I worked from 6 AM until 7 PM today for David Englin, and feel like I was able to get a pretty good feel for how Englin pulled off this upset. And "upset" it truly was, with Englin defeating the talented, tenacious powerhouse known as Libby Garvey in just his first run for public office. Amazing. So how did he do it? Here are few factors.1) David himself. This guy is a talented, disciplined, inspirational politician with positive ideas, a strong progressive vision, an ability to connect with voters, and an impressive biography for a young man. All this, plus his energetic, grassroots army (see below) helped lead him to victory today. Not a bad start for what promises to be a long and successful political career. The only question for David Englin is how high he'll go.
2) David's supportive wife and all-around dynamo named Shayna. With a woman like that at his side, how could David Englin not go far? Shayna Englin is outstanding. To her I say: "Booyah!"
3) Two words: the grassroots. More than any other candidate I've seen in a long time, on a par with Howard Dean in 2003, David Englin tapped the mighty power of the grassroots. And what an amazing power that is, although few politicians have the brains, guts, and imagination to harness it to their advantage. Thanks to David's faith in this power, plus his willingness to welcome and nurture it, he benefited from the energy and talent of many amazing people -- too many to mention -- who I saw in action today. The Englin victory is a perfect model for how an energized, empowered grassroots can start to take back our Democratic Party.
4) A top-notch staff, led by campaign manager Stephen Davis and field director Mara Lee. These people are super-talented and deserve a large amount of credit for David Englin's victory. They should have great careers in front of them, no doubt about it.
5) The internet. David's campaign definitely utilized the power of the internet, with a fine website and an openness to bloggers like myself. Back on March 16, I interviewed David for RaisingKaine, and was very impressed at the thoughtfulness he put into his responses to my questions. David's understanding of the power of blogs and the internet was one of the factors which eventually led RaisingKaine to endorse his candidacy. Who knows whether or not this endorsement - which the Englin campaign touted on the front page of its website, --made a differerence in the election, but it certainly couldn't have hurt!
6) Inspiration. Obviously, the Englin campaign tapped into a yearning among people for hope and a vision of a better, progressive future. In his victory speech, David spoke of this in ways that had the crowd packed into his kitchen and living room whooping and hollering with excitement. In other words, David Englin practices the exact opposite of the usual politics of cynicism, attack ads, pandering, and polls that turn so many people off.
Anyway, congratulations to David Englin, and also to major opponents like Libby Garvey and Jim Lay, who ran their own energetic, positive campaigns focused on the issues. In the end, the 45th district race was a model for how political campaigns should play out in this country, thanks in no small part to the classy way that David Englin handled himself throughout. Great work by everyone on "Team Englin!"