Let's reframe what a win looks like in rural America

No seat uncontested...

As most of you know, I ran for Missouri State House in 2022. I lost. Badly. But, here’s the thing, it was worth it. Running in very red districts that will not flip in one, two, or even three cycles is worth it.

It’s frustrating to hear folks say that rural Missourians vote against their self-interest when 66 of Missouri’s 163 House Districts had no Democratic nominee on the ballot in 2022. Nearly 2.5 million Missourians live in those uncontested districts and didn’t have the option to vote for a Democrat for State House, because there wasn’t one on the ballot.

My district has not elected a Democrat in 32 years. Over three decades. My district has never elected a woman. Ever.

I wasn’t able to change that, but I was able to do something…my team and I knocked on thousands of doors. We called hundreds of folks. We walked in parades and showed up at chili suppers and candidate forums and community events. We cleaned up the voter data that had not been collected in I don’t know how many years. We paved the way for the next campaign by warming folks to the idea of Democrats and letting the next campaign know where these folks are. All because I ran…and lost.

The key isn’t flipping a decades old red district in one-cycle. The key is running.

By running in my district, I forced the GOP nominee to stay in district and work. I forced him to show up to candidate forums and define his awful stances on everything from abortion to gun laws. He had to work, but more than that, he had to raise money and spend it to win.

The Republicans had to spend money in a district they never have to drop a dime in. They couldn’t pocket the money and head to blue cities across the state and start picking away at those districts. My race, and others like mine across the state, forced them to stay in district. Now, what if we did that in every district?

Missouri has had a GOP supermajority since 2003. Twenty years. So, why not just stick to a few races…consolidate funds and try to flip the easiest three or four seats in the state?

Because that formula has been a complete disaster and left our state in the hands of the most extreme politicians who accept millions to stay in power and do the bidding of the wealthy, while never having to show up and work for constituents. They do not have to speak to our concerns because they are uncontested and insulated from any consequence.

They are extremists and they lie about anything and everything to consolidate power in Missouri.

They can’t sell their awful policies for what they are — tax cuts for the wealthy and the dismantling of the public good to private corporations — so they have hit on the magic formula for the extremism. These lawmakers are against abortion and for gun rights. They attack trans kids and the LGBTQ community. They dismantle public schools to send taxpayer funds to those who want to privatize them and deny their own children and grandchildren an education.

And for what? To keep a base riled up while picking their pockets. To stay in office with righteous indignation. To placate the most extreme folks and act as if they are the ones who are put upon and oppressed. 

I read “What’s the Matter with Kansas” years ago and a line that stuck with me: All these ‘aggrieved’ middle Americans have to show for their Republican loyalty are lower wages, more dangerous jobs, dirtier air, a new overlord class.”

We have a GOP supermajority in Missouri and we have nearly given up even trying in most of the rural parts. We have districts going decades without a candidate. We created a negative self-fulfilling prophecy…we have abandoned long term goals and are making knee-jerk decisions in a panic. We have hit rock bottom with no Democrat elected to state-wide office. 

The way we get out of this mess is to find and FUND nominees in every district on every ballot across the state. We will not win many in just one cycle, but that’s no reason to not do it. We fight for democracy by showing up. We show up by supporting a run everywhere approach.

We can do this…we just have to reframe what a win looks like in rural spaces. Running in very red districts that will not flip in one, two, or even three cycles is worth it because, eventually, we do win.

~Jess