I think there’s a balance to be struck here. You can’t completely neglect in-person campaigning. Getting your name out there is important, and voters should get to know you, but you also do need to fundraise in order to be a viable candidate, especially in a large state like NC.
The other thing not pointed out is that Jackson’s social media savvy could have been a very effective way of getting a lot of small-dollar donations. I could easily see him raking in a couple million from a well-timed viral video.
Precisely -- Jackson was clearly angling to run in the vein of Beto O'Rourke 2018, which was a pretty effective strategy! He even had a substantial online following among more plugged-in Democrats prior to 2020, which I don't think was the case for O'Rourke.
I don't love Jeff Jackson -- the guy clearly wants to be president and is a bit slimy in person because he oozes ambition -- but you can't deny his political skill. He clearly would have been a better candidate than Cal Cunningham lol, and that's even a Cal Cunningham who kept his pants on.
The NC Democratic party doesn't have the deepest bench in the world -- and it was a bit worse in 2019 -- but there are a decent number of reasonably qualified and competent Democrats in the legislature who could have made strong 2020 candidates, in addition to Jackson. But Schumer and DSCC cleared the field for a failed Senate candidate and a guy who had been out of politics for about a decade.
