Labor Day is next Monday, and has been traditionally thought of as the official start of the campaign season. In reality, any campaign worth its salt has been working hard long before this.
Having been on a two-year cycle for the last three decades or so, I can tell you that the Chabot campaign has been in high gear for some time now. Of course the heat gets turned up over the next two months, with the crescendo being reached on November 8 (election day this year.)
As you may know, because of redistricting, the First Congressional District of Ohio, which I have the honor of representing, got significantly tougher (for a Republican.) One way of illustrating this is to look at the Trump versus Biden numbers from the 2020 election cycle. In the old district, Trump beat Biden by three points, which was pretty close. In fact it was the narrowest Trump margin of all 12 Republican-held seats in Ohio. In the new First District, the one I’m running in this time, Biden would have defeated Trump by nine points. What accounts for the shift? It’s a number of things, but principally because rather than MOST of the city of Cincinnati being in the First District, now ALL of the city is in the district.
So we’ve got our work cut out for us.
Fortunately, I can’t tell you how many people have ask me “How can I help?” I thought I’d use the rest of this week’s blog to answer that question.
We need volunteers to do all kinds of things. We do a lot of door-to-door campaigning, which is about as grassroots as you can get. I still do this myself as much as possible, to keep in touch with what’s on people’s minds. Of course we have about 3/4 of a million people in our district, so I’m not going to be able to knock on every door. That’s one way you can help.
We also need volunteers to make phone calls, stuff envelopes, walk in parades, put up yard signs, etc. And speaking of yard signs – I’m a big believer in them. I hope we can put one in your yard. And if you could reach out to a few (or a lot of) friends and family to see if they’d like one too, that would be great.
You’ve probably heard the saying “money is the mother’s milk of politics.” The saying pretty much speaks for itself – you’ve got to pay for the literature you go door-to-door with, the yard signs you put up, the TV and radio ads you air, etc. If you are willing to help with a contribution, you can do so online by clicking here or you can send a check to Chabot for Congress, 5750 Given Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45243.
I expect our election to be close. Your help just might be the thing that makes the difference. Thanks for anything you’re able to do to help.
Oh, one more thing – don’t forget to vote. And please encourage your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks again, and see you next week.