Is Democratic Election 'Improbable'?
The following article was written by Lee Harris's team; Future901 is proud to endorse Lee Harris, who has won in the County Primary election but is still preparing for the August election. We are proud to have had every one of our endorsed candidates in the County Primary, including Racquel Collins (County Commission, District 1), Tami Sawyer (County Commission, District 7), and Michael Whaley (County Commission, District 5), win their respective race in the Primary Election.
While Future901 is incredibly proud of these successes, there is still a lot of work that must be done. Read on to get a little perspective on what's ahead if we plan to continue the blue wave.
Lately, it seems like a lot of people are counting us out.
In the last few days after the primary election, one writer after another in the Commercial Appeal, our daily paper, has offered up an analysis that, more or less, says Lee Harris's campaign can’t win.
"If Democrats can’t win in Shelby County, it means that we could lose a US Senate seat, the seat that would tip the balance in the US Senate to Democrats."
According to one writer, there’s no blue wave, but there is a red one. He writes: “Actually, [the blue wave] is more like a blue trickle in a rising red [Republican] tide.” He goes on to say that Democrats in Shelby County have “a 100,000-vote gap in the general election voters.” Democratic victory, he concludes, is “improbable.”
Other writers are singing from the same hymnal. For instance, one long-time Republican strategist wrote in the CA that the margins in the May Primary bode well for Republicans in the August General Election. And a third writer in the CA concludes that a surge of Democratic voters “has yet to materialize in Shelby County.”
Now, I hope that these commentators are wrong because the stakes are too high. If they’re right and Shelby County is GOP country, it means we could lose local county races and it means we are in deep trouble when it comes to the Tennessee governor and US Senate races later this year.
Let that sink in for minute: If Democrats can’t win in Shelby County, it means that we could lose a US Senate seat, the seat that would tip the balance in the US Senate to Democrats.
What I do know is this: We are in an uphill battle. For instance, many parts of the business community have lined up to support Lee Harris's opponent and ensure continued GOP dominance in Shelby County. And, of course, Harris is not from any of the traditional political families in this town. He doesn’t have any chips to cash in. He doesn’t have a bank account he can use to fund his own campaign.
But, he does have you. What commentators and others aren’t counting on is you. They don’t know that people all across our county, across our state, and across the country are sick and tired of the status quo.
They haven’t factored into their analysis the fact that our community has been one of the poorest in the US for a long time. And in the last 50 years, based on statistics, like employment and income, things are getting much worse. This campaign is built on the belief that people are ready to see their leaders laser-focus on that.
But make no mistake, it’s going to take all hands on deck to pull this one off. The Primary election is behind us and we are really up against it now. If a “red tide” is coming, we need to be prepared. Help us build. We can do this, one contribution at a time.
Please join Future901 for a meet & greet with Lee Harris on June 22, 5:30-7:30 pm at 207 Buena Vista Place. If you are unable to attend the event, know you can still support Harris by donating to Future901 online.