Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

Every year, state Democratic Party organizations across the US hold ‘Jefferson-Jackson dinners’ – fundraising events attended by local party officials and activists, or, as one attendee at this year’s Wyoming dinner put it, “a group of rejects and rabble-rousers”.

Some of Wyoming's big sky

Thanks to funding from State Representative Stan Blake, the UW College Democrats were able to get a table at the dinner and so, in two cars, we set off for Rock Springs – a town known for its history of coal mining, union organizing and for being generally more Democratic. The three-hour drive included part of the same route as we had taken on the trip to Yellowstone and I saw more Pronghorn Antelope and red rock formations. We stayed at the Outlaw Inn, which is a Best Western, but makes a bit of an effort with its Wild West theming – you can read about outlaws that came from Rock Springs, there are various cowboy paintings and cushions in the rooms and, my personal favorite, a display of different kinds of barbed wire used to fence the west.

The theme of the dinner was workers and unions and we heard some really good, inspirational speeches. Democrats here know we face an uphill battle, but with some hard work, we should be able to get Albany County (where Laramie is) and Sweetwater County (where Rock Springs is) to go blue again at the next election, and may be able to extend our success further. You’ve got to dream, right? I got to meet lots of people in the state party and many state officials and politicians would like the College Democrats’ help in the coming months, so that should be good. By the end of the evening, I had sore cheeks from all the smiling, but it was a really good night and a great trip.