Democrats/progressives: Do you have hope left for North Carolina?

[RedSLC]

I decided to take my despair rant from another thread and make it its own thread.

Click for context:

Went with option one out of pessimism.

I was thinking of this race as the last stand against the corrupt GOP establishment that was swept into control of the state four years ago. And after months of hope spots, we only lost again. I can't see any way for her to defeat an established Senator like Burr.

I know I'm coming off as a concern troll, and I know many others aren't giving up on this state just yet, but I'm done. We made a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough. I honest-to-god see no path forward for any kind of progressive opposition to succeed. I don't want to delude myself with any more false hopes about this. To me, the state, like nearly every other state in the south, has been lost to us for a generation.

Then again, I'm just an incredibly pessimistic son-of-a-bitch in these situations, and always have been, so if anyone feels like giving this a passionate, angry, or well-thought-out rebuttal, please do so.

I have already cast my vote in this poll.

[KCDem]

No. Burr by 20.

[Morning in Atlas]

>implying hagan will run

[Miles]

Of course; don't be silly.

[IceSpear]

Hagan lost because of turnout issues. It has nothing to do with NC becoming solidly red.

[Devils30]

Hagan lost by a mere 1.7%. As metro Raleigh and Charlotte grow this state will be firmly purple in the future.

[Recalcuate]

The sky is always falling the day after your party gets creamed in an election. It's amazing how things recover a cycle or two later in most instances.

[Mr. Smith]

Yeah, not much though.

Pretty sure Hagan could beat Burr with the same points she lost if she campaigns the same way with the right turn-out and coattails.

And a strong progressive could wipe Burr clean out of the park.

A bit more skeptical regarding the gubernatorial though.

[BM]

Yes obviously. More and more elderly white demons in the state will die off as the rest of the population becomes more diverse. Turnout and demographics are the issue, but they're not even that much of an issue for NC anymore. She barely lost. NC will soon become definitively purple and then places like Georgia are next in line.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, despite everything the trends should still favor us in the long run.

[Maxwell]

There are probably other candidates in North Carolina that can win.

[dmmidmi]

Obama lost North Carolina by two in 2012, and Hagan lost by two this year.

Pull out all resources. Give up. All hope is lost. There's nothing for Democrats here.

[Beet]

Sure. North Carolina actually trended Democratic in 2012. Remember this is the state that was reelecting Jesse Helms for decades.

[RedSLC]

Alright now, looking back on this, I was really just using this to vent more of my frustration. But - I now realize I was full of sh**t. Once again, pessimism got the better of me.

Despite how bad the decade has been so far, I now believe the left could make a genuine comeback here by the end of the decade. However, it can't be done without very serious effort.

The biggest problem to fix is that in its current state, the NC democratic party is a terrible opposition party. The biggest reason the GOP got swept into power in the first place was because the state democratic party got greedy, incompetent, and corrupt, and the tea party made every effort to exploit the voters' dissatisfaction with this. The party has been in disarray ever since then, and until a new entity can pick up the pieces and challenge the republican incumbency, its not going to be easy.

I mulled over some more radical solutions to this earlier today, but the easiest way to do it would be to ditch the "Jesse Helms democrats" who have little appeal and joining the GOP in droves anyway, as well as the corruption that contributed to the dem's downfall, and actively work to recruit more youth and minority voters to the cause. Hell, personally, I'd start a new party with those demographic members in charge and work to make that the new opposition party, as opposed to reviving the democrats, but that's just me.

Anyway, I'd say I got the kick in the ass I needed with this thread.

[Devils30]

With a presidential year I think it's possible Dems can defeat McCrory. Most of the downballot offices in 2012 still went D.

[NewYorkExpress]

I have no hope for any state that isn't California (and that is shaky).

[Sol]

Alright now, looking back on this, I was really just using this to vent more of my frustration. But - I now realize I was full of sh**t. Once again, pessimism got the better of me.

Despite how bad the decade has been so far, I now believe the left could make a genuine comeback here by the end of the decade. However, it can't be done without very serious effort.

The biggest problem to fix is that in its current state, the NC democratic party is a terrible opposition party. The biggest reason the GOP got swept into power in the first place was because the state democratic party got greedy, incompetent, and corrupt, and the tea party made every effort to exploit the voters' dissatisfaction with this. The party has been in disarray ever since then, and until a new entity can pick up the pieces and challenge the republican incumbency, its not going to be easy.

I mulled over some more radical solutions to this earlier today, but the easiest way to do it would be to ditch the "Jesse Helms democrats" who have little appeal and joining the GOP in droves anyway, as well as the corruption that contributed to the dem's downfall, and actively work to recruit more youth and minority voters to the cause. Hell, personally, I'd start a new party with those demographic members in charge and work to make that the new opposition party, as opposed to reviving the democrats, but that's just me.

Anyway, I'd say I got the kick in the ass I needed with this thread.

There are very few to none "Jesse Helms Democrats" in the NCDP leadership. In fact, there are more Pubbies in the General Assembly in Obama districts than Democrats in Romney districts.

I do agree that the NCDP should focus on super-charging youth and minority voters. Thankfully, it should be a little bit easier considering the fact that it one of the most left-wing state parties in the south.

[Person Man]

In the long term and even mid term, we have to.

[Smash255]

With a presidential year I think it's possible Dems can defeat McCrory. Most of the downballot offices in 2012 still went D.

At this point I would say Cooper is a rather heavy favorite