Democrats face uphill battle with perception, finances; maintain hope

Yahoo

2 days ago

CHEYENNE — Wyoming Democrats are preparing to focus more on working-class issues and demonstrating their capacity to serve in the community following party officer elections in Rock Springs on Sunday.
Wyoming Democrats suffered major losses during the 2024 election cycle, mimicking a nationwide shift toward the Republican Party. Democrats only hold eight seats in the 93-member Wyoming Legislature.
With hopes to regain their footing, newly elected party vice chair Lindsey Hanlon of Cheyenne says they intend to lead by example and show the party's ability to meet people where they are.
'We're focusing a lot on being able to just help people,' Hanlon said. 'There is a lot of suffering going on right now in Wyoming. There's a lot of issues that are facing people immediately, and those are the kinds of issues that we want to start helping with.'
Whether it be access to food or housing, Hanlon says the party wants to be associated with actively helping in the community and showing care for the community.
This message of showing up to help neighbors and leading by example was echoed by several state Democrats at Sunday's meeting.
'(Republicans) are focusing a lot on national issues and not really on the issues that are facing Wyomingites,' Hanlon said. 'And so we want to make sure that we are providing that assistance to the people of the state.'
In order to meet people where they're at and rebuild the state's Democratic Party, Hanlon said they have to combat the 'fear that the Freedom Caucus has engendered in people.'
'The Freedom Caucus has done a lot of work to make these races much more vitriolic, to make these races much more intense and personal,' Hanlon said. '... The Freedom Caucus has done a lot to try and instill an atmosphere of fear around people trying to oppose their positions.'
For Hanlon and others in the party, combating this fear means ensuring there's support for potential candidates.
'There (needs to be) an infrastructure that the candidates can pull from in terms of campaign managers and people to walk and people to knock on doors and all of those things,' Laramie County Democratic Party Central Committee Chairman Matthew Snyder said. 'I think that's really the thing that has been missing from where we are.'
While the party aims to have a candidate in every race, it's too soon for new leadership to say what that will actually look like. For now, the best they can do is ensure candidates feel supported.
Battling perception
Though Democrats intend to put in the work to support their communities, regardless of whether they hold seats in those districts, they're not unaware of their perception in the state.
Snyder noted that sometimes Democrats prioritize intellectualizing politics over meeting people where they are. He said many Wyomingites may not realize that most Democrats are their neighbors, facing the same economic hardships as Republicans.
'We, as a party, like to — for lack of a better term — show how smart we are,' Snyder said. 'I think we need to stop doing that. I think, fundamentally, we need to meet people where they are, and I don't think we do a great job of that.'
Snyder added that he hopes the party can focus on fundamental class concerns, rather than party affiliation or blue vs. white collar jobs.
Nationally, the Democratic Party has been struggling, being perceived as the party of the elite, rather than the party of the working man. Snyder noted that if the party is going to succeed they have to be open to criticism.
'The only way that you get better is to really assess yourself, determine what things you need to fix and move from there,' Snyder said. 'That's something I really wish we would do, and I think we're trying to do here in Laramie County. Let's be really honest about what we are perceived as, because if you don't do that, then you're going to lose every time.'
While the party is largely optimistic about recruiting Democratic candidates for local races, former Laramie County Democratic Party Central Committee Chairman Jordan Evans noted that perception will pose a major barrier when looking for new candidates.
'They are going to struggle to find people who want to identify (with a party), especially the Democratic Party, just because it is the minority party where we live,' Evans said. 'The brand right now is sort of not within the control of the party itself.'
When Evans was campaigning for a seat in the Legislature last year, he thought that a party identity would be a useful tool to give people a general idea of his platform. He later found that campaigning with the party instead defined his entire political identity, Evans told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
'Nontraditional media and the sort of polarized state of things defines the brand of the Democratic Party for most non-Democrats before you get a chance to define it for yourself,' Evans said.
Evans left his leadership role in the party to better focus on his family, his personal life and serving the causes he values more effectively, he told the WTE. Since leaving the party, he has been focusing on supporting the community through local organizations.
He has also started a Substack, a self-publishing platform, where he published an opinion piece titled 'Partisan Politician or 'How I Ruined My Life.''
In the opinion piece, Evans describes what led him to leave the party; in particular, he addresses a newfound belief that has helped him get past the idea that leaving politics at this turbulent time is 'selfish at best and negligent at worst.'
'Disengaging from politics is not only responsible, it may be the key to fixing the politics itself,' Evans wrote. 'I'm learning effective change cannot be steered toward an ideal from the top down. It has to be a wholistic community effort.'
Though Evans does not want to discourage those interested in party politics from participating, he does want community members to know that party politics isn't the only way to effect change in their communities.
Evans added that this exacerbates the barriers the party will face trying to recruit and even fundraise.
'They'll find people with a strong interest in wanting to make their community better,' Evans said. 'But they'll find it's hard to get those people to then want to associate that interest with the party itself.'
Financial barriers
The Democratic Party's struggles don't stop at perception; they're also facing an upward battle financially. On Sunday, Wyoming Democratic Party State Central Committee Treasurer Dudley Case informed party leaders that the party has been operating at a loss and needs to do some serious fundraising to recover.
As of May 1, the party had $36,580.20 in its federal and non-federal accounts, according to Case. The party has been spending more than it has been raising each month, resulting in a $21,795.32 loss this year, roughly a $5,000 loss per month, in the first four months of the year, according to Case.
'I think that this budget thing is maybe a wake-up call that the party has not been receiving the support that it should,' Hanlon said. 'And I have faith that the people around me are going to step up and are going to give us that support. I think that Wyoming is full of some of the most generous people I've ever met. When you ask for help, you do receive it in this state.'
Though Hanlon is confident that fundraising will turn the party's finances around, there's no guarantee they'll receive the support they need. Based on current finances, Case estimated that the party will sustain a $24,478 loss by the end of this calendar year.
'We're about to hit the ground running with fundraising,' Hanlon said. 'I think that it shows really kind of how scrappy and committed that we are. Yeah, we're running out of a bare-bones budget right now, but we're still out there in the community. We're still out there in elections, and I think that just walking the walk is going to have people coming back and coming back with more support.'
If the party can't fundraise enough to maintain its current spending, some major cuts will have to be made, though Hanlon said they have yet to have those conversations, mainly because new leadership is only a few days into their terms.
'I don't think it's any secret that the Democratic Party in Wyoming struggles to fundraise or struggles to be organized,' Evans said. 'It's just the nature of where we're at.'
Evans added that, due to party perception, it is likely that people will be hesitant to donate to Democrats, even if they agree with Democrats in principle.
Particularly, Evans suspects the party will struggle to garner donations from individuals with limited expendable income who have to be very conscious of where they put their money right now.
'I think they think there's much better use of their money than party politics,' Evans said. 'They'd be giving the Habitat for Humanity, for instance, if they care about housing or they care about housing prices within our community. … I think people see other organizations doing work that is aligned with their values, and they feel that those organizations are going to be more effective.'
Though Hanlon was willing to discuss the budget with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, a report from Cowboy State Daily indicated that other party members were not comfortable with the press having access to the budget sheet.
Cowboy State Daily was present at the Sunday meeting, which prompted the committee to pass a motion formally requesting the outlet not to air its budget publicly to protect political strategies and out of courtesy to employees, whose salaries are included in the budget.
Still hopeful
Though there are clear criticisms of the party and major barriers to regaining influence in the state, many Democrats have hope that with diligent work they can get there, including Hanlon and Snyder.
Though he found minimal success in his attempts, and claims to be no expert in the path forward, Evans said there is a way to get back on the ballot in a legitimate way.
'I think the way is to just show up,' Evans said. 'Show up at the union halls, which (Snyder) is doing, show up at the town halls, which (Hanlon) is doing. Show up, be a volunteer, and don't just do it to be seen. Do it because you care. I think it's a long, slow process, but eventually, those things will bear fruit.'