John Cunningham, one of the six people contending to lead the South Dakota Democratic Party, has issued his plan to rescue the party from a fifty-year nadir… or as he bluntly calls it on page 5, “the toilet.” Cunningham’s diagnosis and prescription are seven pages, with graphs!
Particularly impressive is Cunningham’s voter registration chart, in which he projects that registered independent voters will outnumber registered Democrats in South Dakota by the time we try to replace Governor Kristi Noem in 2022:
…which reminds me: after six months of growth through December, South Dakota Democratic registrations have headed south again, just a bit: Dems shed 0.12% of their registered voters statewide in January and 0.04% in February. Republicans and independents gained in both months. Compared to the first of the year, as of March 1, there were 245 fewer Democrats, 767 more Republicans (come on, people: how can Kristi Noem and Mike Rounds not give you allergies?), 989 more independents, and 31 more Libertarians.
Since our peak numerical registration in July 2009, Democrats have declined from 38.41% of the South Dakota electorate to 28.92%. Ten years ago, Republicans were at 45.24%; they have edged up to 47.04%. Independents have surged from 16.08% in July 2009 to 23.46% today.
But independents won’t be showing up March 23 to vote for party chair.
Cunningham’s seven pages are not fluff. He makes a point of saying we have to cut through the fluff by suggesting a revision of the party’s mission, striking “To build and sustain a healthy political process in South Dakota by” and keeping just seven words: “electing Democrats to all levels of office.” He advocates concrete objectives behind our goals:
- Elect two more Democrats to the Legislature each election.
- Increase the average number of votes per legislator by 200 in 2020 and by 300 in each succeeding election.
- Increase individual donations by $20K each year.
Cunningham proposes spending money to advertise to young voters with progressive values on social media, towns hit with nursing home closures on billboards, and farmers hammered by Trump’s tariffs in print. He also says the party needs to focus on core progressive values rather than specific and potentially divisive policies.
Cunningham invites your commentary on this plan. More importantly, he invites your participation in making this plan happen!
The so called”independents” of South Dakota for the most part are just republicans who are to ashamed to admit being republican, yet,they still vote as such.Yes, I know its a stretch saying republicans feel shame, but I don’t know a better word for their embarrassed behavior.
…or fence-sitters who know the Republicans are shameful but haven’t been given cause to believe that Democrats offer anything effectively different.
…or folks so disengaged from politics that playing for their votes is a weak strategy for victory.
I like Cunningham’s plan. It sounds like he wants to put the SDDP firmly in the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. McGovern Democrats? I hope so. Democrats who run on Democratic values/American values, candidates who stand for things and aren’t embarrassed or afraid to stick by their Democratic convictions.
(I’ll use full sentences next comment. 😁)