A few short months ago, still in shock from Trump’s election and eager to use the moment to “do the most good,” I declared my candidacy for Virginia House of Delegates in the 85th district.
The odds were against us. This Virginia Beach district was previously held by Tea Party conservative Scott Taylor. I was (and am!) an AP environmental science teacher, and I had never run for office.
Then DailyKos stepped in.
DailyKos -- particularly David Nir and the Elections team -- blew the race wide open. Along with Flippable, Code Blue, and several other grassroots groups, DailyKos helped raised incredible awareness and and thousands of dollars for our campaign.
I know you get asked for donations a LOT, so I want to be clear about what happens in a local race like mine gets an influx of grassroots support. It opens up the possibilities.
We hired a field director, digital director, and eight experienced field organizers, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders alumni. My house quickly filled with folding tables, canvass turf, and bottled water and snacks for the volunteers who cycled in and out. Perhaps most importantly, I was able to spend less time on the phone talking to donors and more time going door-to-door, talking to my friends and neighbors about the crucial special election.
The national support and national attention was surreal. I did the first live interviews of my life. Lena Dunham’s website did a piece on my race. I saw pictures on social media of volunteers calling in from across the country. Once, while I was out knocking doors, a volunteer from California called me to remind me to vote for myself!
Despite a historic ice storm the weekend before election day, our team had knocked on 10,000 doors and made 50,000 phone calls -- and we had gone from long-shot to tossup.
Unfortunately, by Election Day, many roads in Virginia Beach were still covered with ice. My volunteers talked to seniors who wanted to vote for me, but were afraid to leave their houses for fear of falling. Still, our team pulled out all the stops -- for my part, my daughters and I took a break from canvassing to shovel out a neighbor so she could drive to the polls.
That night, shortly after the polls closed, I was on the way to a small gathering at the local Holiday Inn with family, friends, and campaign staff when I found out we had fallen short by 362 votes, 53%-47%. It was the closest election in the district’s history.
By the time I arrived, I had decided to run again.
Things are going to be different this time. I’m no longer a first-time candidate, and I’m running alongside a crew of incredible Virginia Democrats across the Commonwealth, many of them spurred to political action for the first time.
Rocky Holcomb, my opponent, is no longer a blank slate -- he’s already joined his fellow Republicans in attacking immigrants, rolling back LGBT rights, and blocking Medicaid expansion for 400,000 Virginians.
I also have a resource in abundance that was lacking in January: Time!
But what I hope won’t change is the support and energy of the DailyKos community. Your activism, collaboration, and action changed my life. With you on my side, I know that “second time” will be the charm.
Thanks for everything,
--Cheryl Turpin Candidate, Virginia House of Delegates, 85th District