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Why This Matters [1]

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Date: 2024-09-30

Ever hear of Belvidere, Illinois?

If you watched the last State of the Union address by President Biden you have indeed heard of it, because the President mentioned Belvidere three times in his address. So why is Belvidere important? And why should you care?

"It is exceptional. It's the one singular story," said University of Illinois professor Dr. Robert Bruno, an industry expert and author, told CBS 2. "It is truly the lone case in American economic and labor history." www.cbsnews.com/...

The Republicans in charge simply let Stellantis walk out the door — no fuss, no fight, no anything — to leave their huge plant idle, where it will sit empty until at least 2026. President Biden saved Belvidere from destruction by poor local policies, produced by an entrenched legislative board, which has held power in Boone County for more than 40 years.

But the Republican stranglehold on policy here might be about to change. For the first time in more than four decades, there are five Democrats running for the County Board, when there hasn’t been that many Democrats elected to the County Board in roughly the same time frame.

Flip it for Joe & Kamala

As the only town featured in Mr. Biden’s SOTU address, my fellow local Democrats and I feel an imperative to win this county to honor the President’s efforts on behalf of our community, and to flip this area for Mrs. Harris so we can potentially add a Congressional seat during the midterms in 2026 for her. Given that we have seen the power one House vote can make, I feel this is an excellent objective — more on that in a minute.

But at the root of it all is the desire to see this County turn Blue. It would be a terrible shame if we didn’t do our utmost to flip this county as a way to honor Mr. Biden for being the (checks notes) ***FIRST PRESIDENT EVER!!!*** to walk a union picket line. President Biden has given us Belvidere back, and in doing so, has given the middle class in America the best chance we’ve had to move towards economic equality since Reagan first shoved our country towards oligarchy.

“So Red It Can Be Scary”

These are the words I was told by the Boone County Democratic Chair when I first started to explore my run. But when I went to gather signatures to get on the ballot, though, I saw something different. I didn’t have a list of houses with Democrats to go to, I just went knocking on doors. As I wandered around my district, person after person said to me, “Democrat? Really? It's about time.” I couldn’t believe it, there were so many!

Boone County is mostly farms, so there is a lot of Republican entrenchment surrounding Belvidere. But the farmers, who would vote Republican if Beelzebub himself were on the ballot, only represent about 15% of the population. To win, we need only one thing here — to get out the vote.

GOTV

We can flip Boone County. We have a once in a generation chance to do it THIS YEAR because of all the national issues driving the vote. I do not believe we will get such a chance again in my lifetime.

Because the farmers own all the land next to the roads connecting our county, it is almost impossible to get any signs out there — even farmers who are Democrats won’t let you place them, for fear of retaliation, and the few that will allow it often call a few days later asking for them to be removed because they’ve gotten an earful from neighbors, from family, and even from local officials.

So, what can we do to get out the vote, then? How can we let the citizens of Boone County know we five candidates exist, and that they need to vote, need to bring a friend or family member with them to the polls, and to vote, dagnabbit, vote?

Tah-Dah!!!

Meet the digital billboard (officially known as Lamar Panel # 35802/TAB # 14924408 / Panel # 2051/TAB # 14924409) that lives at the edge of Boone County, just a few miles down the road from Belvidere as you are coming into town from Rockford (the 3rd largest city in Illinois, incidentally), that some 47,000 - 65,000 cars pass every day.

This digital billboard can’t be taken down by angry Republicans!

Our strategy to flip Boone County is simple — advertise as a group on bigger issues, such as women’s rights, that will get out the vote. And then go old school — knock on as many doors as we can and engage our constituents on local issues like the Stellantis plant closing and the delay in breaking ground on the new facility, because people truly want us to connect with their lives, not just be an echo-chamber for their fears.

This billboard can make all of the difference in this election for the five Democrats willing to put themselves out there to advocate for the changes we need here, in the midst of this very red area. And there is another reason for us to get this billboard, beyond winning the county.

I live in Adam Kitzinger’s old Congressional district (IL-16), currently being held by Darrin LaHood, Republican, extremist, Trump-loving wannabe. He is running unopposed this year, because there is nobody around here willing to take him on. But...if we can flip Boone County, the 16th Congressional District can be a whole different story in 2026. Outside of Chicago and some medium-sized towns located mid-State, most of Illinois is deep Red — so every win here really counts towards keeping Illinois reliably Blue.

When You See A Good Fight — Get In It

Yes, you guessed it, we need your help. Our campaigns are underfunded, our Democratic Central Committe is on life support, and while you don’t know me — I know you, Kossacks.

I have been reading this site for years, I’ve seen you rally around fellow Democrats, candidates, and this community. There is no online community quite like this one anywhere; it is because of this that I am asking for your help — and because this fight is a really, really good fight.

The five of us running for Boone County Board are down-ballot candidates in races people generally don’t spend a lot of time talking about, this is true. However, it is these very races which form the weave and weft of the fabric which ultimately is our Democracy; the importance of down ballot races to our Democracy should not be overlooked.

You’ve got plenty of other things to spend your money on, and nearly every politician in the country has their hands out right now. I mean, come on — you’d think the Democratic President breathing life back into Belvidere would flip this county instantly to Blue! But...it didn’t — so I hope you will join the fight and help us flip Boone County.

How You Can Help

We need to raise $4500 to pay for the billboard, which will show our ads for 10 seconds, every 60-80 seconds (depending on how many other ads are in rotation), for a month straight — and no Republican will be able to take them down. The PAC Democrats for a Better Boone County is handling funds for our GOTV and group advertising efforts, and you can donate to them here: secure.actblue.com/…

And...if you wish, you can donate to my campaign, here: secure.actblue.com/…

Thank You So Much!

I appreciate you hearing me out, and I appreciate this site for providing a place to folks like me who are drawn to serve, who just want to do the right thing for their family, community, and country.

Real quick, my personal reason for becoming a candidate — just over two years ago, my wife and I finally had two granddaughters, after 15 years of having only our awesome grandsons. The girls were born just about the same time Roe fell...and I knew I could not stand on the sidelines while I watched their rights being stripped away, their lives endangered, and their legal standing being diminished instead of moving towards equality. I had toyed with the idea of running for office for years; these two little girls were the final push I needed to do it, because they deserve to grow up free — just as everyone does.

Due to the importance of this issue, I held a Women’s Rights rally in Belvidere earlier this month — here is the only press we managed to get — but it's very good!

Thank you, everyone! And good luck to us all, this November!

Daniel Dupree

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