CAN WE COUNT ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF GEORGIA TO HELP ELECT CANDIDATES? THE TICKING CLOCK OF THE 2018 ELECTION CYCLE.

DPG Vice Chair for Candidate Recruitment Ted Terry

 For Georgia State politics, which has been run in the past in a very lackluster manner by DuBose Porter, there has been some recent encouragement from political wunderkind and former Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry, recently appointed to head the Vice Chair of Candidate Recruitment for the DPG.

The clock is ticking on the 2018 election cycle, and the recent failure of the DNC and the DCCC to help Kansas Congressional candidate James Thompson out in a close race until the last possible moment raises a concern.

Today's Washington Post article, among others, pointed to a lack of help from the DNC and DCCC in Thompson's races and Huffington Post  had one on  Montana's at-large seat where folk singer Rob Quist is running.

Kansas Congressional Candidate Thompson

Will the Democratic establishment lift a finger to help out any candidates unless they are strong bets to win?   My recent experience with DPG Vice Chair of Recruitment Ted Terry has me wondering, will the DPG really help out on the state level?

At a DPG meeting of county representatives in March, Ted encouraged the local level to be seeking candidates for every office.  I emailed him, asking him what the State party was going to do to help at the grassroots level, and he offered to meet me in April, but after that he hasn't returned my emails.  And I'm not alone.  Discussions with candidates running for the State House and Senate have disclosed that after reaching out to Ted he hasn't returned emails to them either.

WHENCE COMETH  THE STATE CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN TED TERRY?

My biggest concern is the ticking clock factor.

We are quickly approaching the 2018 election and need to be racking up candidates and getting them to file right away and carry out some kind of vetting process and training.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE PARTY IN GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNS

Ted encouraged the county parties to be recruiting candidates at the "grassroots level."  That makes some sense, that local political activists would know the ground.  Call me crazy, but shouldn't the State Party take some kind of active role in the process as well?

Is it not incumbent on the State party to help coordinate the county efforts to do this, at the very least, as well as doing at least the minimum in promoting candidates and setting up vetting standards and training?

If so, the clock is ticking, Ted.   And I don't have patience with the chestnut which counsels patience with the party leadership.   Being overly patient with party leadership has gotten this State into a massive hole where there is almost no  structure for doing this stuff outside of county party organization.  So how about it, Ted?

Let's see a network of county and regional organizations put together to recruit, train, vet, and find funding for candidates for the State House/Senate and Congress.

The clock is ticking.