I have been gnashing my teeth for months over the lack of polling in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. I have a personal stake in this race because I live in the 7th District and having Tim Walberg as my Congressman causes me no end of angst. So, I’ve been out at least once, more often twice, a week knocking doors for Pam Byrnes because I think she’d be a terrific member of Congress and a true representative of the 7th District.
As a side note, I’ve been really enjoying the MiniVAN app on my iPad which lets me canvass without walk sheets or even a clipboard. And, when I’m through canvassing, I simply hit the “Sync” button and my data is automagically uploaded to the Democrat’s Voter Activation Network (VAN) database so there is no chance for secondary data entry errors. It’s also available for the iPhone.
The magical miniVAN iPad app in action
At any rate, this week we finally have some polling numbers! MIRS new service hired Practical Political Consulting to poll the race. Their poll, which has a 5.2-point margin of error, shows Byrnes trailing Walberg by a scant 3 points – 51.5-48.5%.
What these results don’t show is how well-run the Byrnes ground game is and how robust their GOTV effort will be. While the common wisdom is that Democrats largely stay home on Election Day during midterm elections, this year is different. There is an unprecedented level of voter outreach going on both at the state party level and by the individual candidates’ campaigns.
That sort of thing doesn’t reflect in polls of likely voters because we’re working hard to turn out a lot of extra “unlikely” voters.
And THAT is going to make all the difference.
Are you helping? You should be. We have only 18 more days to go. Let’s leave it all on the field, folks, and bring home big victories for our courageous Democratic candidates.
If you need help getting involved, click HERE.
