Crystal Quade

Today is the first day of the Missouri legislative session. There is so much happening in our country right now, but I urge you to pay attention here at home. Don't just engage in the process in Jefferson City, but find an amazing candidate you believe in and start helping in your town. Election Day will be here before we know it.

And to those hitting their buttons in the legislative chamber today, or unlocking the office doors to keep our state afloat, or leading your organizations to advocate, thanks for being there. Your mark on this moment in time is unbelievably heavy and we appreciate you.

In 2010, I worked for the organization that emerged from the Obama campaign. I was trained in what effective community organizing actually looks like: how to cultivate and value volunteers, how to build durable infrastructure, and how to center relationships. That work mattered.

Then we were reassigned to the national party to work on elections. Suddenly, success was defined by arbitrary metrics- how many doors knocked, how many calls made- regardless of context. We were expected to hit the same numeric goals in southwest Missouri as in deep-blue areas like St. Louis. What I learned then has stayed with me ever since: numbers matter, but conversations matter more. People matter more than how many times you dial a phone and leave a voicemail, drop literature at a door, and rush on just to finish a packet.

I carried those lessons into my own state house races and my role as Minority Leader, and we won. We didn’t just run campaigns; we built infrastructure for candidates around us. More importantly, we built relationships and trust with voters.

The 2024 election was a lot. And this past year, more than ever, should have been the moment for party leadership to listen to people on the ground, to those in the trenches, to voters, and to those who didn’t vote at all. Party officials should be asking what went wrong and be willing to hear criticism. Self-reflection is hard, but it’s necessary for any person or organization that wants to improve.

The Democratic Party’s decision to conduct an election analysis and then not share it is wrong. In my own race, an analysis was completed, but not a single party official has asked to see it, nor has there been any follow-up since November. The only folks who have been asking what happened are those still in the trenches.

The Washington Post reports that one major takeaway from the unreleased report is this: “The changes suggested by the party, the officials said, include measuring the success of an outreach program by the impact of the conversations, not the number of attempted calls, while also investing in more long-term party building so voter contact does not begin weeks before Election Day.”

That’s the same conclusion many of us in the trenches reached back in 2010.

Imagine, just for a moment, if leadership actually reflected on failures, and shared them in an honest attempt to build something sustainable, accountable, and truly reflective of the people we claim to serve. I hope the Party changes course and releases this analysis, and maybe asks for ours.

Democrats will not release the autopsy of their 2024 loss Party leaders hope to avoid contentious fights over the party’s failing as it attempts to reboot for the 2026 midterms.

Happy Snow Day!

Please join me and some wonderful friends this Saturday ​as we kick off the Springfield chapter of the Missouri Women's Political Caucus! This holiday party will be a great chance to learn about this amazing organization and a chance to meet members from across Missouri.

This amazing organization is a member of the National Women's Political caucus and is is a multi-partisan, multicultural grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women's participation in the political field and creating a political power base designed to achieve equality for all women.

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4E-Z7DmrxfOZsatA3bcaa4-eXhdAxZTbR58USCvVwu-N86g/viewform