It’s dark now, and the hour is passing where you can do any kind of phone banking. You’ve spent all day campaigning, getting in a few more doors or calling folks to remind them to vote tomorrow. Tomorrow is the culmination of years of hard work, volunteering, time you spent educating yourself, going to political events and the like. Time you spent away from work, away from your family, time you could have been doing anything but the grind of campaigning. You’ve spent the last year humbling yourself, begging for money, knocking on doors every day, hours a day, for weeks at a time. You’ve driven around your car with a backseat filled with paper, whether it was yard signs, your walk lists or crumpled 7-11 coffee cups. You’ve gotten more advice than you could ever use, and you’ve been hung up on, yelled at, had a door or two slammed in your face, and somebody on the internet made fun of the way you look or something you said. But you’ve not let any of that stop you. You’ve been working hard for months, ever since you got it in your head that it would be a good idea to run for office.
Your supporters have been doing the same thing. Your campaign staff has been going on fumes for the last two weeks, desperately trying to cram another 10 hours into every 24 hour day. You got a free hour with Daylight Savings Time, but that’s nothing. Your volunteers are getting ready for tomorrow. They’re tired. So are you. You’re beyond tired – you’re exhausted. It’s hard to sleep. What will happen tomorrow? The butterflies come and go. Prayers help. So does reading, or taking a long shower – anything to get your mind off it.
Finally, everything you could have done is done. So you set your alarm for 4 AM so you can see your campaign staff off for the final knock and drag routine the morning. And then you lay there, staring at the ceiling. At some point, you drift off.
And then it’s Election Day.
To all of our candidates across Virginia, tomorrow is the day when we decide the future direction of our Commonwealth. As someone running for office, as a campaign staffer or as a volunteer, you’re doing something that few people across the country ever do. You’ve taken a hands on role in government. Win or lose, you’ve participated in the political process. If you’re our nominee, you’ve helped take the GOP’s message to the voters, and you’ve done something that almost nobody in the country has done or will ever do. Win or lose, you’ve been a part of something special. Tomorrow will come and the votes will be cast and they’ll be counted, and some of you will be heading to Richmond. Some will be heading to your county government center. Some will be heading to your school board rooms, or the Courthouse, or some other spot where you’ll be doing your new job. Some of you will be heading back to work, with notch in your belt and the kind of experience your father taught you builds character.
It may seem thankless, but know that there are still plenty of people who understand what you’re doing and are proud of you for doing it, no matter the outcome.
From all of us at Bearing Drift, especially from the many of us who have run for office in the past, thank you all for what you do for Virginia and what you were willing to sacrifice for all of us.
Good luck tomorrow.
