In an exclusive post-election interview with RaisingKaine, David Englin looks at high points and low points of the campaign that just was, and looks forward to his plans for the next weeks and months. Among other topics, Englin discusses grassroots politics, progressivism's prospects in Virginia, and his intent to help other Democrats -- Greg Werkheiser, Bruce Roemmelt, David Poission, Kaine/Byrne/Deeds -- win this November. Needless to say, we here at RaisingKaine are looking forward to helping David, and his "grassroots army," do just that!
1) So how are you feeling at this point, Delegate-elect Englin?
Of course, winning the nomination feels great, but I mostly feel incredibly grateful to everyone who poured so much of themselves into our campaign. Watching so many new people become empowered to make a difference gives me immense hope for the future. I also feel a deep obligation not to let them down, either in November or in the General Assembly. By the way, as much as I appreciate the vote of confidence, I prefer "Democratic nominee" to "Delegate-elect." Regardless of how strong my chances are, I do have a Republican opponent, and it's important that we respect the democratic process.
1a) Do you have any voice left or any leather on your shoes now that the primary campaign is over?
We all worked so hard that I'm sure it took everyone a couple of days to fully recover, but now I'm fine. Shayna and I celebrated the day after the primary by going out and buying me a new pair of walking shoes for all the work we have in store between now and November.
1b) Is your house back in one piece? :)
I think the victory party was harder on our house than the campaign was, but it's slowly but surely recovering from both. I used to be a bit anal about certain things in the house, but now pushpins stuck directly in the walls don't bother me as much. Truth be told, Shayna and I miss the barely-controlled chaos that we had in our home for the last several months. We miss having our organizers and interns in here all the time. It's just not the same without the daily sing along (seriously, there was a daily sing along among our organizers and interns).
2) What would you rank as the high points and low points of the campaign?
The high point was realizing a few weeks from election day that our plan and our months of hard work was actually paying off. Our volunteer ranks started to swell with people we first met by knocking on their doors, and random people from around the district started calling to volunteer or donate money or just pledge their votes. Every time I saw a person go from occasional voter to committed activist because of our campaign, it was a high point for me.
There were a couple of weekends when we expected several volunteers and only one or two showed up. Those were definitely low points for a grassroots campaign entirely dependent on volunteers. But we persevered and had faith in our plan and our strong, positive, progressive message, and the volunteers were there when it mattered most.
3) What do you feel went better than expected, and worse than expected, over the past few months?
Our field operations went better than expected. We thought we had an outside chance of going into the weekend before the election with our ideal number of supporters identified, but we actually surpassed that goal two weeks early and went into the election with several hundred more identified supporters than expected. That's why we were able to still win decisively even with a number of forces arrayed against us. We ended up exceeding our vote goal in every single precinct. In several Fairfax precincts, we pushed up turnout by several hundred percent. We organized in precincts like Mount Eagle (where we won 58% of the vote) where we heard again and again and again that nobody had really worked before.
As I mentioned before, there were a couple of times when we expected more volunteers than we got. Other than that, nothing really went worse than expected. That's a real testament to Stephen and Mara's leadership, in my opinion.
4) What did you learn from this effort? For instance, what do you think your victory says about a bottom-up, "grassroots" strategy vs. a traditional, top-down approach?
This campaign reinforced my belief in the fundamental justness of democracy. In the voting booth, all men and women truly are created equal. The votes we won in the public housing projects were as important to our victory as the votes we won in million-dollar neighborhoods. Not only that, but our message in the public housing projects -- a strong, progressive message with new ideas to make housing more affordable, reduce the cost of health care, invest in education, and protect the rights of all Virginians -- was the same as our message in million-dollar neighborhoods. I learned that there really is more that unites us than divides us, and the best strategy for winning votes is to look people in the eye, find out what's on their minds, and ask for their support.
5) Do you believe your brand of proud progressivism has appeal in Virginia beyond the 45th district?
Yes. People on the right will disagree with me on many issues and people on the left are already with me, but most voters aren't especially ideological. Those voters in the middle are looking for somebody strong whom they can trust, and not necessarily somebody who agrees with them on every issue.
6) What are your plans for the next 4 1/2 months? Are you going to take a well-deserved break from politics, or do you intend to jump right back into the fray?
Caleb and I are taking some much-needed father and son time until he starts day camp after next week. Then I'll fully dive back into the arena. As I said throughout the campaign, we plan to use the grassroots energy we've created and the activists we've trained to help other Democrats win in November, to defeat my Republican opponent, and to squeeze out every possible Northern Virginia vote for Tim Kaine, Leslie Byrne, and Criegh Deeds.
7) As I'm sure you are well aware, there are several Democratic candidates facing tough, competitive races. Given that you are in a "safe" district, are you planning to help them? If so, which ones and what do you plan to do?
Shayna and I had Greg and Marion Werkheiser over for dinner on Wednesday, and we're already pulling together Team Englin volunteers to knock on doors and make phone calls for Greg's race against Dave Albo. Greg is a terrific, energetic candidate with a strong, positive vision for the future of the 42nd district, and we plan to do whatever we can to support him. We also hope to help Bruce Roemmelt, David Poisson, and some other candidates for Delegate, as well as the Kaine/Byrne/Deeds statewide ticket. Locally, we plan to help Dana Lawhorne beat his Republican opponent for Alexandria sherrif. We have eight phone lines in our house and an army of trained callers and canvassers, and we owe it to Caleb's future to use them to help elect Democrats.
8) Any comments on your Republican opponent, Chris Gregerson?
I welcome Republican competition, and I'm convinced that if the voters of the 45th district have a choice between a strong progressive agenda for the future and the brand of economic monarchism, social Darwinism, and religious extremism embraced by today's Bush/DeLay/Kilgore Republicans, they'll vote Democrat. While I would never underestimate any opponent, since Tim Kaine probably needs 65 to 70 percent of the vote in the 45th district and all I need is 50 percent plus one, I expect to do fine in November.