Campaigning in the Age of COVID-19 🌊

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News from the Coconino County Democratic Party

March 23, 2020

Campaigning in a Pandemic

The world has changed since we wrote our last newsletter on March 3. But one thing has not changed: On November 3, we will face the most important election of our lifetimes. If anything, this has become more evident:

  • Donald Trump’s utter failure to confront COVID-19 in a responsible manner
  • The U.S. Senate bill to provide a half-trillion-dollar slush fund for disbursement to Trump/Mnuchin cronies
  • The Arizona Legislature’s refusal to pull more than a pittance from the “Rainy Day Fund” when the state is in a record-breaking thunderstorm. 

Arizona is key to winning the Electoral College and thus the Presidency and to gaining a majority in the U.S. Senate. Changing control of our legislature is equally important and our Legislative District 6 is key to making that change at the Capitol.

Your County Party is working hand-in-hand (now by Zoom) with the Mission for Arizona (the federal arm) and the Campaigns to Flip-LD-6 by electing Felicia French to the Arizona Senate and Coral Evans to the Arizona House. Over the last week, scores of our volunteers trained with these campaigns for Virtual Phonebanking and on Saturday and Sunday over sixty volunteers made calls for LD-6 while others were calling for Mark Kelly.  Our office staff continues to provide service to local candidates and campaigns for ballot propositions. Our interns have moved their door-to-door work to virtual campaigning. Our volunteers are laying out an ambitious mailing plan to replace door-to-door canvassing. 

We’ve spent the last 3.5 years getting ready to run this campaign and now, even though we have to change tactics, we have not stopped the effort. 

Roosevelt-Kennedy Fundraiser 

For 20 years, the Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner has supported the operations of the Coconino County Democratic Party.  Our primary concern is the health and well-being of our donors and volunteers. We have postponed the dinner to September 26 when we hope everyone will be able to use or gift the tickets they have purchased. Please realize that the major portion of your ticket purchase is a donation that is vital to the continuing operations of the party. Our world is changed by the pandemic but one this has not changed: We are facing the most important election of our lifetime and the County Party’s efforts, as discussed above, continue to play a vital role.

While we wait for the opportunity to celebrate our efforts together in person, we have collected an AMAZING group of auction items. So we have good news: We will be running the auction online starting March 28 at 5:30 pm and running through April 7 at 5 pm. We have collected over 70 fabulous auction donations — please participate in the auction as a way of supporting our continuing work.

Visit @2020RKDinner on Facebook now to whet your appetite for some of the auction items that will be available. We’ll post the link for participating in the auction later this week — on Facebook and on our website.  This will be fun — and we need your support. You might arrange a Zoom cocktail party for Saturday at 5:30 pm and discuss your bidding strategy with friends. (Zoom is free for meetings of 40 minutes or less and is a nice alternative if you find Facetime unsatisfactory at times.)

Want to Shape the Future of The Democratic Party?

Now is the time to become a precinct committee person. Elected precinct committeepersons are the grassroots of the Democratic Party. These folks elect our State Committee Members, who govern the Arizona Democratic Party. Our State Committee Members also elect members of the Democratic National Committee.

Learn a bit more about what it means to be a PC here and see a video of some of your community members who serve in this office.

Deadlines for eligibility for the next two-year term are coming up. Act now by contacting our office. 

In Case You Missed This News

Monday Musings: Will AZ’s GOP trifecta vanish in 2021? — Focus on LD-6

Mayors Evans, Gallego, and Romero Declare State of Emergencies in Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson — Flagstaff’s Mayor was first to lead

Why I Volunteer, by Mardi Devolites

The Families-First Coronavirus Response Act passed today.

Yáadiláh Vote! — Our First Snail-Mail Newsletter to our Coconino Navajo Voters

Our Initial Response to the COVID-19 Crisis

For the most current posts, follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well as checking the Latest News on our website.

Legislative Alerts

Our Legislative Committee is not taking a rest. 

Legislative Alert – Coronavirus Emergency

Action Alert: Senate COVID-19 Relief Bill

Legislative Alerts: Environmental Actions for the Week

Action Alert: All Mail Election

Now More Than Ever

We can’t send our volunteers door-to-door as in a traditional campaign. We’ll be working to reach voters in other ways —  snail mail, phone banking, texting, social media. These efforts — especially a traditional mail campaign — are much more expensive than volunteer canvassing. In this difficult time, we need to INCREASE our financial resources rather than scale them back. 

Click on the image to Support Your Local Party and Win in November.

Calendar of Democratic Events in Coconino County

Here’s How to Reach Your Ex Com Members


DemCast is an advocacy-based 501(c)4 nonprofit. We have made the decision to build a media site free of outside influence. There are no ads. We do not get paid for clicks. If you appreciate our content, please consider a small monthly donation.


We work to protect the American Worker, the American Dream and the Future of our Children. The Mission of the County Party is to elect Democrats to public office who embrace the values of the Democratic Party.

The Coconino County Democratic Party is one of the 15 county organizations of the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP). The ADP is an arm of the National Democratic Party. We are committed to the continuing growth of a strong grassroots organization that takes action in support of local, state, and national Democratic candidates and issues consistent with our Mission.

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