I recognize everyone is still decompressing from this year’s election cycle and looking forward to the upcoming holiday season with family and friends, so I thought I’d share some cheerful news for those of you “behind enemy lines” and mulling a run for office in a “blue” or “purple” state/district in the upcoming election cycle.
In Shreveport, LA, two weeks ago, a 71-year-old Republican won the run-off election for mayor – the first GOP mayor in the city in 28 years.
Tom Arceneaux, who is white, defeated black State Sen. Greg Tarver “in a city where roughly 55 percent of registered voters are African-Americans.” According to an Associated Press article…
“Arceneaux got a major boost during the run-off when he was endorsed by outgoing Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins and the city’s two previous mayors. All three of them are black Democrats.”
Now, I’m sure there was a lot more to how Mayor-elect Arceneaux pulled off this victory than a handful of key endorsements. But what we do know is that it’s possible to pull off the impossible with the right candidate who has the right strategy, the right message and the right implementation.
In other words, never say never.
Want some more cheerful news? What the heck; it’s Christmas. So here ya go…
Republican John Duarte flipped a Democrat congressional seat in deep-blue California in one of the closest races in the country. Duarte won by just over 500 votes out of more than 133,000 cast in a district with a 14-percentage point voter registration advantage for Democrats.
“Working families are being forced to choose between food on the table and gas in the tank,” Duarte noted in his campaign messaging. “As your Congressman I’ll do the right thing – I’ll vote to suspend the gas tax and cut fuel and food prices.”
If you’re a “red” candidate running in a “blue” state or district, you need to run a “purple” campaign that focuses on the issues non-ideological voters care about the way Rep.-elect Duarte did.
If, that is, you care about winning.
You and I have a lot of work ahead of us for the 2024 election cycle. Buckle up. It’s gonna be a bumpy, turbulent ride.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Relax. Enjoy. And be ready to ride at dawn after the holidays.