Some of the best advice I could give Dems is to publicly denounce the DSA wing.

When people see that, they know you're serious. If they don't see it, they tend to think you're the same.

Dems have gotten better about this, but it needs to be made very clear.

Voters aren't opposed to voting for Dems, they're opposed to being bogged down with socialist/communist bullshit they don't want.

The quickest path to success is just being normal.

If people can see you as someone they'd interact with, you've won.

There's other things too, like don't nationalize everything and focus more on local.

Focus on bringing in tourism and immigration into southern states, you'll do well.

Continue to set the contrast as the responsible, patriotic party. And MEAN it.

It matters.

Voters don't like change.

They like change they *agree with*.

It's not your job to provoke the electorate, it's your job to convince them.

People ultimately just want to be left alone and not have to think about politics. Don't make them. Don't rock the boat.

If a voting bloc is happy with their pro-life, or pro-gun blue dog, then don't ruin a good thing. Each state is essentially an individual country.

You don't win in Arkansas with stuff that's popular in Connecticut.

The quickest way to win in the south is by focusing on local.

You want to be the person bringing in business. Much of the south is still rural and poor.

Voters down here like cultural history. For Louisiana, it's cajun cuisine. For Georgia, it's mansion houses.

Tourism.

Bel Edwards wins because he developed a relationship with the voters, instead of trying to force the reverse.

He attends football games. He conducts opening ceremonies.

People want to *see* their politicians are normal people.

Joe Manchin wins because he doesn't mess with hunters, he has developed a longstanding relationship with WV voters, he's active in the community, and he stays out of national politics.

Mark Warner wins for the same reasons.

Local, local, local. Business, business, business.

The worst thing you can do in the south is nationalize shit.

Because usually the national party is going to be heavily viewed as off the rails.

Dems in the south have to create their own brand and be willing to buck the party.

That's what gets respect and loyalty.

It also doesn't hurt to be young and good looking, because a lot of voters are shallow.

There's a non-insignificant portion of people in SC-01 who vote for Joe Cunningham because he looks like Blake Shelton.

Wexton here in VA, same thing, opposite sex.

People in the south don't give a damn about bankers or Wall Street or Citizens United.

They want to maintain their close-knit community, not have it torn apart by rabble rousers who aren't like them.

If you tried to tell a southerner you want to break up Amazon, they'll run you out of town.

People like the shit they buy and they like convenience, and a lot of these places are in the middle of nowhere.

Don't walk into the south and start making demands. That isn't how it works.

We're community and family oriented people. Every southern state has state pride.

Doesn't matter what color or religion you are.

And one of the biggest things voters want to see is compromise.

If you come down here telling people they have to conform to your version of society, being divisive, and causing fights among neighbors, friends, and families that have never had them before, then you're going to face a full scale revolt.