YOU (yes, YOU!) can help bring a blue wave to the desert southwest this fall (Action Diary)

My mother was an Andersonite. I mention that just to give you a rough idea of ​​what generation she was in. (If that doesn’t help, I’m old enough to have picked up a hitchhiking WWI veteran one day. I probably went to a hardcore all-ages show later that night.) Anyway, she’s politically informed and almost certainly leans left these days, as she has for practically as long as I can remember.

And my mother is really looking forward to it this year.

With Kamala’s entry into the race, I heard something in her voice other than fear, anxiety, and disbelief. I was also energized. So were most people in my social circle. And that made me excited, then a little nervous. I kept hearing this tone of relief in their voices. And they would say things like, “Well, she’s going to get black women to the polls,” or “She’s motivating younger voters.” And I got a message of, “We’re saved. Phew!” While people with Biden were perhaps a little too despondent to roll up their sleeves, now there was a danger of complacency.

So I bugged my mom. I stressed that Kamala Harris CAN WIN THIS ELECTION, but that it’s going to take a hell of a lot of work. Now. I should clarify that I grew up in a deep blue state, miles from anything that is a swing state. And that’s where she still lives. So, aside from the primaries, there was never much urgency about elections in our house. But she grew up in a blue wall state, still has friends and family there, and over her decades she has friends and family all over the country, including the states that will decide this election. So I bugged my mom to contact the sister in the Southwest, the brother in the Rust Belt, and any other friends and family she knows or suspects support Harris/Walz who live in those swing states to get them involved. And she did.

Her sister in Arizona is now ready to volunteer for Harris and Walz

So I sent her the information below that was relevant to her city. Yes, it’s easy to google and figure out who to contact. It’s even easier to open a link in an email or text that your brother or aunt sends you. And it makes clicking on that link more attractive because You get it from a friend or family member you love and who would be happy to receive the ticket. Shared enthusiasm counts. It moves people and is contagious.

Not only does my mom plan to contact other old friends, but her friends who also live in her deep blue region reacted enthusiastically when she told them about her plan. I spoke to my mom yesterday and she told me that her textile arts friends were saying things like, “Oh, I should send this information to my son in Philly,” and “I bet my daughter in Pittsburgh would reach out,” and “Can you share this list with me?” (I had sent my mom a list a few days earlier that only had the state-level information for all the contested areas).

There was also something else in my voice on that call that expressed resignation, fear, and exhaustion along with excitement. Kamala Harris has it. Tim Walz has it. There was joy in her voice. (When I spoke to her on the phone and told her that we couldn’t leave anything on the table this year, she agreed without hesitation. This was a marked departure from the awkward silence followed by a polite “Yeah, you’re probably right” of just a week or two ago.

So please…

If you know someone in Arizona or Nevada who you’re fairly certain supports Kamala, share the information below. Telemarketing and door-to-door campaigning are the first things that come to mind when people think of volunteering for a campaign, but there are also jobs that need to be done that don’t involve a lot of walking around or talking to a lot of strangers.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort. And it will make you feel good. And it may not seem like a lot, but if you’re able to turn one or two people in a swing state from supporters to volunteers, that’s huge.

Remind them of the election campaign or other cause they were involved in, even if it was in 1980.

Tell them a story about how participating in things made you feel uplifted and empowered. Plant the seed gently or push them to do it – whatever works for you.

Don’t leave anything on the table this year

…and give others the tools and encouragement to do the same

Below is district-level information for Democratic offices in Arizona and Nevada exported to dKos tables, which worked surprisingly well. I’ve included a link to the Google doc below. I’ll edit it to remove the major metropolitan area field and just put it as a line of text below the district names. Any other suggestions for future improvements are welcome in the comments.

I will update this document in the next day or two to include more states.

This is the Google document.

Finally, I didn’t want to leave my father out of the diary. They both stand behind Kamala and are ready to do their part. Maybe you’ll meet him in the Blue Wall Monday Edition.