Appa23 wrote:
Does the Democratic Party really care that much who is Omaha's mayor? Keep in mind that this is a non-partisan election.
For far too many years, the Democratic Party didn't care all that much about who the mayor of Omaha was, or who a heck of a lot of other local and state officials were. Turnout for off-year elections was down, too many offices either went unopposed or with fringe, token opposition, and Democrats eventually paid the price. The biggest setback of 2010 wasn't losing the House; it was losing a bunch of State Legislatures that then proceeded to gerrymander in Republican majorities.
It used to be when Democrats got upset, they'd hold a march somewhere, feel good for a day or two and then go back to the status quo. This time they look to be more serious about taking action and organizing at the local level and they've got some wins to show for it in local elections since November. Obviously, they won't be able to fly big guns in for every local election, but they are trying to make a statement.
What a lot of people are missing about the Georgia election is the level of grass roots organizing that went on for Ossoff. This isn't just a matter of running a bunch of slick TV commercials, he got the vote out in an off-off-year and he presented himself to most people as a knowledgeable, hard working person with some good ideas, not just a left-wing wacko, all this in a state where Democrats traditionally get shellacked in special elections. That's how he got 48% of the vote (and the polls kept rising in his favor the closer to election day) in what was a 40% district.
So, yes it matters, and it will continue to matter in every election from now until 2018.