After the 2016 election, Teresa Hasbrook decided to channel her frustration with the direction of the country and get active. The Rush City Democrat helped start a group for women who share her progressive views. Members spent the 2018 midterms writing thousands of postcards and knocking on doors for Democrats in Minnesota’s Republican-leaning Chisago County. Earlier this year, the women gathered at a local library to decide their goals for 2020 and beyond. Reaching a consensus was easy: Everyone saw combating climate change as a top concern.
“We knew we had an ethical, moral responsibility to our children,” said Hasbrook, a 67-year-old retiree. “We need to act fast and we need to take this stuff seriously. We’ll be all over this like a rash.”
Perennial campaign issues like the economy, health care and immigration have long driven voters to the polls. But, in the face of growing international concern about the planet’s future, climate change and the environment are emerging as key concerns among voters such as Hasbrook.
View the complete April 22 article by Torey Van Oot on The Star Tribune website here.