IDCCA President’s Message
by Doug House, IDCCA President
@ILDCCA @RICoDemocrats @Doug_Dem_House

Project Blue Wave: The Start of a Tsunami?

Friends –

After the votes of the March 20th Primary Election are counted, Illinois Democrats cannot waste a minute in getting behind our nominees. We’ll all need to come together and work harder than ever to ensure a historic “Blue Wave” in 2018.

From Congress to the Statehouse, if we fight like never before, the opportunity to claim massive Democratic victories is within our grasp. The same is true at the county level, where new Democrats are challenging incumbent Republicans for the first time in years.

But we can’t make change in places where Democrats aren’t running. In county offices throughout the state, 398 contests will be given to Republicans unless we’re working to find a Democratic challenger.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to let Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump have 400 “gimmes” in this election!

That’s why the IDCCA’s Project Blue Wave is underway. PBW is our initiative to identify competitive opportunities for Democratic challengers to take on Republicans.

Since late last year, the IDCCA has been crunching numbers and finding the best places where hard-working Democrats can compete and win. Already, we’ve identified more than 150 strong opportunities. But this is going to be a remarkable year, and all the evidence we’re seeing points to the need to fill every one of those 398 vacancies with a Democrat. That’s our goal.

Beginning on May 1st, Democratic County parties can appoint candidates to run where vacancies exist. The IDCCA is serving to guide counties with assistance in the slating process and help in getting campaigns up and running. It’s a tall order, but we’re determined to take it on.

None of this comes without my plea for help from you, our dedicated supporters and friends. We need your activism. If you’re in a place where a Republican is unopposed, consider running yourself or help your county party find a strong candidate. And, above all else, support and promote those Democrats.

I know, by working together, we can give Republicans all over Illinois “the blues.”