Happy Monday all. I want to start this morning with the Vice President’s close from her Las Vegas rally last night. It is above, and it is amazing. If you want to keep going you can watch the whole speech on her YouTube channel. It was another raucous and boisterous crowd.
We have a big day today - the last major filing period of the election. Folks in this community have really stepped up and we just need to keep going. We have another big day tomorrow too - the Vice Presidential debate. And then we have what will be a few very big weeks as an estimated 80 million postcards, written by all of you, get mailed and start hitting voters in battleground states and districts as early voting turns on across the country. Here are a few photos, provided by Markers for Democracy, of postcards about to make their important journey:
The effort of Democratic volunteers these past few years has been heroic. I remain convinced that a central reason we’ve been outperforming polls and expectations has been the margin of our collective effort. Through our work we’ve helped repeatedly push Democratic performance to the upper end of what was possible in election after election of all kinds across the country. Here is a passage from my 2022 post-election memo, The Democratic Party is Strong, Rs Remain All MAGA (lightly edited):
The strong Dem performance in the Presidential battlegrounds may be the 2022 election’s most important story — Unusually, the 2022 election was not nationalized, and there were really two elections — a bluer one inside the battleground and in a few heavy Dem states, and a redder one outside…..
Despite low Biden approval and high inflation, Democrats outperformed Biden 2020 in AZ, CO, GA, MI, MN, NH, PA (and WI Gov) — simply a stunning achievement in a midterm election. This new CNN piece by Ron Brownstein does a good job at explaining what these strong D performances in the battlegrounds may mean for the 2024 Presidential race, and it is not good news for the Rs. Greg Sargent has an extended interview with me about this strong D performance and what it means for 2024 in The Washington Post……
The big lesson for us here is that when we run full fledged national campaigns we can control the information environment, and stay in control of our own destiny in the most important battlegrounds in the country. The big money our campaigns are raising is allowing Democrats to gain significant tactical advantage in contested races, something I write about here and something that will be hard for Rs to match by 2024. Part of this story is the entire Dem ecosystem has learned that a strong early vote can actually increase overall Dem turnout by allowing our campaigns to reach many more lower propensity voters much earlier in the process. Driving the early vote with bigger campaigns is creating what I call a “virtuous cycle of participation” — a powerful new tool for a party with a higher percentage of new and irregular voters.
We then saw our new, highly motivated Democratic grassroots go out and flip a WI Supreme Court seat in April of 2023, a win that gave us fair maps and undid their rancid redistricting; flip Jacksonville and Colorado Springs, two of the largest Republican held cities in the country; end Ohio’s six week abortion ban and restored rights and freedoms to the women in this battleground state; flip the VA Assembly, and elect the first black Speaker in Virginia’s history; and win school board, city council, mayoralities and state legislative seats across the US.
This same dynamic - our overperformance, their post-Dobbs struggle - played out throughout 2024 - in the NY-3 special, in state legislative races across the US, in Trump’s profound underperformance in the GOP primaries. Now it is up to us to make sure it shows up in this election, in the early vote and on Election Day.
I know how hard so many of you have worked these past few years, how much money you have donated. It has been exhausting and nerve-racking, exhilarating and rewarding. Important work has gotten done. New communities formed. Elections have been won. A new, powerful muscle for our democracy has been built. I am so proud to be in this fight with all of you, and so grateful for the inspiration I receive from your passion, commitment and love of our country, everyday. Something remarkable and unprecedented is about to happen in America. According to the main postcard groups, 80 million handwritten postcards are going to be flying into the battlegrounds and doing their part for our democracy, for our freedoms and our future. Let us mark this important milestone, say a little prayer, grab a glass of wine for so many of you have worked so hard for this moment. It is here now, the election is here now, and these postcards that start getting mailed in large numbers tomorrow are essential to our goal of running up the score in the early vote and winning the election in October.
As a reminder of the stakes of the election, I send along my six minute talk about the greatness and goodness of the Democratic Party, and why I think so many of us are doing this vital work. Enjoy my friends, and thank you for what you have done, and what we are all going to do, together, in these next six weeks.
Election, Polling Updates - Today is a day of action, will return to my more traditional analysis tomorrow. While here, a reminder of what the last, independent, credible polls of the battlegrounds found. This set of polls were released on Thursday:
More on 2024:
Watch Vice President Harris’s big economic speech, her new speech on the border and immigration, and her terrific interview with Stephanie Ruhle
Catch my latest post and video presentation on the 2024 election, and our wonderful new Closing Strong episode with Harris-Walz Campaign Manager Julie Rodriguez and WI Dem Chair Ben Wikler
4 new trends that are making me even more optimistic
See my new talk on the importance of voting on Day 1 and winning it in October
No red waving 2024 please - it’s time we talk about all these right-aligned polls in the polling averages
We now know that Trump’s abortion bans are killing women
Hard Work Is Good Work/Winning It In October - Today is the last major filing deadline for campaigns across the country. Whatever you got left in your pocket try to give it before midnight tonight! Money now is better than money in late October for all these races. Do what you can, and I will note that this community has really stepped up in recent days. We’ve moved hundreds of thousands of dollars into these states and candidates this past week - thank you all! Team Hopium just keeps stepping up and we have one more day to put big points on the board for our candidates and state parties!
Harris-Walz For President - $1,100,000 raised, $1.5m goal - Donate | Volunteer | Merch | Subscribe to The Harris-Walz YouTube Channel
Our Presidential Checkmate States - Learn more about our “checkmate” strategy, and support Ruben Gallego and these two front-line state parties:
North Carolina - $603,000 raised, $750,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton. We need to keep stepping up for the people of North Carolina!!!!!!
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $401,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Nebraska/Blue Dot - $207,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with NE Dem Chair Jane Kleeb. Nebraska has become very important to us this year - please consider donating today!
Winning The House - There are four ways to support our 15 Winning The House candidates:
Support All 15 With A Single Donation - $1,312,000 raised, $1,500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer, Learn More and Watch Interviews With Our Candidates
Support The 4 New House Candidates In Our Expanded Target List - $51,000 raised, $100,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More.
Donate Directly To A Candidate - You can donate to any of our 15 candidates directly here. Let’s do this people!
Sign up to postcard and call into these critical swing districts in our Hopium Winning The House Thursday series. Next Thursday we are working for Adam Gray (CA-13) starting at 715pm ET and ending at 9pm (note new start time - getting more work in). Register here. Each week in addition to the work we usually hear from the candidate we are working for and I close with a 10 minute update on the election. Join us - it’s where all cool kids are on Thursday nights!
Keeping The Senate Blue - By popular demand, we are now supporting Senators Tester and Brown in addition to Ruben Gallego:
Montana/Jon Tester - $70,000 raised, $100,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More
Ohio/Sherrod Brown - $48,000 raised, $100,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More
Arizona/Ruben Gallego - $401,000 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer | Learn More | Be sure to watch my interview with Ruben Gallego
Ways you can do even more
Commit to Vote on Day 1 and get everyone you know to join you. Early voting has now begun across the country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Promote I Will Vote to help people check their registration status and register to vote. There are many weeks of voter registration left. Let’s keep making more Democrats!
Watch my With Dems presentation on the greatness and goodness of the Democratic Party and this six minute video on the incredible stakes in this election.
Grow and Strengthen The Hopium Community - Help grow the Hopium community. Use this link to encourage others sign others up. You can gift a subscription to a friend or student here and get group rates too. From now until Election Day a paid annual Hopium subscription is 10% off. If you have changed credit cards or moved you can update your payment information or check your renewal status by following these instructions from Substack. Let’s keep our community growing and the Hopium flowing! Paid subscribers help keep most of our content free for the 118,000 strong in our community down the home stretch!
Join me in keeping all of the people impacted by Helene in our thoughts and in our hearts today - Simon
80 Million Postcards About To Hit The Battlegrounds, One More Big Day To Donate and Rally For Dems, What We Are Fighting For