Swing districts

I live in the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts, famously the only state to support George McGovern for president in 1972. One of my senators is Elizabeth Warren, the firebrand who is a darling of progressive democrats. And I like that about her, although, I don’t always agree with her policy prescriptions.

Living in a deep blue state means my ability to influence national policy is limited. I’m not saying that I don’t engage locally; I do. I just know that the marginal impact of my phone call to Elizabeth Warren’s office is close to zero.

Today, I signed up with Swing Left. Swing Left identifies the closest “swing district” in Congress, and tells you how to contact and help Democratic candidates in that district. In my case, that’s New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District. They’ll email me periodically with opportunities to get involved. I also signed up with Sister District, which similarly attempts to connect volunteers with “down-ballot” elections in state and local races where Democratic control hangs in the balance.

To be sure, I’m a registered independent and I’m frankly not a big believer in the Democratic party apparatus. So we’ll see if I get paired to work with candidates that I can believe in. I won’t get involved out of blind faith to the party, so I’m hoping for some inspiration.