The clock is ticking. The consequential November elections are getting closer and closer. So much is at stake.
So what can you do besides vote? There are many options, including volunteering for a campaign, talking to other voters, and supporting your favorite candidates with money. More consequential than how or what you contribute might be where you do it.
If you live in Oak Park or River Forest or Forest Park, your U.S. House and Senate races are not competitive. That doesn’t mean your time and money are not desperately needed. Candidates all over the country could use your help. Many of them get the overwhelming majority of their contributions from out of state.
For example, according to opensecrets.org, for the 2022 election cycle, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) has received 88 percent of his campaign contributions from out of state, and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) took in just under 86 percent of his contributions from out of state.
A quick Google search of close senate races shows Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin as tossups, and Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and others as very competitive. And the Cook Political Report lists 32 U.S. house races as toss-ups, including IL-17 with local weatherman Eric Sorensen (D) facing off against Esther Joy King (R).
Some of the hotly contested issues center around abortion, inflation, voting, climate change, and health care, among many others.
If you are passionate about these or any other issues, please act. Don’t think you can’t do anything about these issues. Find the candidates in close races who will get something done on your most passionate issues, and support them with your money or your time or both. With so much hanging in the balance, 2022 is not a time for sitting on the sidelines. It’s a time to pitch in.
John Grant
River Forest
