Welcome and Welcome to the Fight in the North Country. (NY 21st)

Photo by Jonathan Hanna on Unsplash

Hello Everyone.

This is my first post since adding roughly 50 new subscribers thanks (and I do mean thanks!) to the Grassroots Connector.

So for those getting their first post, welcome. For those who have been here for a while, welcome back. I am sharing an e-mail I wrote for Democratic Stakeholders and Members of Congress to recommend that they rally behind Blake Gendebien’s campaign for Congress in New York 21st. If this seems compelling I am happy to help you reach out to your congress member or to the organizations you are involved with. Winning this race is how we instill real terror into the Republicans. More to come, and it's exciting to have you all here.

Dear Democratic Stakeholders and Members of Congress:

My name is Jason Paul, recent candidate for Chair of the DNC. I write today to ask you to support Blake Gendebien’s campaign for Congress:

https://blakegendebienforcongress.com/.

As Democrats we too often get stuck on recent numbers staring us in the face. Yes, this seat, the New York 21st, has trended very badly in the Trump era. But in its bones, it still has the potential to elect a Democrat. Obama won this district in both 2008 and 2012. If we assume these voters will never come back to us, they will never come back to us.

Our candidate, Mr. Gendebien is a lifelong farmer, and his election strategy thus far has been to contrast the values of his home in the North Country, New York, with the chaos, dysfunction and downright freak show of Washington D.C., unrelated to Trump himself. This will turn into a race of whether voters hate Democrats more, or whether they hate Washington, the institution, more. That seems like a battle we can win.

While Republicans are feuding about who their candidate is going to be, and also delaying Stefanik’s resignation to help preserve their majority, Democrats can hit the ground running. In 2009-2010, Scott Brown’s ability to define himself before Democrats got on the airwaves was extremely valuable in his victory over Martha Coakley. We can do the same here. Already the campaign has raised nearly 1.5 million dollars, so we are not starting from stratch.

Were we to win here it would send a chill down the spine of every Republican in Congress, potentially stopping the agenda dead in its tracks. Even a close loss like the 2005 race in the Ohio 2nd will help in stopping the Trump agenda. This is the time to step up and dig deep so that this race has the resources needed to leave everything on the field. For Democratic members of Congress my direct ask of you is that you max out to this campaign. From your Congressional Campaign that means 2k; from leadership PACs that would be another 5k.

While we do not need to reach the Ossoff level of spending, getting Mr. Gendebien to a high-end level of funding, and quickly, would position him well to do the work of winning. We also want to fund him fast so that he can focus on meeting voters with more of his time rather than chasing dollars.

Mr. Gendebien and team are more than happy to meet with anyone who wishes to discuss this further and request a time to talk, but I would urge to give first, ask questions later. I can be reached here or at 860-836-2745 for further questions as well. Toward Victory!

Jason Paul