Friends,

From my text messages the last week:

"I'm nervous."
"I'm just sick of all of it."
"I have zero idea how we move forward. Got any ideas?" [Yes.]
"Finding middle ground won't happen until the hate stops being the primary focus of the conversation."

Sound familiar?

Americans are tired of the division, tired of the ads, completely worn out and can't see a way forward. And I have some good news for you... some of that should taper off after Tuesday. :) (And yes, some is going to take a while to fix.)

Elections stir up big feelings. But so do vows, and oaths, and pledges.

Anybody else addicted to The Diplomat on Netflix? One of the lines that's lived rent free in my head is, "I swore an oath to protect the Constitution. When I said those words, it was a commitment, not a poem." ("For worse for worse" is kind of resonating lately too.)

I've never been in a position to swear to uphold the Constitution but I have said the Pledge of Allegiance about a zillion times. That's the oath I lean into. 

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands

one nation, under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

We host the Purple Party on the second Saturday after the election every year on purpose. We don't know what's going to happen. And that's the point -- no matter who wins or loses, our aim will still be the same. 

The challenge of planning is that many people wait until the results come in before deciding if they want to come to a party. I get it. "I'm only here because I'm on the board," was what one person said to me at our first Purple Party in 2024. And I literally got hate mail for promoting a Party that year. (Seriously.)

So if you're feeling fear or anxiety, I'm asking you to lean in to your vows and commitments and pledges. If you're in Minnesota, come to the Purple Party and help us celebrate public service. Get your ticket - make that commitment - today. Use the party as something to look forward to. You might be feeling negative when you arrive, but I vow to help you feel better by the end of the night.

Do brave things,

Shannon

p.s. Have you voted yet? If not, make a plan. (I'm a day-of voter myself.) Don't skip it. Too many races are decided by close margins.

p.p.s. I get asked a lot where I get information on voting. See below for the ones I recommend.

Shannon Watson

Founder & Executive Director

Need Voting Info? Here Are Some Resources:

LAWS AND RULES

Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State

Minnesota League of Women Voters Vote411

VOTER GUIDES/Candidate Questionaires

Journalism Sources:

KAXE Election Guide 
Races include:

• State Constitutional Officials (Governor/Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor)
• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House (Districts 7 & 8)
• State House and Senate (Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11)
• Judicial
• Local (County, City Council, Mayor, School Board, Township, Hospital District)

MPR Build Your Ballot tool (also shared by MinnPost)
Enter your address here and it narrows the information to the candidates who will be on your ballot -- no figuring out which district you're in. Helpful for people who get overwhelmed. 
(One thing I noticed: in my district, the State Senator is running unopposed, so he didn't show up on the tool. If you have less races on your screen than you think you should, that could be why.)

Advocacy Organization source:

(Note: Many advocacy organizations share candidate information, but also indicate endorsements inside their guides. I'm including this one because the information ON candidates comes FROM the candidates, and they keep it separate.)

St Paul Area Chamber East Metro Voter Guide focused on local, county, and legislative races that occur in Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties.

OPINION

Instead of the paper issuing endorsements, the Star Tribune created a special series. They asked eight writers - some staff, some guests - to make their strongest affirmative cases for candidates in four races: Governor, U.S. Senate, Attorney General, Hennepin County Attorney. The guideline I liked best? The writers were barred from including personal attacks on the opposing candidate. (Finally!)

An announcement we're thrilled to share:

our Purple Party keynote speaker, the one, the only, Pat Kessler!

Pat Kessler is a 50 year veteran of Minnesota's media landscape and an award winning political reporter and commentator. He is currently political analyst for FOX9 Minnesota for the 2026 elections. He is also a long time fixture on the Twin Cities market-leading KFAN sports radio as a political commentator and pop culture pundit.

Pat was Chief Political Reporter for WCCO-TV/CBS in Minneapolis, where he received three Emmys for his groundbreaking political fact-checking franchise "Reality Check".

In 2014 the National Academy of Television Arts voted him the Silver Circle award for lifetime achievement in broadcasting. In 2024, Pat was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

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You can use any of these platforms for giving year-round:

Anedot - our baseline donor platform (same thing you'll find on our website)

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Give to the Max day!

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Majority in the Middle is a 501(c)3, so all donations are tax deductible!

Why we're divided... and what you can do next

If you want to learn more about Why We're Divided, without focusing on specific politicians or candidates running for office now, try viewing our TEDx presentation.

The video can be found on the TED YouTube channel here.

Speaking of Speaking...

If you are part of a business, civic, or community group that would like to have a presentation or a speaker to talk about division, politics, making your advocacy bipartisan, or something similar please reach out to Shannon.

We have ready-made and customizable presentations on topics like:

• Why we're divided and what you can do about it
• How to make your advocacy bipartisan and why you should
• How to lead communities forward after a divisive election season
• Are we funding division, or multiplication?

Speaking engagements coming up:

January 11, 2027 - Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce

ICYMI

I loved this hat tip that Minnesota Reformer editor Patrick Coolican gave to people who run for office in districts with odds stacked against them. 


Speaking of the courage to run for office -- after the results come down, make sure you congratulate the people who lost. Seriously.

Are you nervous about the state of your relationships after election day? Take a second and ask the hard question: what will you need from me?

One Last Thing

We're doing our best to compile the most comprehensive list of people who are serving in an elected office now and will give up that spot at the end of the year. We have a complete list of public servants at the statewide, legislative, and county* levels, but could use some help with city, township and school boards. If you know of someone who isn't running, please submit their name to our Honor Roll.

*Thank you to Jessica and the staff at the Association of Minnesota Counties for their help!

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