The top three Election Day lessons

Posted November 21, 2013

Now that the dust has settled, and all the ranked choice votes have been counted, we know that two longtime TakeAction Minnesota members have climbed another rung on the political ladder: Betsy Hodges will be Minneapolis’ next mayor, and Dai Thao will be joining the St. Paul City Council. Both of these candidates – and their campaigns – teach important lessons about what progressives need to do to win at the ballot box and set the stage for bigger change once in office.  

First, people-powered campaigns matter. Both campaigns had the largest grassroots operations of any in their respective races. Both campaigns made grassroots organizing a key strategy.  Just as important, both candidates inspired grassroots organizations and volunteers to volunteer their time. Alongside other endorsing groups, TakeAction Minnesota members contributed over 1,000 hours of volunteer time knocking on doors, dialing phones, and talking one-on-one with voters. We reached out to more than 17,000 households in our membership about our endorsed candidates. In any campaign, headlines and campaign ads get the most attention. But all of that is just noise if it isn’t backed up by thousands – and tens-of-thousands – of individual, personal conversations with voters about what matters in this election and why their support is crucial.… Continue reading »

Coming Through on Election Day

Posted October 22, 2013

Election Day is nearly upon us — with two progressive champions locked in tight races that will go down to the wire.

In Minneapolis and Ward 1 of St. Paul, we’ll be hitting the phones and knocking on doors to make sure that Betsy Hodges is Minneapolis’ first choice for mayor, and that Dai Thao heads to City Hall as St. Paul Ward 1’s newest city council member.

These races will be close, and one-on-one conversations among neighbors about why Betsy and Dai are the right candidates to make our cities more equitable will make the difference on Election Day.

Want to be a part of making it happen? Head here to see when we’ll be with Betsy’s campaign, and here to see Dai Thao’s schedule of events.

See you on the doors!

— Steve Rogness… Continue reading »