WA Blog Series: Theresa Mannix
Hello, CPers! I joined Common Power in 2020 and have door knocked in several states. What a fantastic experience! But this year I decided to concentrate in my home state of Washington in a very consequential race. There are a few reasons I decided to focus on WA D3 in southwest Washington and become a canvas lead with Cynthia Putnam.
First, I am completely inspired by Marie herself!
As a rural mom who works in the trades, she fights for working class families, supports reproductive rights, wants to expand the childcare tax credit, secure the border, invest in technical and career education for her district, and make things easier for small businesses to succeed. She’s rated one of the most bipartisan members of Congress—a sure sign she wants to get things done that will help her district.
Second, the Democrats want to take back the House of Representatives; it’s imperative to hold onto incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s seat!
Trump won this district by 4.2% in 2020; we must convince some voters to split their ballot this election. Finally, I believe her opponent is a danger to society. He is a Trump-endorsed, MAGA far-right candidate whose extreme views don’t reflect the district.
Marie’s district is varied--from urban Vancouver to coastal Pacific county and rural Lewis, southern Thurston, and Skamania counties. Common Power volunteers have canvassed in the cities, the suburbs and the rural areas. We go where Marie’s campaign thinks we’ll be most effective. We’re flexible! Each venue requires different tactics and strategies. The city of Vancouver is Marie’s stronghold, and our efforts there are to encourage Marie’s supporters to vote early, and encourage friends, family and neighbors to GOTV! The residents at one house said they had a block party the night before and everyone planned to vote for Marie! We had great conversations and were able to get a number of residents to put up yard signs. Rural areas, like Rochester, were a completely different scene, and posed some challenges. The turf was spread out, some houses were difficult to find. And a good number were inaccessible—barking doors, locked gates, and some residents who didn’t even want us on the roads. Despite this, and although this might be considered Republican territory, we found so many gracious, supportive people--like the man who had a giant white cross on his barn. Oh no, we thought, not a likely Marie supporter. But we were so wrong. Strong supporter! Goes to show you, we can’t make assumptions. And the volunteers—some experienced, some newbies--were remarkable and completely up to the task.
Door knocking for Marie is something that you can plan just a few days before we hit the pavement. You can decide to do a Saturday or a Sunday—or both! We often have carpools from the Seattle area.
If you want to spend the night, we’ll recommend a local hotel. Come join us in the last few weeks of this very important race! We would love to have you!
Check out all Marie did in Congress in 2023 and see what she plans to do in the future
