Required reading for any Party Chair candidate
By: Jason Critchlow
Tags: Indiana Democratic Party, Chairs, Indiana, Democratic Party

With the current Indiana Democratic Party Chairman announcing that he is declining to run for re-election, we are seeing well intentioned individuals publicly or privately floating themselves as his replacement to varying degrees. I think anyone interested in the role should be looked at admirably and be given a fair shake. But, I can’t help but think that the harsh reality of the position may not be registering across the board. It is perhaps too easy for the uninitiated to see the role only through the lens of the chance to make a difference, fight the good fight, and lead the charge for the values in which we hold sacred. Those are all great reasons to be a Party leader. But it’s also a little too easy to talk about and visualize the noble side of the role with less effort given to evaluating the more abrasive one.

I am someone who knows a thing or two about being a Party Chairman, not for an entire state of course, but my experience is relatable with difference to scale. I am not necessarily seeking to dissuade would-be candidates, but I think everyone should have their eyes wide open to what this position entails. Calling it a “thankless” job where “you can’t make everyone (or sometimes anyone) happy” is probably doing it a disservice. So these are my friendly warnings to all those who dare enter.

There is no one “Top Democrat” who will singularly be deciding the next State Party Chair. Therefore, if you feel one of your main qualifications is being associated to any one of the names that might come to mind, you would be incorrect to assume it guarantees you a leg up. If you think I am wrong, 1996 called and it wants it Party power structure back. If this is your mindset going in, this essay is definitely for you.

Believe it or not, having a vision, plan, and strategy might be the easiest part of being a Party Chair. The details and daily minutiae are much more comprehensive.

The first questions you will likely be asked are “Have you ever run a campaign in Indiana?” and “Have you ever won a campaign in Indiana?” If you can’t answer yes to one or both, it might not be a deal breaker, but you should have a good explanation as to why you feel that significance is overstated.

Aside from running campaigns, one of the main jobs as Party Chair is running elections. There is no delicate way to describe running election in Indiana — it’s rough. The entire process is overly complicated and more complex than it needs to be. Also, you are dealing with the antiquated laws that created that overly complex system as well as those new ones that, especially in Indiana, are specifically designed to make it more difficult to vote.

You will be responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. No one will do this for you and it isn’t raised by holding events. It’s raised by spending hours upon hours speaking one on one with individuals and convincing them to put their trust in you. And you will have to do this without the benefit of any statewide office holders to assist in carrying the burden. By the way, many of the things you think the Party “should” have been doing or you “plan” to do if elected Chair are entirely contingent upon your success on fundraising.

You will spend a lot of time in the car and on the phone. Communication does not flow within a Party organization like it would outwardly appear to a casual observer of Party structure. Therefore, the Chair spends lots of time meeting and speaking with every County Party Chair in the state along with scores of elected officials, candidates, supporters, etc. which leads me to the next point.

Fundamentally, and in most of the ways that matter, that State Chair answers to the County Parties, not the other way around.

Meaning, you could ask a County Chair to fight for X issue or recruit X type of candidates, and that County Chair could do the complete opposite and there is next to nothing you can do about it. Also important to mention, the vast majority of rank and file Democrats in those counties couldn’t care less what the latest resolution passed by the State Central Committee says. You might do well to remember that while spending hours upon hours on such organizational and bureaucratic issues.

You should know that the occasion will come where you will have to fire people. There is no Human Resources department and no one else will do it for you. You will have to look people in the eyes and dramatically change their life in that moment. It is very likely you will be pressured from people advocating on behalf of the person you let go, some of those people may come from a surprising place and will exert types of pressure you have never experienced before. And you will be judged on how you respond to all of it.

The occasion will also come where you have to hire people and the conduct of those people will reflect directly on you, justly or unjustly. Expect the same scenario as above to play out.

They say that recruiting candidates is everyone’s job…until there aren’t any candidates. Then, in the court of public opinion, it’s the Chair’s job.

Same goes for achieving the diversity which is such a core and fundamental principle of our modern Democratic Party. Meeting both objectives across the state of Indiana is not going to be easy in the upcoming election cycles and will take a tremendous amount of effort and focus which needed to start yesterday.

The occasion will come when you have to tell someone that you don’t think they should run for office along with your reasons. That candidate may listen and they may not. More often than not, they will not see it the way you do and will ensure you (and others) know it. Regardless of the outcome, many people will applaud you for having the tough conversation and many will scorn you for it. Important note — that latter group will smile to your face just as much as the former.

People will spend an extraordinary amount of time peddling in half-truths, misleading facts, or just outright lies regarding what you and the organization are doing. It will be frustrating and you will absolutely not be able to do anything to prevent it from happening at least to some degree.

For as well as you understand strategy, numbers, statistics, and political dynamics, you will often come face to face with individuals who are absolutely convinced that they know more than you do despite having less, and sometimes no, experience or educated understanding in campaigns or electoral politics whatsoever. It’s becomes more maddening than you might think.

For every hour you are seen working on something, expect to actually be working 50+ hours behind the scenes. That is just the way it is and there is no room for ego.

Speaking of which, when things go really well, you will receive some of the credit. However, when things go poorly, you will receive a disproportionate large portion of the blame.

From the day you enter the role of Chair to years following the day you left, everyone and anyone will forever feel like they just HAVE to give you their opinion on fill-in-the-blank political issue despite the fact that you never asked or you actually just wanted to talk about the weather. This includes when they run into you at the grocery store, the movies, the Thanksgiving table, or while you are out to dinner with your family. Also, social norms strangely go out the window and sometimes people will be mean and rude for seemingly no reason as if it your fault that such-and-such politician voted a certain way.

You will feel lonely even when surrounded by people. You can bounce a decision off many individuals but only one makes the call and that’s the Chair. And sometimes, you find yourself hanging out all alone on the branch just because you feel it’s the right thing to do. You need to be okay with it.

You may have read this and think that I look back on my time as Party Chair with great disdain, but nothing is further from the truth. I reflect very fondly on my time as Party Chair and am very proud of the successes and accomplishments we were able to achieve. Even the failures all serve as learning experiences that can be used to re-calibrate both your plans for the future and yourself as a leader.

I am proud to fight the fights that need fighting and working to make a positive difference for our future. I had the great pleasure of working alongside scores of amazing elected officials, candidates, supporters, and activists.

My favorite way to describe the job was always, “As Party Chair, I work to put good people in a position to do great things.” However, the less fluffy way of describing it is to say that the job is entirely about building relationships, being bold, being tough, and doing the hard ass work that needs to be done while constantly suffering slings and arrows from both outside and within.

The moral of the story is — when a Party Chair is needed, serious candidates only need apply.