90 Days to Go: Local Races, Big Issues, and the Road to November

With just 90 days until Election Day, Natalie MacDonald and Brian Koehl break down the latest political developments in Northern Kentucky, across the Commonwealth, and on the national stage. They discuss volunteer opportunities, grassroots organizing efforts, and how listeners can connect with local Democratic organizations through county party resources.

The conversation turns to key local issues, including the ongoing controversy surrounding Flock surveillance cameras in Independence, Kentucky, and the growing debate over data centers and their impact on energy costs, jobs, and environmental policy. Natalie and Brian also highlight candidates focused on transparency and civic education as communities prepare for major future development.

On the national front, they examine the closely watched Michigan Democratic Senate primary between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens, exploring what the razor-thin result reveals about the evolving balance between progressive and moderate forces within the Democratic Party. Despite ideological differences, both hosts emphasize the importance of party unity heading into November.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Blue Dot, Northern Kentucky's premier political podcast, brought to you by the Kenton County Democratic Executive Committee. Well, welcome back to the Blue Dot Podcast for our weekly roundup where we deliver you all the news you need to know in ten minutes or less. Thanks so much for joining. I'm Natalie McDonald.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

And I'm Brian Cale. This week marks 90 days until Election Day, and things are heating up on the local scene with our candidates hitting the pavement and knocking on doors, and campaign teams and supporters across northern Kentucky holding house parties, canvassing events, and social gatherings to provide exposure for the candidates and raise funds. There are plenty of ways to get involved as we get closer to Election Day.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Yeah, it is right around the corner. And while we focus a lot on northern Kentucky, we have listeners from all across the bluegrass and beyond. So I wanted to point to the Kentucky Democrats website at KYDemocrats.org. They have a really great feature there where they have one central place to find all information for each county. So all you have to do is go there, click on the about menu at the top of the page, and then select your county, and it'll take you right to that county's website for all the information you need to know on how to get involved near you.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Yeah, that's a great resource. And you know, we are in crunch time, and we need an army of volunteers to knock on doors, do lit drops, write postcards, phone bank, assist with registration drives. There are a number of ways to help. If you feel a little uncertain about putting yourself out there, or you're just simply procrastinating, just take a look at daily headlines, which are dominated by the corruption of Trump and his cronies, the incompetence of this administration, and the complete and absolute surrender of the Republican Party to one of history's most malignant con men, Donald J. Trump. Your effort over these next 90 days could be the difference between another two years of abuse and destruction by Trump and the Republicans, or a House and Senate under Democratic control and the beginning of the end of this GOP crime spree.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Gosh, I sure hope so. And you know what? We have still not heard from Senator Mitch McConnell. Gosh, you know, our local representatives continue to lack transparency on every issue, but especially including this one. So representatives Kim Moosier, Steve Doane, and Stephanie Dietz, all who have Democratic challengers, have been so quiet, not only about this, but pretty much everything. Well, except for D, he's been touting his Maha endorsement. So way to go on that, Steve. Um, but I, you know, Brian, I think they just don't want to be associated with anything related to the Republicans' platform right now. You know, right now it seems like that platform is just existing to flow money into the pockets of the 1%, the corporate leaders, and the rest of the Epstein class. Meanwhile, Democrats are actually striving to help average citizens achieve the American dream through policies like pre-K for all, stronger public schools, well-paid teachers, data center regulations to prevent electricity price hikes and protect the environment. And then there's, of course, the fiscal responsibility piece so that we can protect programs like Medicaid and Snap, affordable housing as well. So, you know, they're not out there talking about these things. In fact, they are consistently talking about silly things like calling Democrats socialists or comedies and uh beating that same anti-trans DEI drum. They just won't let that one go either.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah, it just it's unbelievable how they're just avoiding the topics that people really care about. And, you know, we really do have important matters for which we'll need Democrats to have a seat at the table in Frankfurt. The City of Independence is back in the news this week, for instance, as they continue to shine a light on the showdown around flock cameras. They'll be holding a public meeting on August 17th. And while the community has been loud and clear that they do not want flock cameras, the Independence Police Department, on the other hand, has been using the devices since 2023, and there are currently 20 devices approved for use throughout the city.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah, this is definitely going to be a big issue moving forward. And I'm not sure if you saw it, but Link NKY published a really great piece this week documenting all 101 flock cameras in northern Kentucky, where they were located, and the cost of each one of them.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Yes, I saw that, and it's a great article. I mean, kudos to Link NKY for really doing the work on this controversial issue. 30 separate agencies within Northern Kentucky's three counties have purchased cameras. Link NKY also provides links to the camera contracts for each agency, which is really interesting. This is great detailed information for those who really want to dig into this topic. You know, flock cameras and the software, they're powered by AI, and AI is powered by data centers. And data centers remain one of the top concerns of Kentuckians as well as citizens across the country. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers came out this week in a support of data centers in Kentucky. And while we have talked about how we can move forward with data centers in a responsible way across the Commonwealth, Stivers is arguing that there are no problems, we don't have to worry about pollution or cost, and that these centers will bring large numbers of good paying jobs. Of course, he didn't really back any of that up with fact. It's just more that, trust me, bro, tactics by the Republicans that lack transparency.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

That's right. And again, you look at the two parties here, they're vastly different. And as you mentioned, you know, we've had lots of conversation on this topic. And if our audience wants to really know some facts behind the data centers, both pro and con, you might want to check out our podcast that dropped earlier this week with Kentucky State Representative Adam Moore from District 45. And he's really a data center expert. He's leading legislation on this issue for the upcoming 2027 legislative session. And um, you know, data centers are just one of the future developments that are set to take place in our region. And it's fantastic that we have all of this thriving and growing um expansion, but we need it to be responsible and we need transparent leadership for that. So, for instance, locally, I love what Kenton County Commissioner District One candidate Sarah Frelich is doing. She's putting out all of these educational content pieces like her Kenton County 101 series. And these are really answering a lot of questions that our community may have about the county and its structure and and other things that are really, really important to have strong leadership on.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Right. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that we the people want. Poll after poll is showing that Americans strongly disapprove of the job the Republicans are doing. It all trickles down from the top. Trump is underwater 30 points or more on the economy, on fighting inflation, on the Iran war, and on his overall performance. And we are starting to see some cracks in his hold on Republicans in Congress.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Little tiny cracks. And uh this we want them bigger. Oh, exactly. And uh and it just depends on who has a spine there. Um but uh the stage is really almost set for November on a national level. There are a handful of primaries yet to happen, but one of the biggest took place this week in Michigan, where the hotly contested U.S. Senate Democratic primary between progressive candidate Abdul I Syed and current Representative Haley Stevens was too close to call well into the evening, but El Sayed pulled out the win in the end.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Yeah, this was an amazingly hard-fought battle that sometimes got pretty heated. El Sayed really attacked Stevens for the nearly $30 million her campaign pulled in from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or APAC, which is making a lot of news, and its affiliated groups. While Stevens tried to downplay somewhat the huge amounts of money, funneled her way from pro-Israel organizations, she did openly state that the U.S. needed to continue to aid Israel. El Sayed, on the other hand, termed Israel's war in Gaza as genocide and also emphasized throughout his campaign that he took no corporate or super PAC money. Polls indicated a double-digit lead for El Sayed at election time, but he ended up just barely defeating Stevens by a single point or about 15,000 votes out of a total of 1.5 million votes cast.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah, that is incredible. And it kind of speaks to the reality that we're seeing right now of the progressive versus moderate divide in the Democratic Party. And in this case, uh with the Michigan race, they were almost equal in strength, which was really interesting to see in a state like Michigan.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

That's right. I mean, the progressive faction in the party back in the back in the day, you know, the Bernie Sanders days, is no longer that loud 20% or 30% of the party. Progressivism seems to have equal or greater appeal within the party as the centrist view at this moment in time.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, and while we're far from experts on this topic, right.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

But we'll act like it.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

We're gonna act like it. We're gonna play one on a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

But you know, we we are pretty advid political observers, and I think this ascension of the progressive wing could be explained by two factors. So, first of all, there's this backlash of the crushing corruption of the Trump era and this ever-widening wealth gap in our country between the haves and the have nots. And then two, young Democrats are asserting themselves. They're gaining power and developing their agenda. So younger voters are flatly rejecting much of the business as usual politics of the last several decades, and they are making their voices heard.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah, I mean, those are great insights, Nat. I mean, uh, and I totally agree that it seems the generational handoff that is happening in the Democratic Party finally, I might add, is bringing with it more progressive beliefs in the role of government. And I'm all for bright, hardworking people bringing all sorts of new ideas and innovation into their policy development. But hey, I I just don't want Democrats as a whole to forget what we are fighting for. We need to keep our eye on the prize. We are fighting a potentially existential battle come November, and we need to stay united and be all hands on deck to vote Republicans out of power.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah, I think that united piece is very important because what we saw in this Michigan race was both El Sayed and Stevens said that they would support the other candidate if they lost. And that's exactly what Stevens did. She came out, she endorsed El Sayed in her concession speech, and then she also caught him to offer her full support. So together, you know, we're gonna we're gonna really make some change happen here.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yeah, much stronger together. And that's you know, that attitude, that's exactly what we need to see, that's exactly what we need to do. Fight hard in the primary, but remember who our ultimate adversary is and bring it all as a team to win in November.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Yes, and we need to get the vote out to do all of that. And again, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. So I wanted to highlight just a few of the local canvassing opportunities before we run out of time today. So the Kenton County Commissioner candidates are continuing to have joint canvases, which will continue through the month. They'll be meeting at Pride Park, which is in Taylor Mill, Kentucky, um, all throughout the month. So they'll be there August 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, and 16th. So they're really putting in the work here for those uh for those receipts. And then Aaron Current, who is running for House District 65, will be canvassing in Austinburg from 6:30 to 8:30 on August 10th and 17th. And then to round it out, we got Will Ann Stangle for House District 69. She'll be launching her canvassing events at Spring Valley Park from 5 30 to 7 30 on the 19th and 26th of August, as well as September 2nd.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

I mean, wow, yeah, that's great. This is grassroots organizing at its best. We the people are showing up.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

And again, that's just Kenton County. So make sure you check out what's going on in your county, and we'll be showing up again next week, right, Brian?

SPEAKER_01 12:17

That's right. We'll be here.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

We'll be here because our ten minutes are up today. Until next time, stay curious, keep the facts in focus, never stop fighting for what matters. Peace out, everybody.