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Editorials

Reflections on a Lost Campaign

As some of you know, I spent the last month of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign as a member of a great group of volunteers who did our all to get him elected. Though I’m an Ohio resident and couldn’t vote for him, I live in Michigan part time, had known of Abdul for years because of his work in public health and the programs he started, and was ecstatic when I learned he was running. While I cannot get into the nitty gritty of the work due to an NDA I signed, I’ll just lay out the basics of what my job entailed: canvassing. Phone banking. Text banking. Boosting him on social media. Making memes for him. Going to and live tweeting rallies. Live tweeting debates. I even wrote a jingle for the campaign. It was an exhausting endeavor, and his defeat was a crushing blow. Not only because of the time I spent stumping for him, but because of how Michigan had lost out on having what would likely be the greatest governor in the country.

And you know what? Despite that defeat, I don’t regret a second of the work I did. Abdul touched and inspired so many people across the country with his movement, and with the amount of votes he got, it showed that leftist policies do have a place in the midwest. He didn’t have the money that Gretchen Whitmer had, since he refused to accept corporate donations, nor was he a millionaire like Shri Thanedar who could fund most of his own campaign. He has principles and ideas that the whole of the Democratic party should look to for guidance. Am I sad he lost? Absolutely. I even cried a bit over it. But this is not the end. Not for Abdul, not for us. And I’m proud and honored to have been a member of the team that tried to get him elected. However, the time for mourning has passed. We still have work to do. To quote The Traveling Wilburys:

Well it’s alright even if they say you’re wrong

Well it’s alright, sometimes you’ve gotta be strong

Well it’s alright, everything will work out fine

Well it’s alright, we’re going to the end of the line