The recent Democratic National Convention has the party at fever pitch around its Presidential Election ticket, making it an opportune time for local Democrat representatives to place themselves on the Promenade.
On August 22, the Westside Democratic Headquarters began taking up space in the outdoor center, operating at 1241 Third Street Promenade. Armed with just a cardboard cutout of candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris in the window in the early hours, interested locals still began piling in to ask about the endeavor. Site Manager and Volunteer Coordinator Karen Eyres was happy to greet them with a simple message.
"What we’re looking to do is, hopefully, flip the House [of Representatives] blue, [retain the] Senate and give a really strong Congress for Kamala Harris, and help her get elected," Eyres said.
The Westside HQ has been floating around the area since the 2004 Presidential Election between John Kerry and George W. Bush, staying strong through both Barack Obama terms, and dealing with two unique White House races in 2016 and 2020. After time as an ally with the Stonewall Democratic Club, an LA-based club that supports issues related to the LGBTQ+ community, Eyres officially joined Westside in 2018 to immediate success.
Not just focused on the Presidential race, HQ-endorsed Congressional candidates won seven of their nine races during those midterms.
"That was huge, at the time [we thought] we’d be lucky [to] maybe get three, and so it was a big night for California," Eyres said.
Honed in on phone banking, organizing Get Out The Vote canvassing and contact through text messaging; the HQ is a coalition of 14 different Democratic clubs, ranging from the Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades clubs to outfits like the Westside Young Democrats and Democrats for Israel Los Angeles.
Stating the goal is "about voter contact by the volume," Eyres said the tool of "relational organizing" is an important one in this election, involving reaching out to people "in your own network" making sure they have a ballot and a plan to vote on November 5. The HQ is also planning canvassing trips both in-state (to places like Orange County and Palm Springs) and to the more pressure-packed swing states like Arizona and Nevada.
With Harris’ home state of California nailed down, the neighboring swing states are of the utmost importance to both the Democratic campaign and the former President Donald Trump-JD Vance Republican ticket. Arizona’s 11 electoral votes were won by just over 10,000 votes by President Joe Biden in 2020, and average polling via 270towin.com shows Harris 1.4% ahead of Trump as of Aug. 22. Nevada’s 6 electoral votes will be similarly tight, with the average of five polls on 270towin showing Trump ahead in the state election by 0.4%.
Regardless of the result, the Dem HQ has been proud to put their support behind their fellow Californian, helping Harris win her Senate seat in 2016 and putting their full might behind her now. Eyres stated that "everyone’s energized" about the Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ticket, something that couldn’t be said during the final days of the now-abandoned Biden 2024 campaign.
"I personally love Biden, and his leadership has been amazing over the last three-plus years," Eyres said. "He pulled this country out [of] just dire, dire times. But for some reason, his campaign wasn’t grabbing the public, even long-term Democrats were kind of ‘meh’ about it. But when Biden decided to step down and he recommended Kamala Harris, it was just like a relief and a release of excitement, and she has just met the moment in such a wonderful way."
She also feels attached to Walz after not knowing much about the Governor, a Midwestern kinship for the Chicago-area native.
"I think he’s going to be great for winning over the undecided [voters], or the people who are from the Midwest … he’s a counterbalance to Kamala," she added.
Statewide and locally, the Dem HQ follows the lead of the California Democratic Party, which has endorsed several key state ballot measures, including Proposition 1 (Bonds for Mental Health Treatment Facilities), Proposition 2 (Public Education Facilities Bond) and Proposition 4 (California Climate Bond). In the Santa Monica area, the state party endorsed Rick Chavez Zbur for State Assembly, Ted Lieu for Congress and Adam Schiff for Senate.
Lieu will be one of the special guests at the HQ’s grand opening party, beginning at 1pm on September 1. The location’s regular hours will be 12–8pm Monday–Thursday, 12–6 pm Friday and 10am–6pm on weekends. A special Presidential Debate viewing party is also in the cards for September 10 at 6pm.
"We love the foot traffic here, we love Santa Monica as a location for the HQ, so we’re super happy to be here," Eyres said of the HQ thus far.
Sharing her opinion is Gary Bettman, who still vividly remembers the first HQ for the Kerry/Bush affair in ’04. Bettman will be handling merchandise at the Promenade location, featuring custom shirts as well as historical items for campaigns like Obama’s and other past Democrats.
"For the entire Westside community, the importance of this election can’t be understated, [and] we can be a focal point for [the area]," Bettman said.
To RSVP for future events or to volunteer for the Westside Democratic Headquarters, visit westsidedemhq.org.
thomas@smdp.com
