Welcome to Winning Wednesday!
No, progressive organizer Zach Shrewsbury didn’t prevail in his Senate primary contest with coal Democrat Glenn Elliott in West Virginia last night. But he did win a lot of rural counties in the southern part of the state, and was competitive in quite a few others, ending with some 36% of the vote. His map looks like a lot of Trump maps, except in this case, it’s the progressive winning in rural America! He showed everyone that there is a progressive spirit among people in the heart of coal country, and I know this isn’t the last we will hear from them.
I was particularly encouraged, in following this campaign, that a number of progressive publications covered the race with approving words for Shrewsbury. That’s a welcome change from the typical musing about why “those people vote against their own interests.” Shout outs to Common Dreams, Slate, Counterpunch, Daily Kos, and just a few days before the election, a feature story in the New Yorker. This is in addition, of course, to leading rural-focused publication Barnraiser.
As Zach said in a Tweet this morning:
“Not too bad for a leftist from the coal fields…
I left my job for this race, I left every safety net I had to fight for West Virginians and the working class. I truly am humbled by the all the messages of support and the conversations about how this campaign ignited a fire under so many people… To all the on the ground organizers conducting mutual aid and organizing in their communities. Never stop… The power resides with you… Stay in the fight.”
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