To supporters, volunteers, candidates, allies and partners,
While this cycle may not have produced the results we had hoped for, we, the officers of the Missouri Democratic Party, wanted to close out this cycle thanking you all for your support, your help, and your work. This cycle has been something of a challenge, not only having to campaign in unconventional and untraditional ways due to the global health pandemic still running rampant through our state and our country, but also due to the sheer force of Donald Trump. Across the country we had heard that this election would lead voters to rebuke the vile racist, sexist, ableist, rhetoric of Donald Trump and hold the GOP accountable for enabling him. It turns out, that didn’t happen, and Republicans took to the ballot boxes to defend him and the GOP in record numbers. But, all is not lost, and we’ll continue to fight. This cycle there are a number of things we’re proud of and wanted to leave you with:
- Unlike a lot of places across the country, we didn’t lose any seats to the GOP, and in fact, likely picked up a seat in Springfield. We saw unprecedented turnout for both sides of the aisle this year, and in many places, that led to elected Democrats losing close races. While the results from this year we’re discouraging, we should feel proud we were able to protect incumbents.
- This was the first election cycle any Party or campaign in Missouri had a unionized staff. After promptly recognizing the staff union and encouraging unionization, the Missouri Democratic Party and our Coordinated Campaign, Show Me Change (a joint effort with the Missouri House Caucus and candidates) were proud to have our staff unionized with the Campaign Workers Guild. For the MDP, this entailed 25-60% pay raises which brought the unit staff to be the highest paid within comparable state parties, a continuation of our already 100% employer-paid health benefits, unlimited sick time, an extenuation of our parental leave policy that we put into place for the first time in early 2019, and various codified job protections. The agreement is one of, if not the most, expansive and progressive collective bargaining agreements for a Party or Campaign.
- In the midst of a global pandemic, we were able to safely and effectively undertake the behemoth project of conducting our delegate selection plan. This involved countless re-drafts as the knowledge about the virus grew, and we’re proud of what we accomplished and how much flexibility and energy our delegates had on the way to selecting the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.
- Over 13.5 million voter contact attempts and 650,000+ voter conversations were had this cycle among our Democratic Campaigns, with our Coordinated Campaign, Show Me Change, producing half of the direct voter contact on behalf of Democrats up and down the ballot. Our Coordinated Campaign partnered with a record number of campaigns up and down the ballot, and accomplished first of its kind digital organizing to adapt to the pandemic – all without financial support from national entities such as Missouri’s received in the past.
- Democrats registered 30,000+ new voters leading up to the election through our ShowMeVotes distributed organizing program and tools, like MapTheVote that we equipped volunteers around the state with.
We’re working to ensure a smooth transition to the next officers of your Missouri Democratic Party and will pass along both what we accomplished, as well as what we could have done better.
Onward,
Jean Peters Baker, Chair
Clem Smith, Acting Chair
Darryl Gray, Secretary
Cydney Mayfield, Treasurer