Democratic Town Committee
Carlisle, MA
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"Real change, enduring change, happens one step
at a time."
"If you want to be
a true professional, do something outside yourself."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 3/1933 - 9/2020
Welcome to News and Information
Next CDTC Meeting
Oct 17, 7:00PM 2024
Members: Attend meetings! We are in a
critical period necessitating votes. Public
opinions need 10 present to pass at the meeting! 6 to pass with email vote followup.
Now is the time! Help Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win up and down the whole ballot!
Get motivated!
The GOP has a stronger ground game for '24. Don't think Trump will be as easy to defeat as he was in 2020.
Donate to the Democratic Ground Game!
At stake? The ultra-right Heritage Foundation brought us the current Supreme Court. Now they expect Trump to hollow out more of our institutions per a lengthy guide called Project 2025.
Work to Elect Democrats!
Overall Strategy
In recent elections, where virtual access supplies plenty of options, the CDTC has sought out cost-effective grass roots work nationally, namely elections where a small boost has a fair chance of producing a win. In addition, direct sign-up links focus on the types of work preferred by members and, we hope, friends. But we have received word via Mass Dems that the Harris campaign would like MA to send as many people to knock on doors in NH and ME as possible. Since the success of grass roots work depends on the enthusiasm of lots of people, please choose grassroots opportunities that you find most motivating and "Do Something!"
Key States for 2024
Latest data examined again, this time filtering first with Cook Toss-up list, then looking up polls at 538. This list of top states has been compiled by the webmaster based on electors per state, and the number of other interesting elections in the state: House and Senate races, State Supreme Court, AG, Secretary of State, and a close State House. Additional activity within the state boosts its priority. Press the button for all the data.
Key States (93 EC Delegates Total) Approx Descending Order
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NC (16)
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PA (19)
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MI (15)
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GA (16) ​
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AZ (11) - risky
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WI (10)
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NV (6)
Urged by the MA Dems, Knocking on Doors​
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ME (4) Golden, House. Consistent wins in 2nd round of Ranked Choice Voting.
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NH (4) Governor. Joyce Craig could use help based on pimary margins; House candidates Pappas and Kuster are both Likely Dem.
Key Congressional Races
The intention here is to provide a list of high-leverage work. Pick just a few races, let the House races influence the states you choose to work in, let the districts drive your choice of postcards, etc.
The Senate
Currently the Senate has 51 Democrats + Independents and 49 Republicans. The challenge is that we are defending 23 seats while the GOP has just 11. Independent Joe Mansion is not running in 2024. His ultra red W. Virginia seat is lost to us, bringing the most we will be able to hold down t0 50 seats. The GOP's seats are all in red states and they will not flip. The good news: most Democratic candidates are leading in early polls except Jon Tester in Montana who has slipped a little since July to -7 points as of Sep 23 ; it's hard to know what to recommend about his race as he is key but needs much help. Included is a cave-in by Ted Cruz of TX. He is now up only +3 to Democrat Colin Allred who seems to have brought a lot of pressure to bear. In July Cruz was up 14-20 points.
Key Senate Races
MI Elissa Slotkin*
WI Tammy Baldwin*
TX Colin Allred closing on Cruz!
*​ indicates one of our priority states
The US House
There are 435 seats; 212 are Democratic, 220 are GOP and two are vacant. All are up for election every two years. The Cook Political Report lists 20 toss-up (equally likely to win) races. Half the toss-ups are currently held by Democrats, and half by GOP. How many seats must the Democrats hold, and how many flip in order to get a majority of the House? The answer: hold all eleven and flip 5, or hold all but 1, flip 6, etc. Details are in the attached document. Below all D candidates in races where we could make headway.
Hold 11 (3 more than last shown) Vulnerable Dem Seats
CO08 Yadira Caraveo
ME02 Jared Golden
MI07 Curtis Hertel *​
MI08 McDonald Rivet *
​NC01 Don Davis*
OH13 Emilia Sykes
PA07 Susan Wild*
PA08 Matt Cartwright*
AK-AL Mary Peltola (new)
NM02 Gabe Vasquez (new)
OH09 Marcy Kaptur (new)
​* indicates one of our priority states;
Flip 5+ Vunerable GOP Seats (D Candidate Shown)
AZ01 A Shah *
AZ06 K Engel *
CA13 Adam Gray
CA22 Rudy Salas
NJ07 Sue Altman
NY04 Laura Gillen
NY17 Mondaire Jones
NY19 Josh Riley
CA27 George Whitesides (new)
CA41 Will Rollins (new)
CA45 Derek Tran (new)
NE02 Tony Vargas (new)
OR05 Janelle Bynum (new)
Bandwith and Other Limits Contacting Voters - Be Flexible!
Some text and phone banks are running at capacity! We'll note here where we run into them, with a pointer to an alternative. Recognize that when this happens a state is getting a lot of volunteer attention and move to another state or organization. Or switch to postcards and letters.
Write Post Cards or Letters!
This year the CDTC has two members trading off periodically. For some months now postcards and sometimes letters have been acquired by member Dan S. He chooses from a variety of organizations, targeting our swing states, including Congressional races. Work at home on your schedule.
So far we and two committee friends have sent about 1300 post cards and 50 letters! Thanks to all our industrious members and also friends!
Texting Is Scarce for 2024
In some ways texting is superior to phoning, but it has a major drawback: it is hard to find this year. We
recommend two national organizations that are working in swing states. Both offer text-banking and phone-banking. They are NextGen and the Working Families Party where two DTC members are regularly signed up. Following these two organizations, is a partial list of links to sign up with phone banks hosted by well-known organizations. Finally, for more choices, read the instructions for mobilize.us to find anything you want.
Texting with the Working Families Party!
The Working Family Party, national level, works all year around. They use the standard tools: Slack and Spoke (aka ScaleToWin.) They have sessions Tuesdays 6-8 EST in swing districts. Super moderators, good scripts, basic training and advanced training with more (flexible) hours and completed conversations!
Phone-Bank for Harris - Walz with the DNC- Anytime
CDTC Member Ken D took the plunge! He reports that they have speedy training followed by patient team Captains who solve beginner problems. On his way to becoming a pro, no doubt. You show up and they have chosen where to phone for Harris - Walz. Hosted by Democrats.org and the DNC.
How to Find Any Grassroots Work or Event You Want
Mobilize.us is a website where numerous organizations post events and you can sign up for. Filters describe what you are looking for. Create a mobilize.us account, and it records all your sign-ups.
​In your browser go to the mobilize.us home page
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Click "Filters" in the top menu bar
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In the "Type" box click the right down arrow (wedge), scroll through the choices and click any activity you are looking for, e.g. "text banks" and "phone banks"
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In "Campaign or Organization" hit the down arrow and select all that you think might offer what you want
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At the bottom of all the choices, click "Apply Filters"
Issues Awareness in Carlisle Center
Town rules: one sign held by one person, multiple people, each holding one sign. You can bring a chair. Thanks to Frank and Bonnie! Excerpts from her latest report:
"The highlight of Friday, 12/23, was when a driver of a silver school van slowed and said "Merry Christmas, Love." It warmed the 33F afternoon.... it's hard to tell the ratio of positive waves and honking horns to "stoney faces," but there is plenty of encouragement to continue, weather permitting."
The latest in message fashion merch from WisDems!
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Purpose of Democratic Town Committees ​
"Town, ward and city committees are the foundation of Party organization and have the closest contact with the people...Local committees are intended to be working committees, dedicated to the cause of winning elections..." - Massachusetts Democratic Party Charter, Article Two, Section I.
Friends: You need not be a member to help the committee. In fact some of the grass roots activities you can do entirely independently. We encourage all to get involved.