Why it's more important than ever to get involved in state and local elections | Opinion

The midterms are encroaching upon the American people. The national GOP has placed President Biden’s alleged failures at the forefront of their campaign strategy, while Democrats are fighting on the defense.

The recent overturn of Roe v. Wade delayed investigations into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Republican obstruction gave campaign material to Democrats in their congressional races.

Key congressional races have been highlighted, such as the U.S. Senate primaries in Georgia and Pennsylvania; while Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-TX) narrow win against his progressive challenger, garnered only brief attention, displays the ideological tension of today’s Democratic Party.

There is one theme that most of these campaigns share: the president’s approval rating. What may be unparalleled in this era is that there seems to be two presidential offices in this year’s election.

In consistence with the Republican Party’s denial of the 2020 results — and more recently the Texas GOP’s June 2022 platform — Donald Trump remains at the forefront of Republican politics. Although Trump’s efforts in Georgia failed to remove Gov. Brian Kemp, his endorsements have had a significant impact in congressional races.

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As usual for American elections, the incumbent president still has an impact on congressional races. The Democratic side wrestles more so with ideological battles in their primaries this year.

That begs the question: what about your governor’s race, your state legislatures and your local elections?

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Get involved with state and local elections

Some gubernatorial races have gained national prominence, the most probably being Georgia. New England will test the resilience of the moderate Republican against a surge in GOP nationalism.

Zooming out from larger media outlets, how focused are state legislative and local races?

Regardless of opinion on the overturn of Roe v. Wade, it serves as a reminder of the importance of activism and civic engagement in state and local government. The new ruling from Dobbs shifts the abortion debate from a right established by case law to a legislative issue; unless if Congress can codify Roe — which would certainly require the end of the filibuster — abortion policy will be left to the states.

One aspect of government, which is selectively ignored in partisan media, is state-level responses to federal action or inaction. We saw this concerning blue states and cities on sanctuary laws.

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A more recent example involves the Missouri legislature’s efforts to undermine aspects of the bipartisan gun reform bill. Despite efforts by propagandists to centralize every issue, the 2020’s are paving the way for state-level activists to inspire action.

Even at the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal pandemic response was at best minimal; most COVID restrictions were set by the states with some level of adherence to CDC guidelines.

State government must remain an important aspect of politics, and the time to stop overlooking it is overdue.

Ethan Gardner — a legislative staffer in Virginia — elaborates on challenges such as apathy, ignorance and underrepresentation in the citizen legislature. Similar to his state, Tennessee’s status as a part-time legislature poses challenges to working-class voters and candidates.

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Gerrymandering also discourages participation in legislative elections — as seen in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

A new grassroots movement is desperately needed. Register to vote. Vote. Stay informed, and be active in the political process.

Support state and local candidates that will truly represent their constituency. I would contend it’s the most overlooked aspect in our system of checks and balances, and it can’t stay that way any longer.

Ryan Foster is a recent graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in journalism. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Get involved with the political process and practice civic engagement