Activists claim that the transformative changes in the American electorate are not reflected in national polls, distorting expectations and campaigns.
By Peter Schurmann. Ethnic Media Services.
On Tuesday night, Ruwa Romman became the first Muslim woman ever elected to the state legislature and the first Palestinian American to hold public office. His victory capped a stronger-than-expected result for Democrats, which defied national polls.
Romman spoke during a Nov. 9 briefing hosted by the national nonprofit organization Emerge, which recruits and trains women who want to run for Democratic office.
"Last night, 141 women of color, 62 women under 45 and 21 Emerge LGBTQ alumnae won," Emerge President A?Shanti Gholar said. He added that his organization fielded more than 650 candidates across the country this election cycle. "This indicates that the new American majority continues to grow," he said.
The question many are asking is how the Democrats managed to avoid the catastrophe that polls were increasingly predicting. A touch of sensitivity and humanism prevailed over the technology, according to Romman and other first-time winners.
Romman's team knocked on more than 15,000 doors, sent some 75,000 text messages and made 9,000 phone calls in the new 97th district, just outside Atlanta, he said. And the message he received from the voters was resoundingly clear.
"We heard from voters who said, 'I want to vote for you because I know you will protect me,'" Romman explained. He added that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp - who just won re-election, defeating his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams - "has not ruled out voting to ban contraceptives. People are very concerned about that here."
Abortion, inflation, democracy; everything was on the ballot in an election that many saw in existential terms. And while predictions of a Republican loss began to rise in the final days of the season, Democrats turned in the best results for a sitting president in more than two decades.
Romman beat his Republican opponent by 15 points in what he described as a very close race that included anti-Muslim attacks by the opposing camp.
Associated Press exit polls show Democrats holding a solid lead over Republicans among voters of color, though Republicans continue to gain ground among Latinos. Democrats also favor younger voters, which has major implications for the 2024 presidential race as more and more young people are of voting age.
For the speakers of the call, despite the inflationary problems and the unpopularity of the president, the issue of abortion and rights in terms of reproductive health continue to be at the center of the minds of many voters, even among some Republican men.
"We spoke with conservative white men who said they couldn't vote Republican because of their concern for women's rights," Romman said. "This is something that the polls haven't quite captured."
Gholar agreed. "If you attack someone's rights, there will be consequences," he said, describing the expected "red tsunami" more like a "drop in the bucket."
Gholar also echoed Romman, saying that polls that predicted a Republican onslaught failed to capture the "transformation" taking place in the electorate and that too often polls play a decisive role in channeling party dollars. towards favored candidates.
"Surveys are tied to spending and we need to break that pattern," he said. "We need a new system to understand the new American majority."
Candidates of color did well in other races as well, such as Texas, which will send its first two Muslim representatives to the state capital, and in Minnesota, where Black, Hmong, and Latina women won seats in their state legislature.
In Maryland, Aruna Miller, of Indian descent, became the state's first South Asian lieutenant governor. "It is a true milestone for the community and a continuing reflection of the power of women to assume leadership," told India Currents Shekar Narasimhan, founder and president of the AAPI Victory Fund.
And in Connecticut, Stephanie Thomas will become the first African-American woman in New England history to be elected Secretary of State. "It is also the first time that two black people will hold a position in our executive branch at the same time," he said, referring to Erick Russel, who won his race for State Treasurer. Russell is the first openly gay African American to win state office in the United States.
"People were angry about what was happening to women and they supported candidates who would protect those rights," Gholar stressed.
He also stressed the importance of the quality of the candidates.
"Between Dobbs promoting election deniers and the security net attack, Republicans haven't helped themselves," he said. “Democrats offered voters a strong field of candidates. That's why the voters showed up."
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