ICYMI: Press Herald: “To Beat Donald Trump and Susan Collins, just voting won’t be enough”

A new op-ed in the Portland Press Herald from Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra argues that the movement to take back the Senate and presidency begins days after Maine's first presidential primary in decades at the statewide Maine Democratic Party Caucuses on March 8.

Kathleen writes about how Democrats have to work twice as hard to win against Republicans who are backed by their wealthy corporate allies, which is why building a strong grassroots coalition to persuade voters is so important. The March 8 caucuses are Democrats’ chance to kick into high gear our strategy to win this November.

You can find the full text of Kathleen’s piece here, and an excerpt below:

People often ask me what my job in politics was before becoming chair of the Maine Democratic Party, and I always say, “I voted!” But this time, voting wasn’t enough. As we get closer to Maine’s first presidential primary in decades, you might be asking yourself what task you should undertake in politics to make sure this never happens again.

Because if we’re going to win in 2020, voting alone won’t be enough this time, either. Every path to winning the United States Senate runs through Maine. And no matter who is president, we need a Senate that works to give every American a fair shot at success. But Donald Trump and Susan Collins are being propped up by their wealthy corporate allies, which means we have to work twice as hard to defeat them. That’s why on March 8, just a few days after the presidential primary, Democrats will gather together at caucuses in towns and cities across Maine.

Although we’ll be casting our votes for our preferred presidential nominee the week before, caucuses are the first step in building our winning coalition to support our eventual nominees for president and U.S. Senate, Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree and legislative candidates up and down the ballot. We’re going to need every ounce of support in building a strong infrastructure to persuade voters, one household at a time. That’s why the caucuses are so important.

###