Voters chose the politics of inclusion

If the 2018 midterms taught us anything, they taught us that our nation is yearning for change. The status quo is no longer acceptable. This is evidenced by the 98 women winning election to Congress, the seven gubernatorial seats that switched from Republican to Democratic, and the historic election of Muslim, Native American, and openly LGBTQ candidates to Congress.

It is a basic tenet of life that no one wants to be ignored. Voters are increasingly seeking candidates who speak boldly about issues that impact their lives. The midterms proved voters want to be a part of the politics of inclusion rather than the politics of division and hate. Progressives are fully prepared for the task at hand.  

{mosads}Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who all defied expectations and won their electoral bids to Congress. They are not your usual well-connected candidates with massive amounts of money flowing their way.

Even in races where our candidates fell just shy of victory, they mounted impressive gains and forever changed the trajectory of politics in their respective states thanks to the dedicated organizers who started before the campaigns and will continue to organize after the election.

Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams, recounts notwithstanding, had impressive showings. Both candidates came within a few thousand votes of winning, organized and reached out to new voters, and helped propel turnout in communities of color, young people and religious minorities.

Following an election, it is short-sided to pull scorecards to determine which organizations had the better night. We will win some races and we will lose some races, but the most important measure of the progressive movement’s success cannot simply be measured by a stagnant win-loss record. The progressive movement is measured by the influence it is having in turning the tide of political discourse.

We are in a battle for the imagination of the nation. Progressives have consistently advanced policies that have forced the nation to think bigger. There is no question that universal health care seemed a pipe dream before progressives began making it a key component of their campaigns. Now 70 percent of Americans believe access to healthcare is a human right for every human being in this country. What’s more, half of the Democrats running for Congress this cycle backed Medicare for All, and 16 senators who co-signed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Medicare for All bill are all presidential hopefuls.  

Progressives forced the issue and changed the terms of the debate. Medicare for All is now on the horizon, and it would not have happened without Sanders having the tenacity to raise the issue repeatedly.  

Our nation needs a bigger imagination when it comes to addressing the issues plaguing our families and our communities. Rather than being gatekeepers to power, we need to throw open the doors and allow non-traditional but deeply progressive candidates a seat at the table.  

Imagine if Ocasio-Cortez listened to all the people who told her to wait her turn or that she was too young. Now she will boldly represent her constituents, young people, Democratic socialists, and communities of color.

We know that a key factor distinguishing the people in office from the people working on the ground in communities is opportunity. If we rely on the same tactics, we will get the same results. If we rely on the same people, we will get the same brand of thinking. Transformation and shaking up the system requires imagination, courage, and conviction.

For too long in national politics, particularly on the left, there has been a tendency to play it safe. But playing it safe didn’t ensure passage for the Affordable Care Act, which was controversial at the time, yet is the single most important health care policy passed in the last decade. And it didn’t ensure the election of the nation’s first African-American President.

This election, the voters have spoken. For Democrats who won, now is the time for bigger thinking and bolder policy standards. We are expanding the electorate, now let’s keep organizing. There is much more work to do.

Nina Turner is president of Our Revolution, which support progressive candidates including 70 first-time candidates who won elections Nov. 6. Turner is a former Ohio state senator and a founding fellow at the Sanders Institute.