A Path Forward for the Missouri Democratic Party:

After the resounding losses of Democrats up and down the ticket in Missouri on
November 8, 2016, it is clear that Missouri needs to take a different direction in the
operation of the Missouri Democratic Party. Democrats lost all statewide races, most
State Representative and State Senate elections in which the party actually chose to
field a candidate, and was unsuccessful in fielding off harmful constitutional
amendments, such as the Voter ID law.
These devastating losses can be attributed to a variety of causes, including:
1. The inability of the Democratic issues to resonate with voters in rural areas;
2. Lack of coordination between candidates and races to create a unified
Democratic ticket in all areas of the state;
3. Depressed turnout in African American and urban communities;
4. Lack of recruitment of candidates to field challengers in every legislative
district coupled with a lack of training and understanding of how to run a
campaign, file for election, raise money, pull turf, etc.. for new candidates
5. Inadequate staffing to support Democratic Committees across the state in
effectively educating and mobilizing voters;
6. Insufficient fundraising to be able to support candidates and combat dark
money going into opposing campaigns;
7. Lack of presence of the Democratic Party in off election years across the state;
1. The inability of the Democratic issues to resonate with voters in rural areas
and beyond
With a message of FDR-style economic populism, Bernie Sanders solidly won nearly
all rural counties in Missouri in the March 2016 Democratic Primary. In 1965,
manufacturing accounted for 53% of the economy. In 1979 at its peak, American was
the great manufacturing power in the world. However, for the past 40 years, our
industrial economy has been losing jobs at a rapid rate., Our economy has lost about
7.5 million manufacturing jobs nationally since the peak in 1979. By 1988,
manufacturing accounted for 39% of the economy. In the 2000s the decline in
manufacturing continued. During this time period, the U.S. lost some 5.7 million
manufacturing jobs. By 2004, it accounted for just 9% of the economy.
Rural areas and rust belt cities have seen dramatic declines in manufacturing in
particular. In this last election, they made their discontent evident. The Missouri
Democratic Party must have a rural engagement strategy from people who know how to
speak to rural voters.
Similarly, Reuters conducted a poll that reveals just how upset the American
people really are. Reuters has shown that

76% of the people no longer trust the mainstream media.

75 percent agree that America needs a strong leader to take the country
back from the rich and powerful
72 percent agree the American economy is rigged to advantage the rich and
powerful
68 percent agree that traditional parties and politicians dont care about
people like me
76 percent believe the mainstream media is more interested in making
money than telling the truth
57 percent feel that more and more, I dont identify with what America has
become
54 percent feel it is increasingly hard for someone like me to get ahead in
America

Also,

63% of Americans believe there should be a $15 minimum wage

58% of Americans believe that government should break up big banks
53% of Americans support laws to make it easier for unions to organize
workers
68% of voters say that the wealthy pay too little in taxes
68 % of the public agrees that the government should close any and all tax
loopholes for large corporations that ship jobs offshore
54% of voters support shifting to a publicly funded election system

It is these bread-and-butter issues that are motivating American voters. These are
issues that are supported by the majority of voters and that Democrats can and
should win by championing. Millennials, the largest voting block in the country,
overwhelmingly endorse these policies, as well as, free college at public universities,
single-payer healthcare, and a Green New Deal.
The members of the displaced, white blue-collar class, who are the Trump
supporters and who were the original Democratic base, and the Millennials, who have a
40 % unemployment/underemployment rate, could form a coalition with the urban
African American and Hispanic Community who are twice as likely to be unemployed.
This coalition could form a voting block focused on economic issues. Manufacturing is
returning to the United States because innovations in AI and robotics technology have
made American-based manufacturing cost effective on the world market. Those
displaced from manufacturing and those who have been structurally unemployed need
to be trained for these new jobs that involve working with the robots. The collegeeducated Millennials need to be trained in the support positions that this new technology
requires.
2. Presenting a Unified Front Lack of coordination between candidates and
races so as to create a unified Democratic ticket in all areas of the State
In the 2016 election cycle The Democratic ticket never worked closely together in
the last months of the election. For the most part, five separate campaigns were run for

top-of-the-ticket offices rather than presenting a unified campaign, as had been done in
previous years with Missouri Democrats Bus Tours and unified messaging. There was a
significant drop in votes for Kander and Koster to the down ballot statewide candidates.
There was no consistent messaging across state-wide Democratic candidates. For
example, when Chris Koster says he has taken on ObamaCare it undermines the rest
of the ticket and other candidates, such as Judy Baker whose involvement in the roll out
of the ACA is one of her crowing achievements. This sacrifices long-term party
movement building for short-term political gain. There has to be consistent messaging
across Democratic candidates. Anything else confuses voters.
3. Depressed turnout in African-American and Urban Communities
Missouri in general saw a significant decrease in voter turnout as compared to 2008
and 2012. In particular, the northern sections of St. Louis City and St. Louis County,
composed of mostly minority voters, saw decreases in voter turnout. Although its too
early to know, the Missouri Democratic Party must determine what happened to
contribute to this decline.
What financial resources were contributed to African-American voter
engagement and mobilization?
What voter mobilization efforts took place within the African-American
community?
What was the effectiveness of mobilizing the surrogates we had to energize
voters?
4. You Cant Win if You Dont Play the Game: Lack of recruitment of candidates
to field challengers in every legislative district
In the 2016 election cycle, Democrats did not contest 66 State Representative races
and four Senate races. By only contesting 69 races, the Democratic Party would have
needed to win 80% to regain control of the State House. If the party had fielded
candidates in each race, they would have only needed a 50% win ratio. In addition, for
races in which the Democratic Party failed to recruit candidates, in some districts
quality candidates emerged who were provided little or no support from the State Party,
even when the DPI showed the districts to be winnable. For example, Michael Dorwart
in St. Charles was a lead organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign in Missouri. He
ran for State Representative in a district with a DPI of 50 and walked away with 42% of
the vote in spite of having less than $10,000 to run on and no help from the State Party.
Districts such as this must be priorities for the party, especially when quality candidates
emerge who are willing to work hard to win.
In addition, The Missouri Democratic Party must recruit candidates for local offices who
can create a leadership pipeline for higher offices. Once candidates are recruited to run
for office across the State, the Missouri Democratic Party needs to provide them with
the tools they require in order to be successful. It needs to reinstitute Camp Carnahan
or something similar, which links up candidates with resources on how to effectively run
for office. This includes helping candidates to develop realistic fundraising plans, field

plans, and communication plans.

5. Getting the Right People on the Bus: Inadequate staffing to support

Democratic Committees across the state in effectively educating and
mobilizing voters
The Missouri Democratic Party must be the organization that provides the
staffing, organization, and structural support for the Missouri State Democratic
Committee and County and local Democratic Committees across the State. To this end,
the Missouri Democratic Party must provide the resources necessary for committees to
be successful in raising funds, registering voters, mobilizing voters, organizing around
Democratic Party issues, and supporting and recruiting Democratic candidates.
Rebuilding the Democratic Party is going to require the reorganization of the staffing
structure and job duties. The Chair of the party needs to once again become a paid
position. The Chair should be supported by an executive director and regional
coordinators in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Cape Girardeau to ensure the
presence of the Democratic Party in geographically diverse areas.
Staffing:
Chairman: The visionary of the party who is 1) responsible for the fundraising and
strategic direction of the Missouri Democratic Party, 2) conducts audit of how state
parties in other states similar to Missouri function, 3) develops, in collaboration with the
Missouri State Committee, a 10-point promise of what Democrats in Missouri stand for
and how to implement the Missouri Democratic Party Platform, 4) barnstorms the state
to learn the needs of Democratic committees across the state and to develop a plan for
how to meet their needs, 5) can unify the party by having the respect of both the new
Sanders Democrats and others who have been involved with the party for a long time.
(Full-Time)
*note: it may be necessary to look at a co-chair situation that truly builds party unity
Executive Director: The nuts and bolts of the organization who 1) oversees staff and
carry through the vision of the Party, 2) is responsible for organizing strategy and
supporting candidates in their elections, 3) oversees how to run for office seminars
(Full-Time)
Regional Coordinators: Local representatives who 1) connect the Democratic Party
with communities across the state, 2) support local Democrat Committees in raising
funds, mobilizing voters, and keeping the Democratic Party name and values alive in all
areas across the state, 3) assist in identifying potential candidates to run for offices at
the local and state level, 4) engage with local causes and organizations that are aligned
with Democratic values. (Part-Time, 2017; Full-time 2018)

African-American Engagement Coordinator: Community liaison who builds

connections within the African-American community to increase voter engagement and
mobilization even in non-peak election years. (Part-time or volunteer until funds are
raised)
Hispanic Engagement Coordinator: Community liaison who builds connections
within the Hispanic community to increase voter engagement and mobilization even in
non-peak election years (Part-time or volunteer until funds are raised)
Social Media/Marketing Coordinator: A coordinator who 1) develops a system for
informing voters on an ongoing basis about the acts of the Democratic party and how
the ideas of the Democratic Party support workers, 2) manages social media
fundraising, 3) assists local Democratic committees with disseminating information to
Democrats in their areas. (Full-Time)
VAN Administrator: The administrator who provides technical support for candidates
and their staff on how to use the VAN. (Full-Time)
Director of Fundraising: The director who 1) develops and oversees a grassroots
fundraising plan to end reliance on the donor class while creating a long-term group of
lower dollar sustainable donors. 2) trains and advises local Democratic committees on
developing budgets and how to fundraise (Full-Time once initial funds are raised)
6. Grassroots fundraising Development: Insufficient fundraising to be able to
support candidates and combat dark money going into opposing campaigns
The Missouri Democratic Party can build confidence from voters by being vocal
about whom we will and will not accept as donors. Swearing off money from industries
that are harmful to Democratic principles will build confidence in the system among
everyday voters and encourage them to donate to the party in a sustainable way.
Fundraising for the party must occur at both the local and state levels. Local Democratic
committees must be trained on how to fundraise, and quarterly fundraising goals must
be set with opportunities for matching funds from the State Party. This must be
supplemented with a robust online fundraising machine and individual donor outreach.
Elected Democrats need to commit to fundraising for the party on an annual basis with
fundraising goals set depending upon the elected position.
7. Oh Democrats, Where art Thou?: Lack of presence of the Democratic Party in
off-election years across the state
Through the use of Regional coordinators, we must employ a 114 county, 1 City
strategy. Regional coordinators must engage with County and local Democratic
organizations by helping them to recruit members, hold fundraisers, develop a
sustainable donor base, and be visible in communities across the state, even in non-

election years. At the same time, local, county, senatorial, and state committee must
supply the people power to bring the vision of the Missouri Democratic Party to the
people.

MO
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Senatorial Com m ittee

Country Com m ittee (114 Country strategy)

Local Com m ittees