Down-ballot candidates may have helped elect President Biden (NYT)

[DBoon]

The president, who eked out a 12,000-vote victory in Georgia, received a small but potentially important boost from the state’s conservative areas if at least one local Democrat was running in a down-ballot race, according to a new study by Run for Something, an organization dedicated to recruiting and supporting liberal candidates. That finding extended even to the state’s reddest districts.

The phenomenon appeared to hold nationally. Mr. Biden performed 0.3 percent to 1.5 percent better last year in conservative state legislative districts where Democrats put forward challengers than in districts where Republicans ran unopposed, the study found. The analysis was carried out using available precinct-level data in eight states — Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Kansas and New York — and controlling for factors like education to create a comparison between contested and uncontested districts.

The study showed a reverse coattails effect: It was lower-level candidates running in nearly hopeless situations — red districts that Democrats had traditionally considered no-win, low-to-no-investment territory — who helped the national or statewide figures atop the ballot, instead of down-ballot candidates benefiting from a popular national candidate of the same party.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/us/politics/democrats-down-ballot.html

Always run a Democrat in every race, even if it looks hopeless.

[Jerry2144]

1. It makes sense

We need to compete at all levels in all jurisdictions from county dog catcher all the way up to POTUS. If there are only the team wearing Russian Red running for the state and local posts and the residents aren't too thrilled at the national level, it is hard to drum up votes for team American Blue. Anything to turn out Team American Blue votes in any jurisdiction needs to per pursued. We should expand upon the 50-state strategy and develop a 435 district strategy. Build our bench. Get more young progressives in office to build their experiences so that they grow into great representatives and senators and POTUSes

[PortTack]

2. Exactly..so, when you see a dem candidate running against a qgop that will more than likely win

Remember, they need our support as well!

[Jerry2144]

3. what's the plural of POTUS

What's the plural of POTUS? Is it POTUSes or is it POTII?

😊

[tblue37]

7. Since "us" is sometimes a Greek ending, maybe it's POTODES. (BTW, I don't know Greek. In

fact, you could say it's all Greek to me.)

[crickets]

5. Absolutely. It's so important for the Democratic party to find and encourage people

to run for office in red states all up and down the ticket, and then to support them in that run. It was never a good idea to treat red states like Georgia as unwinnable for so long. You can't win if you don't run. You can't try to push change if you don't show up where you are needed the most, and keep showing up time after time to show you're serious in your efforts.

[List left]

4. 50 state strategy hopefully soon 52 state strategy. nt

[crickets]

6. Agreed! nt