Thread by @SocialistMormon

🧵THREAD 🧵

@ThisAmerLife had an EXCELLENT episode on the @DCCC and the way they select candidates. As a robotics engineer who ran for Congress and lost the nomination, I feel like I can add to this conversation. 1/15

#TheResistance #RebelScum #utpol
thisamericanlife.org/649/its-my-par…

Before I get started, there will be those who will want to turn this into a Bernie vs Hillary thing, so let me preempt that by saying that isn't the point of this thread. This thread isn't about issues or purity tests, this is about strategy and missed opportunities. 2/15

When I got in the race 14 months ago, it was a field of 3 including me. The others were similar to me - they were concerned citizens who had never before held elected office. All of us showed up to every rally, every activist gathering, and ended up becoming close friends. 3/15

Everything changed when the @DCCC got involved. Despite our collective efforts to reach out to national groups for support, the @DCCC ignored us and decided to recruit a candidate to run against us. That ended up being someone with a track record of working with Republicans. 4/15

A candidate like that isn't necessarily the wrong choice, but I have maintained it is the wrong choice for Utah's 4th Congressional District. I'm an engineer and I poured over the data before jumping in and the best chance to win here is with a bold progressive message. 5/15

The @DCCC only cares about one thing: "How much money can you raise?" They don't care about how well you match the district, your issue set, or how well you can mobilize volunteers. They don't even care if you live in the district (the candidate they recruited doesn't)! 6/15

Look, money is important. It helps you spread your message and hire the staff you need to win. However, it's not the be-all-end-all like the @DCCC thinks it is. If money was the only thing that mattered, we wouldn't have a clown fascist in the White House right now. 7/15

In this district in 2014, the candidate lost by about 7,500 votes. That same year, about 56,000 Democrats in Salt Lake County (85% of the 4th Congressional District) DID. NOT. VOTE.

In 2016, Utah Democrats nominated the same "moderate" and managed to lose by ~34,000 votes. 8/15

This tells me running "moderates" in Utah's 4th is a bad strategy. We keep hoping these Republicans will vote for us if we promise to balance the budget even though they keep calling us baby killers. Meanwhile there are actual Democrats who aren't voting and we keep losing. 9/15

Am I saying we need to run progressives everywhere? Not at all! Different districts have different perfect candidates. My point is the @DCCC doesn't care about any of those measurables which could actually bring home the W. They only care about your fundraising abilities. 10/15

I know this is getting REALLY long, but I want to say something about our campaign finance laws because they are really screwed up and heavily favor the wealthy and well connected. The average winning congressional race was about $1.5M in 2016. 11/15

Under current FEC regulations, an individual can only give a maximum of $2,700 to a candidate. That sounds like a lot (and it is!), but consider you would have to find 741 people to give you a max donation to reach $2M. How many people do you know who can donate over 2 Gs? 12/15

Worse, candidates can self-fund as much as they want. This means the only people who can "afford" to run are those with deep personal pockets and friends with those who can part with $2,700 without missing a mortgage payment. Ever wonder why Congress seems so out of touch? 13/15

I need to wrap up because this has gotten too long. If Democrats want to win elections in the future, we need to learn there is more to winning elections than money. Republicans understand this. They recruit people who can rile up the base and they win because of it. 14/15

With that said, I will ABSOLUTELY be voting for my party's nominee here in November. Between the Democrat and the Republican, only one won't actively vote to take health care away from my family. It's just that the @DCCC made this race harder to win. 15/15