Party Work

Our Revolution Massachusetts organizers just won the state Democratic Party’s support for Medicare for All, union organizing rights for state house staff, and an audit of the state legislature! 

Meanwhile, resolutions calling for a majority-elected Party Leadership, more transparent governance, and incentives to get “dark money” out of primaries were defeated – but with major declines in party membership, the fight for a more democratic, grassroots-oriented party continues. 

“We are thrilled that four resolutions were adopted by the state committee,” said Michael Gilbreath, a Wayland Democrat and leader of Our Revolution MetroWest. “However, we have to keep fighting for a more active, democratic, and transparent Democratic Party.” 

Our progressive coalition beat back a power grab by establishment Democrats that would have disenfranchised thousands of grassroots party members.

Virginia Democrats rejected a change to state party rules that would have altered how the commonwealth’s DNC delegates are elected, TYT reports. 

This is a major win for progressives! Our Revolution Northern Virginia’s Sandra Klassen (who is also a State Central Committee Member of the VA Dem Party) was thrilled that “all of our work and our allies paid off!”.

ARE YOU RUNNING TO BE A DELEGATE TO THE DNC NEXT YEAR? If so, we want to hear from you. Please reach out to political@ourrevolution.com.

We polled thousands of Our Revolution members, and 41% told us they’re feeling depressed, angry, or unmotivated about the 2024 election. A quarter said the plan to vote for someone other than Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries. 

In our online Dem Primary Poll, 44% said they are likely to vote for Biden, 41% said they are likely to vote for another candidate, and 7.6% said not likely to vote. 

Meanwhile, despite Democrats pointing out all the horrors of Trump, national polls show him tied with or beating Biden in 2024. Democrats have a problem: the base is not excited about a Trump/Biden rematch and tacking to the right is crushing enthusiasm among key voting blocs. 

Voters want to see action on healthcare, climate, unions, and more – and the President still has time to act. There’s no getting around it, Democrats need to raise the standard of living for voters and go being messaging to show whose side they’re on. 

In an academic study of Our Revolution members by SUNY and William & Mary colleges, 47% say progressive groups should probably or definitely mount a nomination challenge to Biden in the 2024 Democratic Primary, and another 15% were unsure. 

Willingness to be involved in a Biden 2024 reelection campaign is down even from 2020 to just 47% if Biden is the nominee, the study showed. 

There’s a serious risk we could face another Trump term in 2024 – unless Democrats can deliver tangible results for working people in order to earn trust and votes. 

That’s why Our Revolution and our allies are working overtime to unify the progressive movement and focus our pressure on key demands like student debt relief, an end to medical debt, and urgent climate action. 

Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen had choice words for the DNC ahead of January’s Winter Meeting in Philadelphia, where our growing progressive bloc is pushing to ban dark money from primaries. 

Larry, a longtime labor leader and party reformer, laid out the stakes on our National Organize-to-Win Call on Monday.

“If we don’t get the dirty money out, it becomes increasingly impossible to elect the grassroots challengers,” Larry said. “It’s not just about the rulers, it’s also the rules.” 

“For those of us who believe we must fight in every possible way to advance progressive issues and win real power, we ignore party reform at our peril,” Larry wrote in In These Times.