It's Presidential Primary Election Day

Presidential Primary Election Day

It’s Election Day. Thank you to all of you who have voted, or will vote today. Here are a couple of things to consider as you listen to the poll results coming in tonight.

What will today’s primary results mean for the Democrats and for the Republicans? 

For the Democratic candidates, this year’s Primary is pretty much business as usual. Voters will vote, and their votes will decide how the pledged delegates to the party nominating convention will be allocated.

For Republicans its much more complicated. To make a long story short we’ll just say that the early date for this year’s primary in Michigan clashes with national Republican Party rules. This means the state party has had to negotiate with the national party about this year’s process, and the result is that some delegates will be chosen by voters in the primary, and other delegates will be chosen in a caucus convention held in March. (If you want the full convoluted explainer this Detroit Free Press article does a pretty good job of it.)

What this means is that when the primary is over we’ll know the final result for Democrats but not for Republicans. And, given the current fractured state of the Michigan Republican Party - that has led to two competing caucus conventions - the final result for their delegates may be in question for some time.

What’s all this about “Uncommitted” voting?

You may have heard that there is a move by activists to encourage Michigan Democrats to vote “Uncommitted” as a protest vote. This is meant to highlight concerns about President Biden and his administration’s support of the actions of Israel in Gaza in response to the terrorist attacks of last October 7th.

The target the activists are trying for is 10,000 Democrats marking their ballots “Uncommitted”. Should that number be reached the activists will be able to show this as evidence of the strength of their protest.

To understand what this means, you should know what an “Uncommitted” vote is, and be aware of the historical numbers for “Uncommitted” votes.

“Uncommitted” is a choice in Michigan Presidential Primaries. Voting for “Uncommitted” means you are casting a vote in favor of a delegate to the nominating convention who is not committed to a particular candidate.

In the Michigan 2020 Democratic primary the number of “Uncommitted” votes was 19,106. In 2016 the number of “Uncommitted” votes was 21,601.

So, for the activists to be successful (by their definition) in registering their protest vote the number of “Uncommitted” votes would need to exceed 30,000. While hitting that target would be enough to reach the activists’ stated goal for a protest vote, it would not be enough to actually seat an uncommitted delegate at the nominating convention.

If you want to learn more about this attempted protest vote, see this article in The Nation, or this one in the Washington Post.

Keep the UP Wild Campaign at a Critical Moment

Keep the UP Wild is a campaign to designate over 40,000 acres of forest in the western UP as federally protected wilderness. The Houghton County Democratic Party is part of a coalition of nearly 400 Michigan environmental, business, recreation, political, faith, and veterans’ organizations supporting this campaign.

The Keep the UP Wild campaign is currently at a critical moment because a State Senate Resolution (Concurrent Resolution 11) supporting this Wilderness designation is currently under consideration by the MI Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture! 

It's an important time to show the Senate committee that there is local support for this in the UP, especially since some voices of opposition have been claiming there is not a lot of local support to expand Wilderness, which just isn’t true.

There are a number of things that you can do to inform the Senate committee members about your support of the wilderness designation:

1. Endorse the Michigan Senate Resolution – Fill out the contact information on this support form (takes less than a minute), and you will be officially read into the record in support of Concurrent Resolution 11.

2. Call or send an email to the following MI senators who serve on the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture, who will vote on the concurrent resolution of support for new U.P. wilderness. (Here is a link to a draft email you can use as a start: Email to Senators)

   • Sue Shink (D), Chair <[email protected]>

   • John Cherry (D), Majority Vice Chair <[email protected]>

   • Sam Singh (D) <[email protected]>

   • Dayna Polehanki (D) <[email protected]> 

   • Kevin Daley (R) Minority Vice Chair <[email protected]>

   • Roger Victory (R) <[email protected]>

   • Michele Hoitenga (R) <[email protected]>

College Dems @ MTU Host State of the Union Watch Party

The newly organized College Dems group at Michigan Tech is hosting a State of the Union Watch Party. Pizza and sodas will be delivered. HCDP members are welcome to stop by, grab a slice, meet the new College Dems, and see if Biden can get the Republicans to give another standing ovation promising not to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Stop by March 7th, 9pm at Fisher Hall Room 138 on the Tech campus.   

A Primer on Running for Local Office

Considering running for local office but not sure where to start? 

We can help.

On March 16th we’ll host our Running for Local Office Workshop.

Noon to 2:30 PM

323 Quincy Street in Hancock

The goals of the Workshop are:

• Know what the local elective and non-elective positions are

• Know what you need to do to get on the ballot

• Know the core components of a campaign plan and how you can start preparing to run for office now

• Know the resources available to local Democratic candidates

• Hear from candidates who have done this

• Opportunity to ask questions

Who should attend:

• Anyone thinking about running for local (county, city, township, school board) election, either partisan or non-partisan

• Anyone who wants to help a candidate who is running for local office

Additional information:

• Please let us know if you will attend so we can plan accordingly (food, handouts, seating). Email [email protected]

• Pizza will be served

Spring Fling Tickets Available

The annual Spring Fling is in the planning stages, so please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 20th, from 5 to 8 PM. We’ll again be at the Bonfire at the Continental Fire Co. in Houghton.

Tickets are now available through ActBlue.

The event is also posted on Facebook. Feel free to share the event with your Facebook friends - the link to purchase tickets is available on Facebook as well.

Ticket prices this year will again be $50, with Student tickets available at $40.

The Spring Fling is a great way to meet up and converse with fellow Democrats and progressive voters while listening to elected officials who represent you, and learning first hand about candidates who are looking for your support.

The Fling is also one of our largest fundraising events each year, and in an election year your support is especially important.

Details on speakers and more will be forthcoming as the planning firms up.

Registrations Now Open for the Michigan Rural Summit

The Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party is now accepting registration for the 2024 Michigan Rural Summit. The Houghton County Democratic Party is to be a sponsor for the Rural Summit.

The first annual Rural Summit was held in April 2023. Over 150 rural activists attended the Summit from 45 Michigan counties. These activists attended work sessions designed for sharing ideas about the work that has been previously done and ideas for moving forward with coordinated strategies.

On April 11-13, 2024 the Rural Caucus will bring together even more rural activists, candidates, and elected officials, along with other organizations working in the rural organizing space to learn, discuss and collaborate to improve the lives of our rural neighbors in Michigan.

For more information, and to register for the Summit and book hotel rooms, click the button below.

Next Monthly Meeting

HCDP Monthly Meetings: Unless otherwise communicated our monthly meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month. Potluck at 6 PM, Meeting at 7 PM. In the conference room at the Houghton Super 8, and by Zoom (starting at 7 PM).

NEXT MEETING: MARCH 6TH

Community Events

Governmental meetings are scheduled throughout the month by bodies from the County Commission to City, Village and Township boards, committees and commissions; as well as local School Boards and the Copper Country Intermediate School District.

Check by phone or on the particular governmental website for meeting notices in your community. Your participation in local government meetings lets your elected and appointed officials know you are interested in their work, and can provide you with the opportunity to speak about your concerns during public comment periods.

WED FEB 28

The Houghton City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Meeting Agenda can be found in the Searchable Document Center of the Council's website