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LOOKING FORWARD TO JANUARY 20
November 7 was a terrible day for our country, and many of us have been in various states of shock, exhaustion, depression, panic, and self-blame since then. Some people have fought the temptation to withdraw and declare that their hard work doesn’t matter. January 20 marks the end of our period of mourning, self-pity, regret, and hopelessness. Trump 2.0 officially starts then, though we have already had a taste of the chaos, corruption, nepotism, and vendettas that are in store for our country. We don’t yet know the best ways for each of us to fight back, but here are a few principles to guide us:
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Stay informed: Engage with reliable news sources that provide clear, actionable insights. Discover and share sources that empower your network with accurate information. Break out of the "echo chambers" of commentators and analysts, especially on TV, whose output often reinforces our own biases and common knowledge, rather than bringing fresh insights.
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Support the front lines: Contribute to individuals and organizations fighting for democracy in state legislatures, Congress, and the courts. Consider financial contributions or volunteering with civic groups that need support during these critical times.
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Communicate with legislators: Write letters and make calls to lawmakers. Offer encouragement to those championing democratic causes and hold others accountable by voicing your concerns about pending legislation.
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Keep your activism active: Stay engaged in small but consistent ways. Whether it’s attending a local meeting, joining a grassroots campaign, or volunteering in your community, these efforts keep your civic participation strong.
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Connect positively with others: Talk to your friends and family about how to create change together. Shift conversations away from frustration and toward solutions, encouraging collective action.
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Focus on resilience: Remember that perseverance is key. Every step you take, no matter how small, contributes to building the democracy we want to see.
Together, we can make progress. The challenges are real, but so is the power of informed and organized citizens.
With confidence in us,
Your Faithful Editor
In This Issue
- Upcoming Events
- Coming Attractions: State Supreme Court Races
- Take a Moment to Reflect on Jimmy Carter
- In Case You Missed It
- Resources
- Spread the Word
- Share Your News
- Applause, Please
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Tuesday January 21 at 7pm: Salisbury Democratic Town Committee. This regular monthly SDTC meeting will be held at Town Hall and via Zoom. The SDTC is committed to promoting good government and democratic principles at every level of our civic life. The SDTC recruits candidates for local elective and appointed offices and supports the most qualified Democrats to run in municipal, state, and national elections. Meetings are usually on the third Tuesday of every month. Please email Al Ginouves to receive a copy of the agenda and the link to the meeting. All are welcome. | |
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COMING ATTRACTIONS: STATE SUPREME COURT RACES
If you think that 2025 will be an “off year” for elections, listen up: There are important state supreme court races, and we have learned in the past few years how important state courts can be on important issues, such as reproductive rights and voting rights. The latter can have a big impact on who gets elected to state and national offices. In state supreme court races in 2024, parties and partisan interest groups pumped millions into campaigns in an attempt to gain ideological control of the courts. Last year’s elections resulted in Democrats and Republicans securing respective majorities in Michigan and Ohio. In North Carolina, Associate Justice Allison Riggs’ victory by just 743 votes out of over 5.5 million cast, prevented Republicans from increasing their 5-2 majority to a 6-1 majority – a small victory, but a victory, nonetheless.
This year, state supreme court races in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Louisiana will be just as consequential. In Wisconsin, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal judge seeking to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, will run against former Republican state Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge. If Crawford wins, the court will maintain its current 4-3 liberal majority, which it has held only since 2023. Whoever wins in April will serve a 10-year term.
Pennsylvania Democrats kept control of the seven-member court in 2023 and secured the court’s 5-2 liberal majority. This year, three of the court’s four Democratic justices will be up for reelection since their 10-year terms are expiring in 2026.
In Louisiana, a special partisan election will be held to fill a vacancy in the Third District. The result of the election is unlikely to significantly change the seven-member court’s composition, which currently has just one Democrat. But one change is that the court, which has seven districts, now has two majority Black districts (as opposed to just one prior to 2024), thanks to redistricting work by voting rights advocates.
Before you write off 2025 as an “off year” for elections, consider volunteering for candidates in state supreme court elections. Stay tuned for calls to action!
For more details on these races, read Democracy Docket’s State Supreme Court Races to Follow in 2025 and 5 Takeaways From This Year’s State Supreme Court Races.
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TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON JIMMY CARTER
As we were about to go to press, the news broke of Jimmy Carter’s passing at the age of 100. Much has been written -- and much more will be -- about this extraordinary man who embodied courage, progressive principles, and unwavering morality. Carter was often ahead of his time and not always fully appreciated during his presidency. Yet, he demonstrated the power of a purposeful life before, during, and after his time in office.
A good starting point for understanding this remarkable figure is the reflection by Carter biographer Jonathan Alter, shared in his Substack, Old Goats, and based on Alter's experience writing his biography of Carter between 2015 and 2020. (Full disclosure: Alter is a relative of Lee Greenhouse, editor of this newsletter.) Click here to read Alter's remembrance.
Extra credit: Read one of Carter’s own works, Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age. In this vivid account of his first run for public office -- for the Georgia State Senate in 1962 -- Carter recounts the corruption he encountered, his fight for election integrity, and the sweeping social and political changes taking place in Georgia and across the nation at the time. Reading like a political thriller, the book provides an intimate look at Carter’s unwavering commitment to justice, transparency, and democratic principles—values that defined his political career. Carter’s perseverance against the long odds of entrenched corruption stands as a testament to the man's ethical leadership and public service.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Did Trump Drain Democrats’ Energy? These Races Will Be the First Test. Even as our exhausted nation recovers from its two-year presidential campaign, candidates in a pocket of Northern Virginia are engaged in a pair of special elections for the state legislature that may serve as barometers of partisan enthusiasm in the Trump 2.0 era. Early voting and mail-in voting are already underway in advance of election day on January 7. The two contests in Loudoun County for seats in overlapping districts in Virginia’s State Senate and House of Delegates, will not only determine which party holds majorities in the narrowly divided chambers, but hey will also be the first significant elections since voters returned Donald Trump to office. Read the story in The New York Times.
Future of the Democratic Party May Rest in the Hands of One of These Candidates. Since November’s election, many Democratic voters, donors, and elected officials have been clamoring for change at the top of the Democratic Party. While the average American may not know who the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is, the role could have a direct impact on their lives. With the reelection of Donald Trump, the chair will be tasked with pushing back against his administration and many of the policies Trump will try to enact. The chair is also critical in organizing and steering the direction of the party through the candidates the DNC supports and, subsequently, through the policies that are enacted. The current DNC chair, Jamie Harrison, has decided not to run for the position again. There is currently a long list of candidates running to be the new chair of the DNC: Robert Houton, former Maryland Senate candidate, Ken Martin, chair, Minnesota Democratic–Farmer-Labor Party, Martin O’Malley, former Maryland Governor, Jason Paul, executive member of the Newton, Massachusetts, Democratic City Committee, James Skoufis, New York State Senator, Jason Snyder, a former Homeland Security Department official, Ben Wikler, chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and Marianne Williamson, two-time Presidential candidate. There are 448 DNC members who will vote for chair, along with other leadership positions, at the committee’s meeting on February 1. Read this article in Newsweek to learn more. Also worth watching is this short, inspiring video from Ben Wikler launching his campaign for DNC chair.
Trump Will Overplay His Hand. Here’s How to Be Ready. Brookings Institution visiting fellow Asli Aydintasbas provides some useful lessons on democracy’s resilience to dictatorship based on his past experience as a journalist in Turkey. The lessons, he says, include not panicking, staying engaged, not being afraid of infighting, avoiding identity politics, and maintaining hope. Read his entire opinion piece in Politico.
Sarah McBride Wasn’t Looking for a Fight on Trans Rights. In November, Sarah McBride became the first transgender person elected to the US Congress. A Democrat, she worked for the Human Rights Campaign before serving in the Delaware State Senate. McBride will be sworn in in January, but opponents of trans rights in Congress have already mobilized against her: Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a bathroom bill that would require McBride to use the men’s bathroom, and Speaker Mike Johnson made a statement denying trans identity altogether. In this interview with New Yorker editor David Remnick, McBride discusses the climate in Congress, how she’s responding to attacks—and what she is actually hoping to accomplish in Congress. This 41-minute interview is a profile in courage worth listening to.
Temporarily Disconnected From Politics? Feel No Guilt About It. Viewership of MSNBC and CNN has plunged since the November election, part of what The Washington Post describes as a “turn off the news” movement. When people confess that they have disengaged from politics, their voices often drop as if in shame, according to New York Times columnist Charles Blow. That raises the question, he says: Should anyone feel guilt for choosing not to constantly ruminate or to pre-emptively panic, and to take a break before re-engaging in the fight that is almost surely in the offing once Donald Trump returns to power? Absolutely not. Blow argues that taking time out heals wounds and avoids the expending energy on outrage. Read his entire opinion piece in The New York Times.
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RESOURCES
Guide to Alternative Legal Status Options. This resource provides information on next steps for those sponsoring immigrants through a humanitarian parole program, or supporting individuals in your community who are on humanitarian parole. This guide provides foundational knowledge for those helping immigrants pursue asylum, apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or explore family or employment-based visa options. The guide is provided by Welcome.US, a non-partisan, not-for-profit initiative. Click to access this resource.
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SHARE YOUR NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please send us any news or announcements that you would like us to share with our community. We publish on the first of each month, so please send us any submissions at least one week in advance. Please submit to the editor at salsdemsnews@gmail.com.
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If you've read this far, it's probably because you like this newsletter. Please feel free forward it to your friends and family. Let them know that they are welcome to join our mailing list no matter where they live. We are delighted to have readers from anywhere -- Salisbury, the Northwest Corner, or elsewhere in the world. They can sign up with the QR code or click here to sign up or go to salisburydemocrats.com and click on "Join our Mailing List."
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APPLAUSE, PLEASE
Not all heroes wear capes. As we start another year of publishing this newsletter, I need to thank a few people who help make it possible each month. Flora Lazar provides incisive critiques, eliminating gaffs, naivete, and worse in each issue. The indefatigable Sally Andre improves the voice and flow of each issue while catching the ever-present run-on sentences, subject-verb disagreements, and numerous other grammatical violations. Not since my ninth-grade honors English class with Mrs. Annette ("the Rub") Rubman have I had such an effective teacher, although Sally's approach is far gentler and she is far more tolerant of the homework being submitted late.
I also need to thank all the readers who provide feedback -- in the form of support as well as suggestions (aka criticisms). You help make this newsletter continuously better!
With New Year's cheers to all of you,
Your Grateful Gazetteer
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