By Han Pham

re-printed from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Democrats: we are worse than fair-weather fans. We are “foul-weather fans,” diving in to support our candidates only when their campaigns are on life support. But when the storm calms, we step back and assume someone else will hold the line, that it’s no longer our job to fight for the win. That’s what we saw this election cycle. And that’s why we lost.

When Vice President Kamala Harris announced her presidential candidacy with slightly more than 100 days to the election, we all jumped in knowing that wasn’t much time. We rallied as a nation. And in Georgia, we even got help from overseas: I met people from Germany and the Philippines canvassing here. But we can’t rely on volunteers flying in to help us or last-minute rallies. People here at home need to be willing to do the hard work all the time.

I went out canvassing nearly every day, and it felt lonely — achingly lonely. Each time someone thanked me for “doing the hard work,” I wanted to shout, “You can do it, too!” But I heard excuse after excuse from Georgians who cared deeply but were “just too busy” with everyday life. I felt like I had to beg.

I drove an hour each way to reach people where I could have the most strategic impact, showing up in Republican-leaning areas where listening matters most. It’s one thing to only talk to like-minded folks; it’s another to go where people don’t share your views, see how they’re living and learn what matters to them.

Democrats: Voting is not enough. We need to stretch out of our comfort zones (and our echo chambers) and have dialogue with people who are different from us, and not only when we’re asking for their vote. There’s no such thing as an off-year. We need to keep working for the future we want, instead of only working until we think we are safe.

While going door to door, I was reminded that engagement isn’t just about listening; it’s about building a conversation and trust.

One woman I spoke with was Palestinian, grieving the loss of family members in Gaza. She was frustrated, leaning toward a third-party vote in protest. I talked to her about the conversations I’d had with Georgia’s first Palestinian state representative, Ruwa Romman, and why she was voting for Harris while sharing similar reservations. She felt relieved to know there was a lawmaker who was protecting her interests. It reminded me that people don’t want to be lectured; they want to feel heard — and they want to know someone’s working to address their needs.

I also met a young Black mother who planned to “decide in the moment” at the ballot box. She was tired of people telling her what to do. I listened. Then, I told her I have kids, too, and asked if I could share why I was voting for Harris: the abortion ban was causing doctors to leave the state, creating medical deserts where rural Georgians struggled to find the health care they needed for their families. She nodded thoughtfully, took my flyer and thanked me. That connection happened because we went out of our way to have a dialogue.

It’s time to move beyond foul-weather fandom. Don’t wait until things get bad. Democracy needs us every single year, not just every four years. Democracy needs us in every race from the local elections — school boards, city councils, county commissions, state legislatures. We need to work as hard for the unsexy races as we do for the sexy ones. Our democracy depends on it.

I know this firsthand. I run an organization called Her Term, where we recruit and equip progressive women to run for office in Georgia. We scramble to find people willing to step up and run — people who are brave enough to take on this work. But even when we recruit candidates, we don’t have enough people willing to staff campaigns. And many candidates and political organizers, like me, feel alone.

I’m calling on you to step up and run for office. We are a representative democracy, and we need people in government who reflect our state’s and our nation’s diversity. I’m calling on you to set aside a few hours a week to volunteer for a local candidate because they need your help. I’m calling on you to attend a staff training and use your professional skills to supercharge campaigns of those like Lillia Lionel, a single mother who has known hardship but believes so strongly in the promise of our country that she bravely stepped up to run in a deeply red district to give a voice to the voiceless.

To everyone who helped this time, thank you. But if democracy matters to you, it needs to matter all the time.

Han Pham is a community leader, advocate and executive director of Her Term, an organization dedicated to recruiting and equipping women to run for political office in Georgia. In 2022, Han delivered a TEDxAtlanta talk on the importance of representation in politics and finding one’s role in creating change.