Written by: Michael Straw
Edited by: Annie Phan
On the heels of winning four seats in July, Democrats are poised to seize more seats as we enter August and the second half of the year.
A Look Back at July: Four Special Elections Sweeps
Our first victories sprouted in Oklahoma with a one-two combo: Michael Brooks-Jimenez winning Oklahoma Senate seat 44 and Karen Gaddis winning Oklahoma House seat 75 on July 11th. With these wins, Oklahoma Democrats and Democrats nationally started to see momentum.
Then, on the following week on July 18th, Democrat Kris Schultz won the New Hampshire 18th State House seat in Merrimack by a landslide, clocking her GOP opponent 78%-22%.
Just before the end of this month, Kevin Cavanaugh defeated former Republican State Senator David Boutin (R) 55%-44%, once again validated the party’s increasing voter enthusiasm. To put Cavanaugh’s win in perspective, Hillary Clinton previously won the district by only 100 votes.
July has been an amazing month. As we look at the month ahead, Democrats are poised to pick up more seats from the GOP.
Important Events in August
Mark your calendars for August 8 - this is a big day for Democrats with three special elections - two flip opportunities and one hold opportunity.
Flips: Democrats Michela Skelton runs for Missouri’s 50th State House seat and Al Schalicky runs for Missouri’s 28th State Senate. Currently, the Missouri State House is controlled by the Republicans 115-45 with 3 vacancies. While the State Senate is also controlled by Republicans 24-9 with 1 vacancy.
Hold: Phil Miller runs for Iowa’s 82nd State House seat. This Iowa special election is a major HOLD opportunity - Democrats have a fight on their hands to main control of this seat in a red district. President Trump won this district 58%-37% last year.
On August 22nd, four candidates contend for Rhode Island State Senate District 13 special election. Our candidate, Democrat Dawn Euer faces Republican Michael Smith, Green Party candidate Gregory Larson, and Independent candidate Kimberly Ripoli.
Additionally, special election primaries and mayoral elections in Mobile & Birmingham Alabama, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and Michigan are scheduled throughout the month.
Lastly, a major school board election in Fairfax County, VA on August 29th, rounds out the month ahead. Democrat Karen Keys-Gamarra competes for another school board seat in hopes of further isolating Republicans in this once Red/Purple state.
Democrats nationwide are energized as seen by the recent wins in New Hampshire and Oklahoma. Join us in building momentum for the Democrat party! Ready2Vote will be there reporting and supporting our candidates along the way throughout the month!