A Noble Vocation
Investing in patriotic winners sacrificing to run
I didn’t grow up around politics. Kinda tripped into it in my late twenties.
In those early years, one of the strangest findings was just the fundamental goodness of most individual humans who choose this vocation. And how that virtue contrasted with ugliness in the business of politics.
The ugliness has accelerated over the past decade. And the youngest voters are feeling it the most.
No Country for Young Men, a new research report from Blueprint, shows that men ages 18-29 overwhelmingly agree that “nearly all politicians are corrupt, and make money from their political power.”
Fewer than six in ten young men are “proud to be an American” (for older men, it is more than eight in ten).
These young men came of age during a time defined by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. They imbibed intense pessimism following Obama’s presidency of Hope.
Our last two pieces, from guest contributors John Ray (on the damage from Scam PACs) and Milan Singh (on how Democrats can “bro-whisper” back to counter Trump traction with young men), both contained a healthy dose of cynicism. Both got a lot of traction. And both point to the need for a better politics, smarter and more optimistic.
Dare we say, a joyful politics.
Love & Sacrifice
The House candidates on our Win The Middle slate are proud to be American, and have sacrificed to be candidates.
Whitney Fox has two young daughters, as does military veteran Rep. Jared Golden.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is a young small business owner with a toddler. She regularly flies back and forth cross-country from her rural Washington district to the other Washington.
Adam Frisch had a lucrative career, and has now dedicated his life to public service.
Will Rollins overcame bigotry to serve his country, and is working to serve again.
And so on. In this community, we are all optimistic and patriotic. But we need to win. And over the past decade, we’ve been outflanked - dangerously on the right and obnoxiously on the left - by scornful pessimists.
But we have an opportunity to do something special this cycle. These and other candidates on the Win The Middle slate (support them here) are getting more of the investment and recognition that they deserve. Not enough. But more.
A Good Chart
Thanks to your support, our Win the Middle candidates are entering the final stretch in a strong position. In nearly every race, our Win the Middle candidates are entering the final stretch with a cash on hand advantage.
The polls are tight and the race ratings agencies are moving. Last week, Cook Political Report moved PA-10 for the second time. The district, which we called out a year ago as being represented by “the most vulnerable extremist” in the country, has shifted all the way from “Likely GOP” to “Lean GOP” to “Toss-Up.”
Earlier this week on Long Island, the top-rated pollster in the country just released a poll showing centrist superstar John Avlon within the margin of error.
Much of our research the past three years has demonstrated an inability of the Democratic marketplace to get resources to the center-right districts that could build a sustainable majority. The charts on campaign finance often look bad.
But much of the gap has closed this year, and we are grateful for all you’ve done! According to the campaign finance reports released last week:
All Win The Middle slate candidates outraised their opponents in the last quarter
7 of the 9 have a higher COH than their opponents, and Whitney Fox is essentially tied. Rebecca Cooke is still playing catch-up on her late competitive primary and is $1.1 million behind the incumbent
7 of 9 have outraised their opponents over the course of the cycle (Fox and Cooke are the exceptions)
Cynical Optimism
We can be clear-eyed about political corruption where it does exist. Will Rollins is challenging a thirty year incumbent who became the only member of Congress whose earmarks required oversight due to his self-dealing. But that’s only one member! And we can support his dynamic challenger.
I’ve been called a cynic. And much of what our team at Welcome has learned is due to having a critical eye - the inefficiency of the political marketplace, the inability to have message discipline at the party level.
But cynicism and optimism can coexist. We can see the world as it is, with all its faults, and still want to change it.
Are there corrupt politicians out there? Sure, but most aren’t. And you can chip in to help Will Rollins make it one fewer. Let’s make some better charts next cycle and have better politics. Thanks for considering, and thanks for reading.