Local Democratic activist forgoes plans to stump in Georgia’s Senate runoff races
As the well-known refrain to “The Gambler” goes, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em/Know when to fold ‘em/Know when to walk away.”
The lyrics may have entered the mind of retired Teamster and union activist Steve MacDonald, 67, of Vacaville, who last month vowed to travel to Georgia to help turn out the vote and campaign for the two Democratic Senate candidates locked in heated runoff races.
After spending three weeks on the road in October and November in Midwestern battleground states in advance of the Nov. 3 election, the longtime trucker for the Lucky Stores warehouse in Vacaville, has reconsidered driving his 1991 Chevrolet Suburban to the Peach State, a colorful trailer emblazoned with partisan expressions and his 10-year- old beagle, Buddy, in tow.
Citing advice from fellow activists in Georgia, that no additional volunteers are needed, MacDonald will not stump for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, whose possible victories will ensure
Democratic control of the Senate, with Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris casting any tie-breaking votes.
In an interview with The Reporter on Thursday, he said his original intentions were to leave mid-December, his “Fire Trump Tour” trailer repainted w ith wording “Flip the Senate.”
“I consulted with a couple of good activists and we decided to stay away from the Senate races in Georgia,” MacDonald said. “They talked me out of it. It wasn’t a good strategy and I wasn’t trying to come up with another strategy.”
He called other Teamsters in Georgia, who told him they were appreciative of his willingness to trek more than 2,000 miles and back, “but they thought it would be best for Georgians to take care of Georgia.”
“They’re down there, on the ground,” said MacDonald, speaking by cellphone from a downtown Vacaville bakery. “They have so many volunteers down there. And, also, I would not want to let the Republicans use my volunteer efforts to use it against the Democratic candidates.”
“T hey could use it against Democrats as ‘outside influence,’ “he added. “They could say, ‘ Here’s a guy from California.’ I didn’t want to give them ammunition to use against the Democrats. That was probably my biggest reason for not going. I don’t want to be a negative. I want to be a positive.”
MacDonald said his intent, besides encouraging voter turnout, as he did previously, was to do all he could to make sure Warnock and Ossoff win the Jan. 5 election.
“If we don’t win those seats, (Sen.) Mitch McConnell stays majority leader in the Senate — and that affects California,” he said.
The conversation drifted to the Nov. 3 election outcome, and MacDonald said that “America’s experiment” with a candidate lacking prior elective office experience didn’t work.
“It woke up enough Americans to get back to democracy,” he said, adding that the Trump agenda “is not a winning recipe for America.”
Since returning to California on Nov. 6, after adding “6,777 miles, exactly,” he said, MacDonald has been catching up on household chores, doing some phone banking to Georgia, and taking care of Buddy.
“He’s enjoying being home,” said MacDonald. “I’ve taken him on a couple of walks. We’re just settling back into the Vacaville life that we love.”