the nominee.  He is a good man and has done a remarkable job passing consequential legislation and moving forward on many domestic issues like student debt and abortion protection.  Handwringing about his age will not help and is ridiculous.  He has managed to make so much progress both domestically and internationally because of his age and experience.  We need to work relentlessly this Fall to reelect him.  The alternative would be a disaster for the country and our democracy.

In the Senate race, we have to nominate a strong candidate who will stand up to Hogan and critique his performance as Governor.  He fought every progressive initiative from the Legislature vetoing many bills that later had to be overridden.  His positive approval ratings are undeserved. 

In the House races we have many strong candidates, in some cases too many candidates.  In the absence of ranked choice voting, it’s likely a candidate will win the primary with 30-40% of the vote.  We are sending questionnaires to the candidates and expect to make endorsements in early April. 

We are also sending questionnaires to the candidates for Montgomery County School Board.  The School Board has had a difficult year with several controversies.  The school budget takes up about half of the county’s revenue.  So it is incumbent upon us to take a close look at the candidates.  Because the race is non-partisan, the parties stay out of the way and neglect to weigh in.  We recognize that many people go to vote without any idea of who the candidates are and where they stand on issues.  This can be dangerous in light of efforts of right wing candidates around the country running for and taking over school boards.  We can’t let that happen. 

Watch this space in April for our endorsements.  The Maryland primary is only 3 months away on May 14th.  It is critical that we vote and elect the best candidates.  We will do our part by vetting the candidates and making recommendations.  Please do your part by becoming informed voters and helping get out the vote, not just here but also in neighboring swing states like Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.  Elections matter. 

Progressive Neighbors Update – May 2023

Dear Friends,

Progressive Neighbors is primarily focused on electing progressive candidates to local office in primary and general elections every four years.  Last year we made endorsements and many of our candidates were successful.  Marc Elrich was reelected as County Executive by a slim margin (32 votes).  The Montgomery County Council was dramatically reshaped with 6 women elected and several of the new members were candidates we supported (like Kristin Mink, Kate Stewart and Laurie-Ann Sayles).  The progressive wing of the council has definitely expanded, though it still constitutes a minority of the council.

We have stayed busy though during the interim supporting progressive legislation.  We supported the Child Victims Act of 2023 in the legislature to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sex abuse (HB 001).  We submitted testimony in support of the HOME Act which would cap rent increases in the county at 3%.  And we submitted testimony in support of the STEP Act (Bill 12-23) to limit traffic stops by police for minor traffic offenses.

Rockville City Council has elections coming up this fall and our friend Zola Shaw has thrown her hat in the ring.  Check out her website for events and to make donations.  We’re looking forward to working on her campaign over the next few months and electing a true progressive to that City Council.

With the retirement of Senator Ben Cardin we believe there is a window of opportunity as several openings are being created by politicians choosing to run for Senate (a once in several decades opening).  Currently Congressman David Trone, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando have entered the race.  If Congressman Jamie Raskin decides to run for Senate, numerous people will be running for his seat.  The Maryland primary is one year away (May 14, 2024).  A lot can happen in one year, but we see a lot of work ahead of us and a busy election season in 2024.  Stay tuned.


One Month Out – October 2022

Dear Friends,
Election Day is only a month away.  Early voting starts on October 27th and runs through November 3rd.  Most of the races are not close or contested but there are several races that could result in upsets.  The main priority is electing a Democratic Governor, e.g. Wes Moore.  The past two cycles were disasters.  Hogan’s vetoes have delayed protections and rights for many Marylanders.  We can’t take a chance.  There needs to be a big turnout for Moore and every other democrat running up and down the ballot.  The race for comptroller is tightening and we need Brooke Lierman as our next Comptroller, especially since she will sit on the Board of Public Works. 
 
The county council, if we all turn out, could elect a majority of women for the first time.  Many of them are clearly progressives that we at Progressive Neighbors supported like Kristin Mink, Kate Stewart and Laurie-Ann Sayles.  Several others are progressive as well giving us a real shot at a progressive majority on the council who can work with Marc Elrich to enact a truly progressive agenda for the county. 
 
There are two other issues that need our attention:  school board races and ballot questions.  The school board races are non-partisan.  We supported Scott Joftus in the primary, who is running against Julie Yang, the MCEA endorsed candidate.  The real danger is the race for District 1 where Grace Rivera-Oven is running against Esther Wells.  Wells is an anti-vaxer who campaigns against “CRT” in schools, works for a non-profit that opposes homosexuality, and has been endorsed by the GOP and hate groups that vilify immigrants. It is critical that we not elect Wells to the school board. 
 
The other issue is the ballot questions.  While most of the ballot questions are relatively non-controversial (or very popular like Question 4 which would legalize cannabis in the state), one question raised our eyebrows.  County Question A would take the power to fire the county attorney away from the county executive and share that power with the county council.  The Democratic precinct officials voted last month to oppose this question but the MCDCC (county democratic party leaders) voted to stay neutral so the sample ballot takes no position on this question.  We hope you will vote No on Question A.
 
Yes, there are many races around the country that deserve your attention and support (door knocking, phone calls, postcards, donations).  But there are still important issues that need our attention locally.  Please get out to vote, get your neighbors out to vote and support progressive candidates up and down the ballot.

Scott Schneider