The Clinton County Democratic Party hosted its annual holiday meeting in November with guests running for office in 2024 as well as guests who were elected to positions in Rossville in the 2023 election who will begin their terms in 2024.
Mark Newhart, Clinton County Democratic Party Chairman, welcomed the community into the Frankfort VFW to meet special guests and continue rallying for the 2024 election, including Joe Mackey, Indiana Democratic Party Congressional District 4 Chairman, Rimpi Grin, District 4 U.S. House of Representatives candidate, Marc Carmichael, U.S. Senate candidate, and Jennifer McCormick, Gubernatorial candidate.
Mackey kicked off the meeting and the talks from those running for office by congratulating the democratic candidates in Clinton County who secured their position in the local government in the 2023 General Election. In the 2023 Municipal General Election, two democratic candidates were elected to positions in Rossville. Brooke Meeks was elected as the Rossville Town Clerk-Treasurer and Sally McGill was elected as a Rossville Town Council member.
“We haven’t had democrats win I think in 40 years (in Rossville),” Mackey said. “We had two wins the other night, and we’re proud of that.”
Mackey summarized a key point present within the speeches of the guest speakers, stating that those that ran for seats in the local government should be congratulated regardless of the outcome. In the 2023 election, David Riggs, Jeannie Fife, Brooke Meeks and Sally McGill vied for seats in Frankfort, Mulberry and Rossville with two victories. Mackey expressed that regardless of the outcome, every candidate should be applauded for their efforts.
“For those of you who are running who are with us tonight, thank you,” Mackey said. “For those of you who ran and did not win, thank you. Standing up and speaking out takes courage, and unless you’ve done it, you really don’t know the experience.”
Mackey commented that Clinton County hosts a large republican majority in every local government, including city and town government as well as the county government, and he expressed that the majority allows for every democratic candidate to bring something new to the table and express themselves, but he mentioned that many candidates are required to work harder for a chance to secure their seat.
“Being a democrat means something–it means something,” Mackey said. “It’s not easy. It can be challenging, frustrating, nerve-wracking. It’s hard to tell people that and say, ‘run for an office,’ but we find people, and they run.”
Mackey teased the democratic course of action for the 2024 elections, stating that the party has been working diligently to recruit educators from across the county to run for the open seats next year. Mackey expressed that educators are a key group of democrats within the county, and he hopes to unite the group to have as many contested races as possible in hopes that more democratic candidates will secure victories in Clinton County.
“I have been working hard to recruit educators for next year,” Mackey said. “We’re calling it the ‘Year of the Educator.’ Especially in our rural areas, we need those retired educators. We need angry educators to step up and run for any office. It doesn’t have to be the big ones.”
Mackey concluded his statements by inviting the community to continue to gather in support of the Clinton County Democratic Party prior to and during the 2024 election season where numerous local government seats will be contested, statewide seats will be contested and federal seats will be contested through the primaries in May and into the general election in November.
“I’m glad you’re here tonight,” Mackey said. “If you come here often, I want to see you back, and I want to see you bring your friends, and I want to see them bring their friends, because that’s how we win races.”
For more information regarding the Clinton County Democratic Party, the guest speakers, upcoming meetings, petitions and more, visit the Clinton County Democratic Party on Facebook.
