The Munsonians Guide to the 2024 Election

Leave a Comment / News / By

*Updates are to be made after the Democratic National Convention*

01.09.2024 / Last updated 02.09.2024

Once again, here we are in another year that everyone calls “the most important election of our lifetime.” None of us are enthusiastic about what we’re getting in return for doing the bare minimum, and we’re either reluctantly doing that civic duty thing called “voting,” or we even want to be engaged yet are pushed out of the political process altogether. And all the while, we live in a red state where it just doesn’t matter! But if you live here in town and want to do the darndest you can to save the country from:

  1. Abortion bans
  2. Project 2025
  3. Internment camps
  4. Mike Johnson projecting his insecurities onto your sex life
  5. Already crumbling Social Security programs being destroyed once and for all

Then this will be your saving grace! This story will continue being updated between now and election day, and after it’s all over we can go out to brunch!

Presidential Race:

If you want an idea of how canvassing can help get votes, look at the state of Michigan. Michigan went from being the state where Hillary Clinton lost by 10,704 votes in 2016 to Joe Biden winning by almost 150,000 in 2020. A major part of this had to do with the successes of the Southpaw Michigan PAC, responsible for 483,000 phone calls and 1.5 million text messages, and #VoteTrump Out, which did 0ver 300,000 calls and 1.4 million texts, focusing on the swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona. It’s also worth mentioning that one helpful method was “reverse coattails,” where they gave funding to local progressive candidates that helped bring enthusiasm and gain more straight Democrat ticket votes.

Voting resources in town include:

Pushing Joe Biden

Let me make the case for this: Realistically there isn’t a viable alternative. The third party candidates are either conservative leaning (RFK Jr. and Chase Oliver) or left-wing without a strong voter base (Cornel West and Jill Stein). But Biden’s policies to have to be pushed to the left, because beating Trump isn’t just about appealing to persuadable Republicans, as it is in the eyes of the DNC, but enlivening potential working class voters who are alienated from the electoral process. Biden in 2020 went from saying on the campaign that “nothing would fundamentally change” if he were president, to later promising to be the most pro-union president. And while we know how little progress he’s made in terms of abortion rights or student debt, that change in his rhetoric would not have happened if it weren’t for criticism from the left or a second run by Bernie Sanders.

Before going into a soapbox about spoiler candidates, realize that what the DNC could actually do instead of blaming their loses on a third party is competing with them on policies that are popular with the American people. But instead they go on blaming Ralph Nader and Jill Stein for their own failures, even though mathematically they aren’t ruining anything for the Democrats. If you’re donating some of your hard-earned money, please don’t do it for Biden. By all means, do canvassing or phone banking for him, but donations to the DNC won’t go far whatsoever. Other than endless emails about donating even more, we can’t expect that money to go anywhere. Since Biden’s team isn’t going to care about making voters enthusiastic about his campaign, instead consider helping out in these key elections:

Elections outside of Indiana:

Seats That Could Be Flipped in Indiana:

  • 93 – Edgewood/West Southport
  • 24 – Westfield/District above Carmel
  • 37 – Surrounding Noblesville
  • 4 – Valparaiso
  • 25 – North Brownsberg/Zionsville
  • 26 – Anderson
  • 39 – Carmel
  • 62 – Between Bloomington and Columbus
  • 5 – North Mishawaka to the Michigan border

Jennifer McCormick For Governor

Jennifer McCormick is the only declared candidate in her field and one with high name recognition at that. So far she has done fundraising near here, and we can hope for more events in Muncie/Delaware County. You can volunteer here and donate here. Her opponent is current Indiana Senator Mike Braun, who won against then-incumbent Joe Donnelley in 2018. 

Call to Action for Jennifer McCormick campaign

6th Congressional District:

Mike Pence’s brother has declared he won’t run for reelection this year. Flipping the seat from any Republican would be difficult, but the real kicker is that Pence didn’t do any campaigning, and refused to debate opponents. So if you want to have some fun this election season, make the candidate HAVE TO respond. Call them a coward, make requests for comment even if you aren’t actually from the press, and anything else you can think of to crawl under the skin of the ghoulish campaign staff. Be realistic and don’t expect a miracle, but don’t throw in the towel that easily. Pence ignored opponents for good reason, and if he had to acknowledge their existence then it wouldn’t have been as easy of a race for him.

Speaking of…

County Seats:

Chris Musick and Roger Overbey have both announced that they’re running for At-Large.

There’s also County Commissioner candidate on the Republican ticket Stephen Brand, who is no doubt even more of a MAGAhead than Ryan Webb, and was appointed to head the MSD by that level headed mayor of ours. He’s running for the District 1 seat held by James King, who he beat in his primary. Of the three County Commissioner seats, which are essentially the executive part of decision making here, two are up for election. The other is District 2 held by Republican Sherry Riggin. In the 2022 midterms District 3 went Republican and without an opposing candidate filed. County Commissioner seats are an executive part of the county and we have no clue who’s running in opposition.

Expect more updates between now and November, including specifics on volunteering opportunities and more candidates in key races.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe
Subscribe
Scroll to Top