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Recent primary victories among progressive minority candidates could prove to be a key element of a broader electoral strategy for Democrats hoping to create a so-called "blue wave" in November, according to groups of defense.
"The formula for winning elections is to have a high voter turnout and overwhelming support from communities of color and to hold a significant minority of whites who vote progressive," Steve Phillips, founder of Democracy in Color , a political organization centered on this calls the "New American Majority," said ABC News.
The sentiment was echoed by former NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous in the wake of his victory at Maryland Elementary earlier this week. He attributed his victory to the ability to bring together a variety of progressive movements and a program that "represents all our ambitions".
"We succeeded because our coalition, like our state, has as many people of color as whites", Jealous, who would become the first black governor of Maryland when he won the general election in November.
Stacey Abrams, who was the first black woman to run for governorship of a large party in May, explained her strategy Tuesday at Late Night with Seth Meyers.
"My approach is every Democratic voter we can get, especially those who do not think their voices count," she said, adding that "the reality is that people who do not vote do not vote because we did not give them a reason to vote.They did not have their problems reflected in the candidates. "
And in the Bronx on Tuesday night, in a stunning reversal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America defeated Republican Joe Crowley, campaigning on liberal priorities like Medicare for All, a federal job guarantee, and abolish ICE.
Scott Heins / Getty Images Abrams, Ocasio-Cortez, Jealous and others seem to be part of a trend among minority candidates who have defeated moderate Democrats by campaigning on liberal political priorities.
The key to this strategy is the mobilization of people who do not vote regularly, mainly people of color and progressive white voters. "You do that by organizing," said Jealous. "We will build an army of organizers across our state to get voters out by talking to them."
Part of this strategy is to recognize that there is often a gap between eligible Democratic voters and the margin of victory, said Phillips, author of "Brown is the new white: how the demographic revolution has created a new American majority ".
In Maryland, he said, only 800,000 Democratic voters ran in the 2014 Hogan elections, compared with about 1.1 million who ran for former Gov. Martin O & # 39; Malley.
These voters, Phillips and others argued, could be influenced by a progressive program of economic and social justice.
Jealous said that the former president of the NAACP, he knows how to get the voters out.
Like Ocasio-Cortez, he campaigned on Medicare for all, as well as free tuition at public colleges and universities in Maryland, police reform and legalization of the law. Recreational use of marijuana.
Other Democratic contenders using this strategy include David Garcia, who runs for governor in Arizona, Chardo Richardson running in the 7th Congressional District of Florida and Cori Bush, operating in the 2nd Congressional District of Missouri.
While color candidates have embraced this strategy, Phillips said white candidates "can and should" use it too, citing New York Mayor Bill De Blasio and US representative Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as examples of those who are.
"Unfortunately, a large part of the white Democratic establishment does not believe in this strategy," Phillips said. "They are still feeding this idea that you can get Trump voters back without the empirical evidence."
If the Democrats fail to focus more on mobilizing colored voters through popular organization and a progressive call, Phillips said the party would not only lose elections, but also part of his riding.
It remains to be seen whether this strategy will help Jealous win in November.
Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, who was also Maryland's first black lieutenant governor, told ABC News that this main result was typical when voters tended to be more on the extremes of their party.
"I think Governor Hogan has a superior advantage," Steele said, adding that Hogan was good at getting voters to see the national Republican party as different from what he did in Maryland .
"In a state like Maryland, they have good reason to be excited about the chances [Jealous']," he added, but Hogan, too, managed to succeed without increasing taxes, without growing up. the size of the government, without giving a lot of free things. "
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