Even the pandemic can not stop the volunteer momentum of  the Forsyth County Democratic Party.  People have stepped up to meet the challenges we face and to do that with the safety protocol required.  Since August volunteers from across the county have turned out for door hanger drops in several of our low turn out precincts in East Winston.  As of this moment, we have distributed approximately 3,500 door hangers. And we still have 5 more drops scheduled!   

Our precinct chairs have been incredibly helpful, offering insight and leading us forward.   Along the way,  we have had great conversations, handed out voter registrations and encouraged our voters to turn out.  Every precinct has been different and offered lessons on how to do this better.  The one constant has been the determination of our volunteers.  This is the energy that turns the tide!  

The African American Caucus of Forsyth County has spent numerous days in the month of August serving the members of unorganized precincts in Forsyth County. During these Voter Engagement Canvassing events, members have shared candidate literature and voting information with unorganized precincts in the Northeast, Southeast, and East wards. Even on rainy days, the African American Caucus have not stopped serving the community.

​Keep up the great work!

On Friday, August 14, Forsyth Democrats gathered on the plaza at the upper end of Bailey Park for a photo op with their "United For Biden" signs as part of Presidential Nominee Joe Biden's Signs Across America campaign. The participants showed up with their favorite Biden swag, including Joe's signature aviator look, to show their enthusiasm for Joe Biden's presidential campaign.

The Signs Across America Campaign traveled through Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina before reaching North Carolina. After leaving North Carolina, the campaign traveled through Virginia and onto Michigan in time for the Democratic National Convention. We are proud that Forsyth County Democrats took part in such a nationwide campaign to support our next President of the United States, Joe Biden.

Here are a few pictures:

The Forsyth County Democratic Party's Communications Committee recently launched "Don't Boo, Vote!", a weekly Facebook Live series where one special guest is interviewed each week for the Facebook community. Each special guest is typically asked to give their take on a variety of political issues, anywhere from the economy to the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, host Jordan Lee provides his take on those political issues as well. This back and forth dialogue makes for must-watch live streamed content!

The Facebook Live weekly series has been fortunate already to have guests such as young political activist Drew Skilton, activist and precinct chair Kerry Peay, First Chair of the Democratic Women of NC Elizabeth Goodwin, Director of the Innocence and Justice Clinic at Wake Forest Law Mark Rabil, and FCDP Third Vice Chair, Jon McLamb. We have also been fortunate to have Sixth Congressional District Candidate Kathy Manning and Mayor Pro Tempore D.D. Adams. 

"Don't Boo, Vote!" airs every Sunday afternoon. This upcoming Sunday, we are interviewing Rhonda Foxx, former Sixth Congressional District candidate and chief of staff to Congressmember Alma Adams. After that, we have Quamekia Shavers, the president of the Young Democrats of Forsyth County!

If you are not able to watch at that time, no worries! All videos remain posted to our Facebook Page and are uploaded to our Youtube Channel, so you do not have to miss a single episode!

President Barack Obama, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, announced endorsements of 118 candidates in the United States. Of those 118 candidates, two were Forsyth County Democrats. Those two candidates are Terri LeGrand and Dan Besse.

Terri LeGrand is a candidate for state senate, and Dan Besse is a candidate for N.C. House of Representatives. Both candidates hope to win their respective seats, so that Democrats can gain control of the N.C. Legislature.

With the redistricting of the North Carolina legislative map for the 2020 general election, these districts have become more competitive for Demoracts to win. Some experts even say that winning these seats will ensure that one or both chambers of the NC General Assembly flip from red to blue. 

Congratulations, Terri and Dan! We cannot wait to vote for y'all this November!

On Monday, July 27, The Protecting Our Community Program team, along with Democrats from Precinct 504, handed out masks and hand sanitizers to the Forsyth County community at the Food Lion located at 1000 Waughton Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27107. These volunteers also took the opportunity to register new voters and sign up new volunteers.

Several auxiliaries of the Forsyth County Democratic Party were represented by members of their respective groups, including the African American Caucus of Forsyth County and the Progressive Democrats of Forsyth County. Candidate for District Judge, Whit Davis, also volunteered at this event. As always, Kerry Peay, the founder of the Protecting Our Community Program, was in attendance.

A special thanks to Progressive Democrats Vice Chair, Cheryl Malaguti, and the Progressive Democrats Treasurer, Gabe Malaguti, for securing the Food Lion as the location for voter outreach and mask giveaways. We would also like to thank Ellen Lowdermilk for showing her support by bringing the volunteers baked goods. 

If you are a precinct leader and would like to set up a Protecting Our Community Program event in your precinct, please email the Progressive Democrats at fcprogress@yahoo.com. Here are some photos for the event:

The Forsyth County Democratic Party has made tremendous progress in reaching folks in the community over the past few months. This election year, the emphasis has been placed on our phone banking efforts, since it allows for political activism from the safety of our homes. Here are some of the highlights of these phone banking efforts: 

• FCDP has recruited over 100 new volunteers through phonebanking.
• Precinct 902 has completed their phonebank.
• Precinct 122, one of the most important precincts due to the high number of Democrats in it, has completed about 50% of its phonebank. 
• Gull Riaz, a member of FCDP and candidate for County Commissioner, has personally made over 600 calls!!

Thank you everyone for your efforts so far. If you would like to join our phone banking efforts, sign up for phonebank training here: ​https://www.mobilize.us/forsythcountydems/ 

Over the past few months, the Forsyth County Democratic Party's Communications Committee has been hard at work, providing necessary information to those in the Forsyth community and beyond. No group has been working harder than the Graphics Design team.

The Graphic Design team currently consists of three members: Olivia Santiago, Ryan Howard, and Todd Echols. During their time on the team, they have created graphic design templates, enhanced our current portfolio of graphics, and created unique and fun graphics for use in delivering FCDP content. When asked why they volunteer for the Forsyth County Democratic Party Communications Committee, here is what they said:

Olivia Santiago: "[I am] a young entrepreneur that volunteers to help create pathways for the new generation. The Forsyth County Democratic Party is one of my outlets!"

Ryan Howard: "I was excited to help spread the messages that matter most across our party and believe the Dem platform lends itself to the progressive changes our country needs. When I can, I like to help make seemingly complicated policies on voting information succinct, eye catching, and easy-to-digest."

Todd Echols: "I volunteer because I want to help elect Democratic leaders who will work to improve the lives of the people in Forsyth County."

Thank you for your hard work!

On Monday, June 29, the Forsyth County Democratic Party showed that the Democratic Party is the party of life. 

Several members of the Forsyth County Democratic Party provided masks and hand sanitizer to individuals in the Forsyth County community. They also handed out absentee vote by mail ballot request forms and spoke to these individuals about how important it is to vote in this year's election. Kerry Peay, the President of the Forsyth County Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, spearheaded the event, in conjunction with several other FCDP auxiliaries.The event took place outside of the FCDP Headquarters (1128 Burke Street).

This event was the first in a series where members of FCDP will be handing out masks and other supplies essential to surviving COVID-19, as part of the Protecting Our Community Initiative. If you would like to get involved, email the Forsyth County Progressive Democrats. Here are several photos from the event:

With 132 calls and 32 canvasses made this week, Shari Burrell is our Phonebank Champion of the week! 

​Here is a statement that Shari wrote, explaining why she believes in phonebanking:

"Because we could not have more at stake and limited ways to reach out to people, I will be phonebanking every week. If I am to be honest, this has always been my least favorite thing to do. However, over the course of these last three weeks, I have had many wonderful conversations. People very much appreciate our efforts to reach out to them, to get them forms, to let them know how they can vote safely, to hear their concerns, as well as, their resolve to stand in line as an act of resistance to voter suppression. Even though the majority of calls are not answered, the connections we do make are vital. They build a necessary foundation to our democracy. I will continue to reach out to our voters and ask each of you to join our effort."

If you would like to get involved in our phonebanking efforts, start by signing up for phonebank training. Since May 19, the Forsyth County Democratic Party has held 20 trainings and trained 120 unique individuals.