From Drinking Liberally . . .
In South Dakota: The South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) holds its annual McGovern Day celebration in Sioux Falls on April 28th. Lately, they have been congratulating themselves for fielding candidates for all 105 State Senate and House seats this year. This is the first time either party has fielded a complete candidate slate in anyone’s memory. They are rightly proud of their recruiting success and they hope it will lead to greater electoral success. After all, they argue, with Trump as the face of the Republican Party, it should be a good year for Democrats. At least they hope so.
Unfortunately and objectively, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s latest voter registration numbers do not support this Democratic optimism. Once again in March, as it has in almost every month since Ann Tornberg became SDDP Chair in December, 2014, the Republicans increased their voter registration advantage over Democrats, gaining 608 new registrants against a Democratic registration decline of 628 voters. Independent and other party registration rose by 459 voters in March. In South Dakota’s 35 legislative districts Republican candidates now enjoy an average registration advantage over their Democratic opponents of 2526 voters. I wish all Democratic candidates well but an electoral advantage this large is difficult to overcome.
For the record: Since Ann Tornberg became SDDP Chair in December, 2014, Democratic voter registration has declined by 22,118 voters, from 175,748 to 157,630, while Republican registration has increased by 5,004, from 241,044 to 246,048. Independents and Other Parties increased by 15,021 voters to 120,829 during the same period. Democratic voter registration now stands at 29.9% of the electorate. I do not remember it ever falling below 30% before. In December 2014, 33.3% of the voters were registered Democrats. It appears Ann and the rural dominated SDDP she represents can recruit candidates. Whether or not they can build a winning coalition remains to be seen. The evidence suggests otherwise.
Good luck Democrats.
Accuracy is important – so here are some corrections: 1) McGovern Day is April 28, but it will be held in Soo Foo (not in Mitchell). 2) Dems did succeed in filing 110 candidates, but some of them are in primaries and 5 slots are unfilled.
Republicans are 47% of the electorate in this state, yet, they control everything. Regardless of the state of the Democratic Party in South Dakota, the South Dakota Republican Party is the super majority party more by default than effort.
It use to be fair to say that Independents were moderates, who tended to lean Democratic, but today I think that Independents are an interesting collection of moderates, the hard left, and the true libertarian soul of the conservative mind.
I am not sure if anyone has taken a good look at how that breaks down within the Independent registrations, but money should be spent to explore that reality; and only then can Democrats begin to understand what they have to work with, in order to elect more Democrats in the future.
Then, the long term plan, as we elect more Democrats, should be to recover the loss of party registrations through a greater credibility with the voter due to winning more elections. Because right now, registering as a Republican, and especially as an Independent, is a safe haven mentality, my guess, for many registered voters; and that mentality will only change when Democrats become more credible by winning more elections.
Although, Democrats want to win more elections soon, our first realistic goal actually should be to tighten up races, however. Because the Republican candidate has become lazy, they have become entitled, and want to be anointed, but if we prove to them that they must work to get elected, then it is my guess that fewer good first tier Republicans will want to run anymore, thus leaving the Republicans to increasingly be dependent upon their “B” and “C” candidates to win; but candidates that the Democratic “A” team can definitely beat, and in turn, can make the Democratic Party increasingly more credible with the registered voters in this state.
Such a strategy should not be seen as one of desperation or mere manipulation, however, because often the minority mind in history is right, but it just needs to find a way to become relevant and powerful. Because I once read that during the American Revolutionary War only 27% of the colonists were estimated to have supported the war effort of our fore fathers. An our Constitution is filled with minority protections and promotions, whether it be the electoral college, or the fact that all States regardless of size have two senators. So being the minority is not a sign of failure, rather it is the failure to try to be relevant as a voice or belief that is the true stigma of the minority political status, and it is our duty as a political party to find a legitimate means to end that stigma and make us relevant.
Thus, the strategy I suggest is not one of shame, rather it is one of realism and it is incumbent upon Democrats in South Dakota to understand their duty, their responsibility, and their commitment to a longterm plan to organize the Party so that it can begin to win again and empower the minority voice – which is right as far as we are concerned as Democrats – and thus be credible. And then, and only then, will Democratic registrations begin to first stabilize and then grow once again to further empower our possibilities as a political party…
#WeNeedToIdentifyOurTrueBase1stInorder2Win
Curt,
Not to nitpick a nitpicker, but the South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) did field candidates in all 105 legislative races this year, at least that was the story they put out as late as Tuesday night at our county Democratic meeting. Apparently some of the candidates they fielded didn’t submit their petitions correctly and will not be on the ballot. This doesn’t make their contention nor my repetition of it less accurate. It simply show that mistakes were made in the nominating process. Accuracy is important, espeicially if you want to nitpick and distract from the meat of the story, namely that, despite its recruiting success, the SDDP’s current strategy is, most likely, a losing one.