Alabama Democratic Party

To preface, I live in Madison County, and have been voting blue since 2008, and I always prepare myself for disappointment at the polls, but man I don't think I've ever seen such a flaccid Democratic ballot then I did this week. There weren't even democrats running in every empty spot! and when I tried to look up a lot of these candidates, I found little to no information. Contrast that to the Republican candidates where I could research on for days.

I realize this is a solidly red state, but I don't believe it is as red as people think on the ground level. There are plenty of people here that are progressively minded, and I myself have never really been truly persecuted for my beliefs. For every Cullman, there's a Birmingham, every Decatur a Huntsville, every Guntersville a Tuscaloosa, you get the idea.

And yet, from the Democratic party I am seeing an absolute lack of engagement with its constituents, no real attempt to rally its followers, and *certainly* no candidate lineup that makes me excited to vote for them. Do they not want to compete with the Republicans where they can? Do they not want to make their voters feel like they're actually contributing to the race? Can ANYONE educate me on why things are the way they are? Cause I certainly don't get it.

I guess at this point, come next election I'll just vote Republican in the primaries and Democrat in the general. That seems to be the lesson to learn here from this disillusionment. It'd just be nice for the next race to be....well, an actual race, you know? It's disgraceful that the AL Democratic Party doesn't seem to share that sentiment.

Edit: Wow, so many replies! Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to finding some time later this week and going through it all in detail (as well at the couple link recommends)

Our meetup has surpassed my wildest dreams. Literally estimated 30 folks showing up - now, 3 weeks later, we are about 14 folks shy of 400!!!!! We also just got word that our state Democratic Party is sending representatives AND a few of the Southern Democratic executive committee members are coming as well! If you're on the fence about hosting an event of your own - DO IT! Literally, change begins with one small step! Thanks for everyone's support, advice, encouragement, free literature, research, free pamphlets/graphics...we couldn't have come this far without our reddit family!!!!!

10 months ago, I made a talking about the incompetence, ineptitude, and inactivity of the Alabama Democratic Party. It was corrupt, fundraising was next to nothing, and support for Democratic candidates in the state was non-existent.

Thankfully, after enough calls from prominent Democrats in the state (Doug Jones leading the charge) and the DNC no longer recognizing the party, A new chairperson, Chris England, was elected this past November.

What followed was a long charade of lawsuits from the ousted leadership of Nancy Worley (which only just ended a week or two ago when the courts ), but aside from her delusion, the Alabama Democratic Party has been fully revived.

In only the first two months England was chair, the ALDP raised over $100,000. This may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of national politics, but in the ENTIRE 2018 midterm election cycle, And more money has been rolling in since then, not only from individual donors but from finally being in DNC compliance. The DNC withheld funding from the old party due to violating several bylaws and, essentially, doing nothing to help Democrats. The new party under England has not only become compliant to receive $10,000/month from the DNC from the months that the funding was withheld.

While fundraising has made a complete 180 in the right direction, the new party is doing more than that. The new party has staff, made a MASSIVE bringing the brand out of the 80s and into the present day, re-established a very active social media presence (), and much more to lay the groundwork here in one of the reddest states in the country.

So if you needed some good news today, the revival of the Alabama Democratic Party, particularly as an activist in Alabama, is one of the best stories in Democratic politics in the last 6 months. If you're in a position to do so, to the new party so they can continue the good work they're doing. We could also use any help you can give to win the uphill fight of in Washington.