Annie, Would You Ever Run Again?

If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked this question since November 2022, I could actually buy many dozens of eggs (and I am talking about eggs in Trump’s America, not those affordable eggs we had in Biden’s America). Anyone reading this who has ever run for office can confirm, this is a question you get asked…a lot.

My answers have varied over time, depending on my mood and who I am talking to. To be honest, I don’t actually know what my truth is here. But being asked this question over and over again has led me to think critically about what it is we expect from our candidates, what the barriers are to quality candidate recruitment, and why this is a conversation more of us in the Democratic party need to have if we are going to have any chance of expanding the map in future elections (if we are fortunate enough to have future elections).

I have also been involved in a lot of conversations with folks from all over the country since the Democratic Party’s devastating losses in November. And I have been quietly observing what people whose opinions I respect are saying. One common theme is that average Americans (the ones who don’t scroll Twitter all day and keep cable news on in the background every night) don’t know what the Democratic party stands for anymore. My take is we don’t have a platform issue, we have a branding issue.

And what does that have to do with people asking me if I would run again?

Well, who defines the brand of a political party?

Candidates do. The winners AND the losers. Losers like me.

If we want to effectively and efficiently define the brand of the Democratic party we need to run quality, well-funded candidates–candidates who embody who we are as a party–in as many races as possible, up and down the ballot, every election cycle.

Ok. Let’s just do that, then.

Well, that’s easier said than done. Most people, understandably, don’t know what it is you are asking of someone when you ask them to run for office. When someone runs for office they are giving up their privacy, time with their family, and time at their job (translation: they are giving up their paychecks). They are opening themselves up to vicious attacks and online harassment. They risk their careers at the places they love. For many, this is a non-starter. Even more so for candidates who aren’t independently wealthy, who can’t afford to take a pay cut to run.

The issue of quality candidate recruitment is compounded in red states, in red districts, in seats where the Democratic party as a whole does not see a realistic path to victory and therefore does not see value in allocating resources. So, not only are we asking candidates to sacrifice their privacy, family time, and paychecks, but we are also asking candidates to go it alone when it comes to fundraising. We ask them to sacrifice for the greater good with no intention of supporting them in any meaningful way.

I am not naïve (anymore, I definitely used to be). I realize resources are finite. If I am a donor and I give my money to the DNC or the DCCC, for example, I want to know it is going to the races where it can have the biggest impact, where it might push a candidate over the edge towards victory. Or, if I am a donor giving directly to candidates, I am probably going to ask what the viable path to victory is. But that is short-term thinking, and continues to harm the party in the long-term. Because it can’t be all or nothing. If we just abandon red seats and red states, we will NEVER build Democratic power there. We absolutely must find a way to simultaneously invest in “winnable” races and invest in candidates who are willing to run for seats that are deemed “unwinnable” by the inside the beltway crowd and the donor class. As my former Finance Director,

Renee Harvey

, reminds me, we’ll never win if we don’t put our best foot forward and at least try.

And if we find a way to do that, more people might say yes when they are asked if they would ever run or if they would ever run again. And that is how we can build our brand and our power in every corner of the country. And that is how we eventually turn “unwinnable” seats into “winnable” seats, and expand the map.

I hope this doesn’t sound like sour grapes. It is not meant to. I want my experience and my own internal deliberations to help move our party forward. Because I feel like my perspective as a mom, a pediatrician, and a non-career politician did make me a compelling candidate. And because I believe so deeply in what the Democratic party stands for, and who they fight for. I would love to help them define their brand and build their power by running for something again. But when I think about what I gave up to do it the first time, the thought of doing it again seems genuinely overwhelming, especially knowing that I would most likely be going it alone again.

And this is exactly why calls to run quality candidates in every race, every cycle fall flat on my ears. We encourage them to run but we don’t have the infrastructure or resources to support them when they do.

I don’t have the answer, I just know this is a problem that isn’t getting enough attention. And as I sit here in deeply red, deeply gerrymandered South Carolina, I know I am not ready to give up on my state yet. And I want to help. Even if I am technically a loser.