How to beat big money and win back congress

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I’m a resident of Ohio’s 18th Congressional District. That means that my representative in Congress is the now famous golfer, Bob Ney. The 18th district is gerrymandered to such an extent that it has been impossible to beat the Republican machine. Ney hasn’t had to worry about an opponent for years. He just collects GOP votes and passes GO.

This year a Go to Jail card has appeared in the game. Ney is near the top of the most vulnerable Republicans in the nation. A lively Democratic primary the first week of May brought me closer to having someone who represents ME in Congress.

Joe Sulzer of Chillicothe entered the primary last summer. He began collecting money and endorsements from big name Democrats and had a large war chest to work with. Zack Space of Dover entered the race after the November elections. They were joined by Jennifer Stewart of Zanesville and Ralph Applegate of Columbus to round out the Democratic ballot.

Sulzer had the money and the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party and other big name Dems. Space had a very dedicated group of grassroots volunteers and limited money. Stewart ran a campaign based around her connections in education. Applegate just runs for congress any chance he gets.

I decided to back Zack Space, a hometown candidate who began his campaign by signing a pledge that he would not take money or gifts from lobbyists. I didn’t have much money to donate, but was able to donate time to make phone calls and help organize volunteers. Before the election we had dozens of people volunteering their time to make phone calls, walking precincts, and doing what needed to be done to win. We knew we had to beat Sulzer in the northern part of the district to win.

Election day rolled around and the votes rolled in. Applegate finished a distant fourth, Sulzer came in third, Stewart second. Space won by a large margin. He didn’t have the money or party support, but he did have the manpower.

Zack Space now has the attention of big name people in the party. He showed that he had a winning message and a team that could help him convey that message. He is now ready to begin the push to victory in November.

I hope you will take a minute to visit his web site at http://www.zackspace.org/
The web site was built and maintained by one of our local Young Dems. I continue to be impressed by their talent and dedication to our cause.

The purpose of this post is to let each of you know that you are an important part of winning back our country. We didn’t have the most money, or the support of the party. We did have to heart that it takes to work and win. Keep an eye on us. We plan to be part of the Democratic majority in Congress next year.

[globalvillage]

1. What a great name.

Does he have "Give me Space" bumperstickers?

Good luck.

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2. Great idea!

Thanks!

[napi21]

3. I have been thinking about this for a while too. Candidates that aren't

rich, but need $$ to get air time to defeat their opponent's accusations. I don't think Im crazy here by suggesting this.

Those of us with the lowest incomes spend $1.00 on many stupid things. What if we, as Dems, asked all the Dem supporters to donate $1.00 to their favorite local candidate? Even in a local election, I think that volume of people would help a lot! If possible, $1.00 to your Dem candidate for State House, Senate, and Fed Rep & Senator would be a LOT of $$ in total! For most of us, that would be a total of $5.00.

What do you think?

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5. I think you are right

Those small contributions add up. It may be better to send five dollars to one candidate. By the time you figure in the cost of checks and postage, a dollar per candidate doesn't make much sense. If you can't afford anything, then give time. There is always something that needs to be done at a campaign HQ. I've done everything from running the office to cleaning the johns and taking out trash. Think about giving a few hours of your time to a candidate of your choice. Just show up at their HQ. They will find something for you to do. Little things mean a lot.

[TheFarseer]

4. So what the heck happened to Sulzer?

Was he running TV commercials? Were they ineffective? I see this kind of thing all the time. One candidate can get their message out and the other can't. We're going to have a one sided general election campaign (in terms of money and media exposure) right here in my district so I would be interested in knowing more about how Zach won and why the other candidates lost.

[cmd]

6. Interesting question

I could not believe that he finished third. The 18th district is the largest one in Ohio. It covers all or parts of 16 counties. (http://ney.house.gov/District.aspx?Section=31)
There are no major media centers in the district. Sulzer, Stewart and Space all ran some TV commercials on area cable. They all did mailings. Sulzer definitely spent more than the other candidates. None of the major candidates conducted negative campaigns against each other.

Sulzer was a master at hitting on Ney. He was definitely the man to beat. Space campaigned on Hometown Values and his promise not to accept money from lobbyists. We made a great many personal contacts by phone and door to door. Our goal was to win our home county of Tuscarawas. We had the largest population of registered Democrats in the district. We won Tusc. and the surrounding counties easily.

I'll discuss this question with others and get back to you.

[TheFarseer]

7. Thanks, I'll be interested to hear more

I can't say I am actively campaigning for our guy yet. The only thing I can see that he has done to campaign is to write a few letters to the editor critical of the incumbent, walk across the district in an effort to get some media play, and paint his logo on half the bus stop benches in Omaha! We have a huge advantage in bus stop benches and a 1-0 lead in goofy stunts to get media coverage.