Kansas Democrat James Thompsons 47 percent

[Yavin4]

You know the real reason why Republicans have all of the control that they have. When they lose an election but get 47% of the vote, they cheer. They cheer because they know that they're 3+ percentage points away from winning and the next election is just around the corner.

When Dems get 47% of the vote and lose, we despair. We sulk. We abandon the district entirely because "we just can't win there in that state".

The reality is that 47% of the voters in that deep red state and district voted for us, and all we do is bemoan the loss instead of embrace the hope that we can get that 3+% in 19 months.

Congrats to James Thompson and those that supported him. We've only just begun to fight.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. You are correct, my dear Yavin4!

This is a victory and we should treat it as such.

Especially when you consider this is a deep red state. He accomplished a lot and now we must take advantage of that momentum and run with it.

[Jake Stern]

2. If a Republican received 47% in a cobalt blue district

they would have already been on teevee trumpeting it as a sign that liberal policies were unpopular.

Dems: it's okay to gloat once in a while, really.

[PoliticAverse]

3. Mitt Romney got 47.2% of the 2012 vote. I don't recall many Republicans cheering. n/t

[Yavin4]

5. Apples to oranges comparison

You're comparing a national election to a deep red state congressional district. If a conservative Republican got 47% of the vote in San Francisco, CA, Fox News would be in our faces.

[PoliticAverse]

7. Try not to take Fox News' opinions seriously. n/t

[Jake Stern]

14. The problem is not whether we take Fox Snooze opinions seriously

It's the millions of low information voters that do.

[JHan]

23. The difference is that Presidential terms are 4 years ...

so they're longer, and different in scale, while congressional seats are smaller in scale, have shorter limits, thus a good metric of trends.

....Yavin's point stands, else they would be no point in being optimistic about red districts turning purple. Come on now.

[bronxiteforever]

4. Preach it!

[smirkymonkey]

6. K&R

[NoMoreRepugs]

8. Great point .... we Dems have to start to play a little longer game

Hope the DNC is learning something from this

[tikka]

18. Thompson won in Sedgwick county - Wichita metro area

The other counties all went red. The DNC needs to hammer those counties with ads about losing Social Security, Medicare and farm subsidies. Even farmers have mothers. Find a retired farmer's widow just getting by with her SS check and Medicare.

Seems like every time some child comes down with a disease that's costly to treat, Kansans always have a fundraising drive to help pay the bills. There has to be a way to reach them that there is a better way.

[Foamfollower]

20. Absolutely hands down the best idea for approaching this red district that I've heard of yet.

[MrScorpio]

9. You're absolutely correct

Bingo.

[NYC Democrat]

10. Yeah seriously given the normal lean of that seat it shouldn't of even been remotely competitive

The fact that the RNC had to pump 100ks in towards the end to barely eke out a win is very telling as to how many districts are up for grabs next year.

[Honeycombe8]

11. That's the way Trump fools everyone!

He always wins! Even if he loses, he won, in his world. And says so proudly. "I won...everyone says so!" When he lost debates, he declared, "Everyone's told me how great I did. That I won hands down. That I was the best!"

When he lost, he'd claim "It's rigged! Illegals were bused in to vote! I would have won, if the other side hadn't cheated!"

I imagine if you say it often enough, you begin to believe it. And so it should be for the Dems. I admit I'm guilty of despair at times. And that's not right.

[msongs]

12. where is this bemoaning of which you speak? nt

[turbinetree]

13. I am sending money today for his (James Thompson) victory over this Estes jerk in 2018

start now not tomorrow

Congratulation to Mr. Thompson and his team

[KelleyKramer]

15. That pretty much sums up the DCCC

Don't ever give money to the DCCC, they will just flush it down the toilet

If you want to support democratic congressional candidates, give directly to the candidates campaign

[SaschaHM]

16. I hope this will preclude you from complaining about DCCC Donors and funding in the future. nt.

[KelleyKramer]

19. You missed the point entirely

I wasn't complaining at all about d3 donors

The problem is what the d3 does with the donations

The Steve Isreals and rhahm Emanuels of the d3 have been failures of epic proportions

[SaschaHM]

21. No, I didn't miss the point. You encouraged folks not to donate to them.

I assume that you will be shutting your trap about all DCCC matters now that you have encouraged others not to support them.

[KelleyKramer]

24. I encouraged

I encouraged people to contribute directly to Democratic candidates for congress.

Do you have a problem with that?

[SaschaHM]

25. Do you have a problem remembering things that you typed?

Don't ever give money to the DCCC, they will just flush it down the toilet

[KelleyKramer]

26. you didn't answer the question

Do you have a problem with contributing to Democratic candidates for Congress?

That's it I'm done with this

Have a good day

[SaschaHM]

27. Ah, dodging.

Bye. You won't be missed.

[Danascot]

17. This was in my email, from Jim Dean:

This is stunning: Thanks in part to heroic work by DFA members like you, progressive populist James Thompson came within a few percentage points of beating his Republican opponent in a deep-red Kansas district that Donald Trump won by 27 points.

It's an amazing result. Even though we didn't take the seat, this outcome is still a turning point for progressives. Kansas's fourth district was considered to be one of the most challenging places in the country for Democrats to win. But we came closer than anyone ever expected here. That means we can win in dozens of other red and purple districts across America.

DFA members never gave up on a state like Kansas. You helped make more than 287,000 GOTV calls and donated tens of thousands of dollars to elect James Thompson. But much of the Democratic establishment didn't even bother to show up. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sat on their hands until literally the day before the election -- while the progressive grassroots turned out voters, built up momentum and nearly won a major upset.

Unfortunately, Kansas's Fourth district isn't the only House race the DCCC has decided in advance that they won't try to win.

DFA-endorsed candidate Rob Quist is in a tight race to pick up a House seat in Montana this May. He's running a great, populist campaign focused on fixing the economy and lifting up working families, but the DCCC and other major Democratic Party institutions are also sitting his race out.

We proved in Kansas we have a shot at winning by running populist, progressive candidates who fight for everyone and for our values. With the Montana election a month away, now is the time to organize. Can you help build on the grassroots progressive momentum we saw in Kansas by signing up to make calls for Rob Quist?

Yes -- I'll pledge to make calls for Rob Quist to help progressive populists pick off this winnable GOP House seat.

No, I can't make calls, but I'll chip in $3 or more right now to build Rob Quist's campaign and help DFA support progressive populist candidates in all 50 states.

The lessons here are clear. We beat Republicans when we run on our values, not away from them. We listen to voters when they tell us what they care about. We organize early, and build for the long haul.

The fact that a pro-choice, pro-LGBT, Bernie-supporting, populist civil rights attorney like James Thompson was able to make HUGE gains in Kansas this quickly is proof that there is growing momentum for real progressive change in the era of Trump, even in places where establishment Democrats have given up.

But Democrats are competing -- and winning -- in Montana already. On the same election night that Montanans voted for Trump, they also re-elected their Democratic governor. And that was before Trump's awful policies activated millions of grassroots progressives and swing voters alike. By supporting Montana progressives, we can help win a huge victory.

Rob Quist is building a strong campaign in Montana. He's a popular musician with a long history of public service. He supports Medicare for All and he opposes Citizens United. He has been holding listening sessions and rallies in counties all over Montana, and his message is clearly resonating. His opponent is one of the Republicans' weakest recruits -- a New Jersey tech billionaire and perennial failed candidate who lost in November to a Democratic governor even as Trump won the state.

Last night, we shocked the political establishment -- and sent a message to Donald Trump -- by making huge gains in a deep red Kansas House district. Now, let's shock them by putting Rob Quist over the top in Montana. Can you sign up to make calls?

Yes -- I'll pledge to make calls to help progressive populist Rob Quist win his House special election.

No, I can't make calls, but I will pitch in $3 or more today to Rob Quist and DFA to fuel this progressive momentum -- and to score a big win in Montana.

Thanks for helping DFA fight and win in all 50 states!

- Jim

Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

[JHan]

22. great post K & R

[Dink123]

28. Kansas democrat Thompson

Where the fuck was the DNC or any of our party leadership to help Thompson in Kansas? Have we learned nothing? A half a million dollars would have gone a long way. Leadership didn't even give the guy money for mailers. Where was the 50 state strategy? Fuck the moral victories,we need to win the seats.Fight with grassroots support. Only Bernie seems to know how to fight these bastards.Perez,where the hell were you?

[uponit7771]

29. +1, I was going to OP this... the dems should be fist fighting EVERY FUCKING DISTRICT, COUNTY, SEAT

... and board !!!

I sulked not because of 47 % ... I sulked because there wasn't an infrastructure there ALREADY !!!

WTF ?!