Guest Post By Katie Zacharia
From the desk of Bibek, Senior Digital Strategist
Hi, friends! Okay so I just learned what a midterm is and it’s NOT a test, which is so misleading. And I’ll have you know I took plenty of tests when I got my law degree at Great Wall Chinese Food Emporium.”
Just kidding! It’s Bibek again. Unlike Trump we would never let someone that unqualified near a lectern or a newsletter.ain. Unlike Trump we would never let someone that unqualified near a lectern or a newsletter.
In case you missed it, we’re talking about Katie Zacharia, Trump’s new White House press secretary, who had a disastrous first day on the job where she struggled to read her own prepared remarks. She also calls herself a lawyer, but when reporters asked where she passed the bar, she said “when I moved to China,” and the White House still can’t say what credential she means. It’s a fitting hire for a party that treats qualifications as optional. In fairness, being a Trump 2.0 press secretary has mostly been saying things to the press that fall apart after one follow-up, so she may be overqualified.
In contrast to the GOP, we take qualifications seriously because we want people in positions of power who can actually do the job. That’s why NDTC has trained 3,684 Democrats who are on the ballot this year and even more staffers and volunteers, in all fifty states, and across all levels of government.
Getting your volunteers ready for the final push? NDTC for GOTV: A Campaign Resource is free and has everything you need to train them before Election Day.
💻UPCOMING LIVE TRAININGS
Tech Time: MiniVAN 101 to Secure the Vote
10.19
10 am PT
Tech Time: Cutting Turf in VoteBuilder
10.21
10 am PT
Explore upcoming events + trainings coming up this month.
NDTC Learner Spotlight
Michanna Tate, an NDTC learner running for South Carolina House District 14, decided to run after a client at her law firm encouraged her. Getting a client to like their lawyer is hard enough. Getting one to want you in the State House means you’re really good. A win by the former microbiologist and science professor flips a seat that’s been Republican for over two decades and makes Tate the first Black woman to represent the district.
SUBSTACK
Three Weeks Out: Where Your Volunteer Hours Count the Most
Here’s where your volunteer hours count, and why they’ll keep counting long after Election Day. Building generational power is always about more than just this one cycle.
Sean: I’m literally in the kitchen and in the kitchen cabinet. We meet weekly. My husband and I both work in politics, but a lot of the people around the table don’t. Our campaign treasurer is also the treasurer of our PTA board, and everybody at the table is a parent with kids in the schools.
ICYMI
Early Access for 2027 Candidates
Already decided 2027 is your year? After November, we’re launching Launch Plan, a self-paced program for 2027 candidates with imminent filing deadlines that walks you through everything you need to figure out before filing and turns it into a plan you’ll actually use.
Want early access?
We’re launching a new program for 2027 candidates with quickly-approaching filing deadlines. Meet Launch Plan, a self-paced course that walks you through everything you need to figure out before filing and turns it into a plan you’ll be able to use.
Want early access?
THIS WEEK’S WINS
While the news may seem bleak, here’s what we can win when we organize and show up
After residents called, emailed, and packed the meeting, a proposed agreement letting police in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, work with ICE on immigration enforcement couldn’t even get a motion or a second. The mayor called the matter done to applause from the crowd. One town down, hundreds to go.
The council voted unanimously to scrap its 71 Flock cameras, saving the city $225,500, and joins Dallas, Wylie, and Pflugerville in dropping the technology. If you’re an invasive anti-privacy company, you do not want to mess with Texas.
In extremely local news, after more than an hour of public comment from a packed chamber, the Oklahoma City Council voted unanimously to rezone a northeast OKC urban farm to agricultural so farmer Ben Birdwell can keep growing food and flowers.
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