Outsider making inroads
Bermudez Zimmerman says primary bid achieved its goals
As it became clear Eva Bermudez Zimmerman wasn’t going to pull off an outsider victory in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, she found herself looking out at a sea of supporters with tears in their eyes.
Her own eyes dry, she didn’t bemoan the loss or throw herself a pity party — that’s not her style. “I played the role on election night mostly of consoling others,” Bermudez Zimmerman said Thursday. “When you work that hard and you have so many people looking up to you, of course it’s disappointing. ... But I was a winner from day one.”
Coming from another candidate, it would be a cliche in the truest sense. But in many ways, Bermudez Zimmerman, who prides herself on authenticity, accomplished exactly what she’d hoped since entering the race for lieutenant governor just 48 hours before the state Democratic convention in May.
A longtime activist and union organizer, Bermudez Zimmerman,
“I’m in my early 30s, I’ve got a lot of energy. I’m going to use that energy to organize.” Eva Bermudez Zimmerman
31, pulled in nearly 40 percent of the vote Tuesday, mirroring the support she received at the convention. She challenged a longtime politician in Susan Bysiewicz, the party-endorsed candidate, pushed her further to the left, and brought light to a question that’s plagued the Democratic party across the country: Does the party represent the diversity of its base?
Bermudez Zimmerman is part of a wave of progressive candidates across the country challenging longtime politicians backed by the Democratic party. In most cases — roughly 89 percent of the time, according to a study published this week by Ballotpedia and FiveThirtyEight — the party-endorsed candidates are winning primaries against their more progressive challengers, but not without a fight.
“We were coming in with the least amount of time and I was going up against a 30-year political veteran,” Bermudez Zimmerman said. “There was no reason she shouldn’t have swept the floor with me. I didn’t have the name recognition, but I’m proud of where I went, and I know I have a lot of supporters out there.”
As for whether she’ll run again, Bermudez Zimmrman won’t rule it out, but she never wanted to be a career politician or a career candidate.
For now, she’s focused on November. Bermudez Zimmerman plans to work with local Democratic town committees across the state to help them figure out how to tap into the energy her campaign garnered among young and minority voters, and do what she can to help propel the Democratic tick- et. She wants to focus on improving voter turnout and engaging unaffiliated voters.
“I’m in my early 30s, I’ve got a lot of energy. I’m go- ing to use that energy to organize,” she said, adding, “There’s a lot of town committees that don’t have any idea how to activate voters and they’re just trying to motivate people. Why not go from town to town and say, ‘Here’s best practices, here’s what I learned in my campaign.’ ”
She plans to return to work for the Service Employees International Union next week — as soon as she’s done handwriting 2,000 thank you cards to her volunteers and supporters — and, with her newfound free time, she is taking the lead on organizing a campaign school for people called “I believe that I can win.”
“It’ll be geared for getting people of color engaged in the political process to become campaign managers, to become actually integrated and running for office,” said Bermudez Zimmerman, who is Latina.
Nick Balletto, chairman of the state Democratic party, said the party welcomes outsider candidates like Bermudez Zimmerman, and is glad she’ll continue her involvement with the party.
“We’re a big tent party — we’ve got room for everybody,” Balletto said Thursday. “I’ve known Eva for a long time, and she ran a great race and channeled a lot of excitement. I spoke to her yesterday, and I know that she’s going to continue to be active in our party. There is no doubt she will continue to be a leader in our party and she’s got a bright future ahead.”