Green Ben Manski thanks his supporters, blames straight ticket voting for loss

Ben Manski, a high profile Green candidate for state representative in Wisconsin who got over 30 percent of the vote but lost, sent the following email to his supporters:

On Tuesday, a day difficult for our progressive movement, you inspired me.

I remember leaving the polls on the UW-Madison campus having already recognized that straight-party voting had done us in —that no matter how many voters stepped outside the box to specifically vote Green for State Assembly, there were yet another 50-55% of the electorate who would still go to polls, connect the arrow next to their party line, and skip the rest of the ballot— and having learned that, there was nowhere I wanted less to be than among the incredible people who had invested so much in my campaign. I really didn’t want to disappoint you.

I should have known better. You already understood what I was just learning: That our collective efforts had been worth it. That one-third of the electorate had gone out of their way to vote for what both student newspapers described in their endorsements as a “radical” agenda. That that one-third represented a majority of votes cast specific to the District 77 race. And most importantly, that in the course of our campaign, we had regalvanized our local progressive movement, established a strong base for future campaigns, and given a sense of possibility to progressives around the country.

There were no tears or “what-could-have-beens” that I saw on Tuesday —only many smiling faces, words of congratulation, and plans for future campaigns discussed in-person and online, late into the night. That’s why I say you inspired me. You’d given me your all, and you were ready for more.

I’m ready for more, too. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

~ Ben Manski