THe year of the woman:

Vangie Williams to speak!

Next meeting: Saturday, July 14

Vangie Williams

Ready for the most important midterm election of our lives?

Let’s get our A-game going as we kick off our Congressional campaign at the next meeting of the Hanover Democratic Committee on Saturday, July 14 at 10 a.m. at Ashland Coffee & Tea Political. Our candidate, Vangie Williams, who handily won the Primary campaign, will be the guest speaker. Political pundits are saying it’s the year of the woman…let’s make that true in Hanover too as we launch the 2018 campaign and work hard to get Vangie elected and Tim Kaine re-elected. Also at the July meeting, meet our combined campaign coordinator from the Tim Kaine campaign. Come out and support Vangie on Saturday, July 14 at 10 a.m. and let’s launch the Hanover Democratic Committee’s work to unseat Rob Wittman and to make sure Tim Kaine holds his Senate seat. As always, the coffee is on us.

Phone Banks Are Starting in July.

in July. Sign up for phone banks in Ashland on Thursdays, July 10 and July 26 at 6 p.m. at the home of Toni Radler by calling 804-916-0693. There will be phone banks throughout the county in August… watch for notifications. Phone banking is fun and a good way to meet other Democrats.

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Men's Forum

At the home of

Dale Mann

12778 Mount Hermon Road

Wednesday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

The next monthly gathering of the Hanover Democratic Men's Forum will be held on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 pm at the home of Dale Mann 12778 Mount Hermon Road, Ashland.  These Democratic Men's Forums provide an opportunity for Hanover Democratic men to meet, socialize, talk politics and hear interesting speakers.  The host and Chair of these Democratic Men's Forums, Nelson Vaughan, says hors d'oevres will be served. 

 Directions to Dale's home:  Off I-95 take exit 92A East unto route VA54, East Patrick Henry Road toward Hanover Courthouse.  Once on VA54, take the first right onto Mt. Hermon Road (VA656).  1 mile down on the left at the political sign and white fences turn left between the trees.  Turn right at the house and go thru the gates on the right.  Past the shed, you'll see a white fence around a horse paddock.  Please park in there and walk back to the house.  GPS may take you a different way, on the farm side of the property, but after a little wandering around a bit, park in the horse paddock. 

This month's speaker who lives in Ashland will be Ms. Kelly Thomasson who is the Secretary of the Commonwealth under Governor Northam.  Ms. Thomasson had previously served under Governor McAuliffe and Senator Warner.  She was named in 2017 by Style Weekly as one of the top 40 under 40.  Come and hear what Ms. Thomasson's responsibilities are.  

The purpose of these monthly Men's Forums is to socialize, invigorate, educate and elect Democrats and is a great opportunity to get to know like-minded Democratic men in a way that you just can't in other venues in this predominantly Republican county.  The monthly Saturday morning committee meetings are great but you don't have the opportunity to talk and to get to know one another on a more social level.  It also gives those who can't attend the Saturday morning meetings a chance to get involved.  So please join us on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 pm.  Don't miss this opportunity to socialize and mobilize. 

RSVP to Nelson Vaughan at vnvaughan@aol.com or call the cell phone and text messages 201.826.7093; home 804.496.6217.

If you are a woman and receive this, please send to your favorite Democratic male relative, neighbor or friend. 

Let's all get together and support Vangie Williams to beat Rob Wittman in November and become our next representative.

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Coffee is brewing!

thursday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

At the home of

Betsy Farley

13192 Rooney Lee Drive

Ashland 23005

All Democratic Women are Welcome! 

Please come to this monthly Coffee on Thursday, July 26, for great fellowship and spirited conversation with like-minded women from all over Hanover.

This July Coffee, an evening get together this time, will be at the home of Betsy Farley. Betsy, who lives in the Hickory Hill Subdivision at 13192 Rooney Lee Drive, 23005, will welcome us at 7 pm.

For those who don't know, we are a growing group of Democratic women of all ages who meet monthly, sometimes in the day and sometimes in the evening, at the homes of volunteer hostesses at different locations around the county. Our goal is to enable as many women as possible to get to know one another so that we can better work together.  We have no formal memberships or dues.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Diane Neergaard at daneergaard@comcast.net, or 804-304-1951.

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Democrats Must Turn Out In November!

by Vangie Williams

Hanover, you delivered on your promise to unify under the Democratic ticket after June 12 and are already organizing for the battle on November 6. A large part of the credit goes to John Suddarth, an incredible candidate and active member of the Hanover Democratic Committee. John came to congratulate me on Election Night at my watch party and we have worked together ever since to retire Rep. Rob Wittman.

It’s this type of unity and energy that Democrats will need to flip the district blue.

Across the country, we are seeing a surge in voter enthusiasm during primary elections this year. According to state elections offices, 5 million more people voted in Democratic contests in 2018 compared to the 2014 midterm elections. But, Republicans are showing up as well. An additional 2 million people picked up a ballot for a Republican candidate.

This tells me that there are voters who may be persuaded to vote for either party – votes we need to secure for a victory in November.

We know that Democrats historically do not turn out the same way Republicans do for midterm elections. The “midterm falloff” is noticeably greater for young voters, people of color and other minority voters, ultimately benefitting Republicans in recent midterms. This pattern of low voter turnout played a significant role in 2010 and 2014 for the GOP, including right here in the 1st Congressional District.

In Hanover, from 2008 to 2018 the falloff for Democrats between a presidential election and a midterm election was 57% compared to 20% for Republicans. Nearly 40% ofDemocratic voters are staying at home during crucial congressional elections.

This is a problem we must tackle for the upcoming election, for next year’s Virginia House of Delegates elections and every race whether it’s on the local, state or federal level.

Conventional wisdom says that Democrats have this in the bag, especially with an unpopular president and a record-breaking number of women running for political office. However, a lot can happen between now and November, even with an energized Democratic base. We have to do more than vilify this Administration. We have to motivate voters –primarily communities that we aren’t engaging throughout the year – to show up at the polls on Election Day.

We can win this election, but we must organize, mobilize and engage voters in every corner of the district. It’ll take registering new voters, fundraising, knocking on doors and writing postcards. We also must reach new voters by talking to people across the entire political spectrum. Let’s drop the labels and focus on a people-first strategy. It’s not an “us versus them” contest. It’s about “we the people” and putting people ahead of petty politics.

As we will continue to see during the primary season, candidates backed by multi-millionaires aren’t the only ones with power.  We have power too. Power at the polls. Let’s fight for a government that’s good and takes care of its people.

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Parent Category: News