Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
We need to modernize and catapult the national Democratic Party, and with an actual rocket scientist.
In 2022, I announced my Democratic candidacy for governor of the Republican-dominated state of Arkansas. I recognized that our odds were slim, but the calls for a better Arkansas could not go unanswered and my Republican opponent, Sarah Huckabee Sanders — crony of Donald Trump — could not go unchallenged.
I love my home state too much to hand it over to a MAGA extremist.
I was elected as the Democratic nominee, the first Black major party nominee for governor of Arkansas. Our grassroots campaign exceeded all expectations, but one thing became evident: the communities where we organized had long been forgotten by the Democratic Party.
We knocked on doors that Democrats hadn’t since Bill Clinton. For decades, the state’s Democrats had allowed Republicans not only to win, but to spread disinformation without any consequences.
To many voters we met, the Democratic Party had walked away from its North Star: Did we make their lives better?
In the wake of President Jimmy Carter’s passing and the legacy he leaves behind, that question has become even more relevant.
The Democratic Party I believe in fights for the working class and fights to give Americans a ladder out of poverty. It takes on the big banks and lifts up small businesses. It has a seat for people of every age, sex, education, occupation, and honest persuasion and focuses on what matters most to them. It invests in families and invests in the future. It understands the role that technology can play in making people’s lives better and helping us win.
As the co-chair of the Dirt Road Democrats – a grassroots organization that invests in rural communities and campaigns across rural America – I see the potential for our party every single day. Our message resonates when we actually communicate it, and when we invest early.
However, while our values remain intact within our party, our actions in recent years have led many voters to doubt the sincerity of our belief in those values. They feel like we have done absolutely nothing for them.
That’s why I announced my candidacy to serve as Vice Chair At-Large of the national Democratic Party. I see a way for us to get back on track.
D.C. politics have never been my thing. I don’t get excited by the nonstop gamesmanship.
I’m a husband, father, ordained minister, Morehouse Man, and MIT-trained nuclear engineer who built rockets at NASA. I also happen to have a Ph.D. in Urban Planning. Advancing science and developing new technologies that uplift the human condition — our health, knowledge, and aspirations — has always been my purpose. And helping others realize their purpose has always been my passion.
Right now, I firmly believe that one core problem within our party is we are in dire need of modernization. Our systems are outdated, and have increasingly let us down. While the MAGA GOP is literally being led by a Tesla, we are hitched to a horse and buggy. And it’s not working.
We waste time and resources — that could be better spent in the field — because we have yet to embrace new and emerging technologies that would streamline our processes. These include understanding voter sentiment, direct voter contact, combatting disinformation, tracking finances, and building our year-round digital campaign infrastructure.
We must modernize and implement collaborative campaigning, to cut back on waste and duplicate efforts across campaigns working in the same geographic area, and to improve the efficiency of fundraising.
An inspired, self-propelled, all-inclusive, realistic and futuristic national Democratic Party.
As a legit rocket scientist, that’s what I propose. If we want to be the leaders of the 21st Century, we must use every tool the 21st century has to offer.
Because here’s the truth: technology is evolving rapidly, and Republicans are also using it against us. They post fake AI content that causes panic and confusion, and they literally control mass communications platforms: X and Truth Social – two platforms that don’t tell the truth.
If we want to win again, we need to get serious. With President Donald Trump and co-President Musk heading back to the White House in only a few weeks, the threats facing our country are real.
We need to modernize and have the technological tools necessary to fight back and organize in the digital age – tools that identify deep-fakes more rapidly, that will engage voters more meaningfully, and that will help us invest in communities earlier.
I believe in the Democratic Party. I believe we are good and decent people who care deeply about our nation. I believe our policies are better for Americans. I also believe that our party is vital in protecting our most basic human rights, amplifying marginalized voices, and ensuring democracy thrives in every state.
In January 1986, I sat in my third-grade classroom watching the NASA Challenger space shuttle launch. Before our very eyes, the shuttle exploded in midair. It was a massive failure of NASA, but I didn’t give up on NASA. I leaned in and I made NASA my dream, because I believed in the mission and I believed I could make a difference.
In November 2024, I sat next to my wife and three daughters, watching the election unfold. Before our very eyes, the unthinkable happened for Democrats. It was a massive failure. But, like my 3rd grade self, I’m not giving up on Democrats. I’m leaning in because I believe in the mission and I believe we can make a difference.
It’s time for Democrats to be, once again, the party of the future – the party that fights today for a better tomorrow for all Americans. And that’s what I intend to realize as Vice Chair.
It’s time to meaningfully engage with our base and do something for them before we again ask them to do something with us.
It’s time to change. It’s time to rebuild, reinvest, and refocus.
Democrats, let’s get to work.
Dr. Chris Jones is a former NASA engineer and candidate for Democratic Party leadership.