But that's the thing, it's different in Alabama because 26% of their population is black. You don't need to turn out Republican moderates, just turn out POC and progressive white people. Trying to get those moderates is what has been killing us. There are over 1.2 million African Americans in Alabama, more than enough to swing any election. They do not vote because they don't believe in either Democrats or Republicans. They were given a reason to turn out this time, people went in their communities and asked for their vote.
higher turnout among your base can be a winning strategy, but it's tough in Alabama. The surge in black voting yesterday was a major deciding factor, but conservatives who could not stomach Roy Moore and stayed home or wrote in played a massive role too and this democratic victory could not have happened without both. In Alabama black people and progressives make up less than 50% of the population, so you really have to drive out the vote to overcome that difference if you're not going against someone who makes members of their own party stay home.
I hope it's a sort of energizing win that shows people that yes, races in Alabama can be won. People see that it's possible to win, so there's less of that feeling that it's not worth bothering because you can't make a difference.
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u/uma100 New Jersey Dec 13 '17
But that's the thing, it's different in Alabama because 26% of their population is black. You don't need to turn out Republican moderates, just turn out POC and progressive white people. Trying to get those moderates is what has been killing us. There are over 1.2 million African Americans in Alabama, more than enough to swing any election. They do not vote because they don't believe in either Democrats or Republicans. They were given a reason to turn out this time, people went in their communities and asked for their vote.