The numbers show a path forward: An analysis from Pat's campaign manager
Thank you for your support of this Campaign. We have spent the last week analyzing the results of this election and want to share some numbers with you. While the ultimate result is not what we had hoped for, there is much we accomplished together.
Over 114,000 people voted for Pat. This is the highest number of votes a Democrat has received in this race since it was an open seat without an incumbent in 2012.
To accomplish that, the campaign worked for nearly 18 months, and in the final push in the last eight weeks alone we built a team of over 300 volunteers, made over 50,000 calls, sent over 100,000 texts, met with thousands at our online and socially distanced in-person events, and reached hundreds of thousands more through TV, radio, and digital platforms. The result of this effort is that over 75% of the voters we contacted turned out to vote, compared to 47% voter turnout overall. This shows the power of our strategy and volunteer effort in turning out the vote.
Pat raised approximately $950,000 and over 95% of these contributions were from individual donors. None was from corporate PACs or from self-financing. Pat followed through with her commitment to be responsible to the people of this District, not outside corporate interests.
All of this was done in an unprecedented pandemic that limited many of the traditional ways we could meet, but did not stop our people-powered effort. Pat received national media attention, including from the New York Times, Newsweek, Marie Claire, NBC News, Time Magazine, and others. Pat is the first candidate in this District to be endorsed by a Presidential nominee who won the Presidency, Joe Biden, and a former Presidential nominee, Pete Buttigieg.
Unfortunately, our shared effort was not enough to win the race. The state of Indiana and this District were hit with a red wave, and Democrats did not turn out in the same numbers as Republicans. For example, 75% of the strongest Republicans turned out to vote, but only 65% of the strongest Democrats did. Similarly, 53% of moderate Republicans voted, but only 41% of moderate Democrats did. There was also a significant increase in Republican straight ticket voters. In 2016 and 2018 there were approximately 65,000 and 69,000 Republican straight ticket votes in IN02, respectively. This year there was approximately 97,000 – a 41% increase. Comparatively, only approximately 56,000 Democrats voted straight ticket this year, a 27% increase from approximately 45,000 in 2018.
This occurred even in St. Joseph County, which has long been the Democratic stronghold in this District. In 2016 there were approximately 19,000 Republican straight ticket votes in St. Joseph County and in 2018 there were approximately 21,000. This year there were almost 35,000 – a 63% increase. Nonetheless, Pat still won St. Joseph County. Out of the 14 competitive races at the federal, state, and county level in St. Joseph County, Democrats won only four – Joe Biden for President, Pat Hackett for U.S. Representative, Jonathan Weinzapfel for Attorney General, and Ryan Dvorak for State Representative District 8. Pat received the second highest votes of any Democrat in St. Joseph County at 58,859 votes, trailing only Joe Biden by 1,000 votes, and winning with 51.34% of the vote.
The numbers show a path forward – one that we have seen from the start. This race is not about the Republicans’ gerrymandering or corporate PAC money. It is about getting out the vote. If everyone in this District voted, Democrats would win with over 50.6% of the vote. COVID-19 made that a challenge in this historic year. We must build a stronger infrastructure as a party, continue to organize, and continue to believe that each and every vote matters in every county in this District. Going forward, we must also ensure that voter files are not unlawfully purged, continue to register new voters, and continue to target and strengthen areas of disenfranchised voters.
As Pat often quoted on the campaign trail from Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement at the 1940 Democratic Convention, “No one candidate on his or her own can carry this alone. It can only be carried by a united people who love their county.”
We are proud of what we accomplished together. We know there is more work to do. We are ready to do it because Dignity and Justice for All is worth fighting for. Pat, I, and the entire team thank you for joining us in this effort.
Patrick Kibbe
Campaign Manager
A Message of Gratitude from Pat
Dear Friend,
Thank you for supporting this campaign and our shared values. Your exemplary goodness and multiple generosities are sources of great hope.
Regardless of the outcome of yesterday’s election, our path forward as a Nation and in this Congressional District remains a renewed commitment to Dignity and Justice for All, not the few. Additionally, our path forward requires the reclaiming of our voice and values in Washington. We must reclaim our Constitutional and moral authority as We the People if our Nation is to continue and contribute internationally toward the common good.
Now, more than ever, good government requires our Hoosier work ethic, and mandates our understanding of hospitality where all have a seat at the table. In our national crisis of COVID-19, we must pursue just economic policies by which the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, and the thirsty are given drink. Now more than ever, we must heal the sick through access to healthcare, and we must not abandon the imprisoned to the immorality of racist, profit driven penal systems.
The forces at work in our Nation, seeking to divide us one from the other, are virulent and pernicious. They include financial corruption, racism, and the subjugation of women and sexual minorities. They also include an authoritarianism and religious licentiousness in our federal government that are attacking our 1st and 14th Amendment liberties –– while also attacking our Nation’s commitment to reason, evidence, and science which are the bases of our rule of law, democratic norms, and political decency.
Going forward, we must hold our Representative in Congress accountable, and We, the People, must stay vigilant.
With a full and grateful heart,
Pat Hackett
Letter to the Editor: Nimbi Cushing
Faith
Micah 6:8. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Pat Hackett, Democratic candidate for Congress, is a woman of strong and abiding faith. She doesn’t wear it as a badge of honor but lives it in the way she cares for people.
I went with her to the home of a sick friend recently, and watched as she spoke words of encouragement, not as a candidate, but as a friend. She has rearranged her campaign schedule to provide transportation, bring a meal or simply be present to someone in mourning.
She serves on community boards, including the YWCA and Community Foundation of St. Joseph County. “Dignity and Justice for All” isn’t a slogan. For Pat, it’s a concept born of the obligation to speak for those whose voices have been systemically silenced. A government that promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens has turned its back on those with the gravest needs.
Pat Hackett’s study of theology and her relationship with God demands that she live by a code not defined by man.
What’s faith got to do with it? Everything.
Nimbilasha Cushing
South Bend
SOUND OFF: Pat featured on Hometown News Now podcast
On Friday, Sept. 11, I had the great privledge of speaking with Nate Loucks of Hometown News Now.
We spent a few minutes reflecting on the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Like many of you, I remember exactly where I was when I learned of the devastating news. I was teaching a theology class at St. Mary’s College and we were discussing, of all things, the concept of evil.
The attacks of that day informed the conversation of the rest of that class, as many of my students asked: Where was God in that moment?
At the time, I told them to look for God in the first responders who risked their lives to save others.
That question is still relevant today as our nation faces a pandemic, and the answer is still the same. Look for God in the people on the front line of our battle against COVID-19, and look for God in those who continue to advocate for dignity and justice for all.
In the radio segment, I also had the pleasure of answering questions from callers. Unlike my opponent, I promise to continue to make myself available to answer questions or listen to the concerns of the people of this district.
Listen to the full segment to hear about my responses to questions on 2nd Amendment rights, healthcare, bipartisanship, and accountability to constituents.