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Welcome to a special midweek message from the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider, a newsletter that features regular updates about upcoming Dem-NPL events, legislative happenings, and news that affects North Dakotans! If you would like to have something added to the newsletter, email us at laura.dronen@Demnpl.com. Spread the word of our newsletter by sharing our sign-up link today: https://demnpl.com/join-our-newsletter/.
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Amassing the tools to win
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Hello North Dakota Democrats!
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It has been a lifetime since January 20th. The rollercoaster of emotions and dizzying array of chaos and corruption makes it hard to stay upright some days. We have 510 days to take back the US House and put a stop to the madness of POTUS.
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Let me assure you, our party is fighting back on every level. DNC elections were held in February and newly elected Chair Ken Martin and ASDC* President Jane Kleeb hit the ground running. They both come from state parties and appreciate how important robust infrastructure at that level is to electing candidates. (*Association of State Democratic Committees - chairs, vice chairs and EDs of all 57 states and territories)
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Here is what that looks like. The DNC increased funding to state parties under former Chair Jaime Harrison so that red states were receiving $15,000 each month. It is notable that this is 5 times the amount our state party was raising, so it is accurate to say they have been keeping us afloat. (There is a Century Club Challenge going on right now, and you can be on the team that rebuilds this party!). Chair Martin and President Kleeb have delivered on their promise to invest even more. They are investing in every state and territory because they believe that when We Organize Everywhere, We can Win Anywhere. The monthly allocation to ND increased $7500. Starting in October, we will receive $22,500 each month in financial support from the DNC. We gathered input at the May Policy Committee meeting on how to utilize this additional revenue and we will have a plan in place by the time the funds begin arriving.
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We are getting more than just financial support. President Kleeb is committed to providing substantive training to increase our knowledge and skills in the work of electing more Democrats up and down the ballot. State party staff will have opportunities to learn in their professional lanes, and state party leadership is also headed to boot camp! The messaging training we got at the most recent ASDC meeting was phenomenal.
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We are putting data together for district leadership so they know what it will take to win in 2026, and developing resources for them to make strides toward that goal. Chair Goldwyn and I headed out west to visit Bismarck Mandan Dems, Region 1 Dems in Williston, and Minot area Dems. We had great conversation at each stop, and the intent is to come see a few others of you before the summer is up. We are hearing from districts that they are already talking about candidates for 2026, and 3 districts have at least 1 committed candidate.
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But we need to be looking at candidates for more than just state legislative seats and statewide races (that team has been hard at work since December 2024). We also need to be looking at school boards, city and county commissions, township boards, park boards, rural utility boards, and all the non partisan, municipal races. The adage that All Politics is Local is so applicable here! These are the places we have the closest relationships with the voters, they are the way we spread a progressive vibe throughout communities, and they are the way we build out a candidate pool and build up a state party.
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To help you recruit candidates, we are offering a Power Mapping training in collaboration with 701 Strategies group. This training will happen in person in Fargo on June 25 and in person in Bismarck on June 21st. There is no cost to district leadership to attend except to get to and from the event. And to help us gain ground in rural areas across the state, we are working out details for a training with ASDC President Jane Kleeb on rural engagement. As the Nebraska state party chair, Jane has taken the number of elected Dems in her state from 500 + to over 1000.
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This is the message I want to leave you with: yes, we are working to win elections in 2026. To save our democracy, it is imperative that we do that. To break the supermajority in Bismarck, we have to organize to win. The part we don’t articulate well is this - Democrats don’t run for office to amass power for our own good. We are working so hard to win because Democrats use power to make the lives of ALL Americans, ALL North Dakotans, better. We work to make sure everyone has the tools they need to build a good life for themselves and their families. Republicans use power to make the wealthy wealthier and to take freedoms from the rest of us to ensure they stay in power. In the words of Paul Wellstone, when we all do better, we all do better. Still one of the best talking points out there.
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The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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