The Bus won 11 of its 12 targeted races on November 4th, and that includes some amazing victories: Judy Stiegler, Brent Barton, Nick Kahl, Greg Matthews and more. Yet one race did not work out for us, and it's one we probably put more energy, work and love into than any other. Jim Gilbert was "the" candidate for many at the Bus. I went to Silverton four different times myself to walk for Jim, and I was not alone in spending that much time there.

So why did we lose this campaign (HD 18) when we won so many other tough races? We won in Bend, we won in East Multnomah County, and we won in Clackamas County. But in this contest that covered rural areas of Clackamas and Marion counties was the one that slipped away.

So, first, the numbers:

In Clackamas County:

Jim Gilbert . . . . . . . . 4,202 42.54
Vic Gilliam . . . . . . . . 5,424 54.91

and in Marion County:

Jim Gilbert . . . . . . . . 4,188 45.75
Vic Gilliam . . . . . . . . 4,956 54.13

(approx. 95% of the ballots counted)

When the Bus walked for Jim, it was in places we could get to: Silverton and Mollala, the only two towns of any size in the district. Yet so many voters live outside of these two areas, and these are counties in which voters tend to be Republican and conservative. For many, the "R" beside the name on the ballot is all they need. We did all we could to get Jim's name and credentials out there, but rural areas are tough for the Bus. We win races by meeting people face-to-face, and when many of the voters are spread across miles of agricultural land, miles from each other, the ability of the Bus to do its basic work is undercut severely. The physical space between voters will continue to hamper efforts by the Bus, Dems and others on the "left" to engage these voters in a conversation that can begin the process of changing hearts and minds.

So do we give up on rural Oregon? How can we extend the work of the Bus, and the Obama campaign for that matter, another organization with so much strength in face-to-face politics, to areas where simply being able to have a chat with a voter is so difficult? Do we concentrate on the towns and cities and let the rural areas to their own devices? Wait for them to see the world is changing around them and hope they, or their children, wise-up and join the modern world?

There has to be ways to demonstrate what progressivism is to these people, but it's likely it will take time, and results, before we'll see the beginnings of changes. When these voters see Democrats fixing the state and not raising taxes in the horrible ways they fear, when they see their own lives improving under Democratic governments, when they find the Republicans they voted for do little more than obstruct and stall, then they will begin to understand that people like Jim Gilbert are their true representatives. It's going to take a while, but I believe over the next four years, we'll see that process really get rolling.

And in the meantime, we do need to find ways to extend our conversations beyond the town and city neighborhoods to the farms and tiny towns across rural Oregon. I wish I knew the logistical answer, but since I don't, I'll have to wait to learn from groups who do. I expect part of the answer will be to simply let the progressives in rural areas lead the way and just give them the support they seek. I can do that. But I'm also willing to do more.