WASHINGTON — The leading vote-getter in a general special election for Mississippi's 1st congressional seat is criticizing national Democrats publicly for not endorsing or spending for him to become the first progressive candidate elected to represent the district since it elected Travis Childers in 2008 — with a whole lot of help from Barack Obama.
Walter Howard Zinn Jr., the only Democrat running in the general, says the party hasn't done enough to support him in the runoff against Republican Trent Kelly and that financial support would go a long way toward helping him be competitive on June 2.
"We made it this far without their help," he told BuzzFeed News. "We want to feel like we are being supported."
Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson contributed $2,000, and a grassroots effort with a home in area churches and community centers has taken in nearly $20,000.
But with Zinn's campaign struggling to make it to the finish line, help doesn't appear to be coming from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) or the DNC, both which declined comment for this story. Democrats are in a tricky position; Mississippi is not a state the party wants to spend thousands of dollars on in a House race for a special election with an unproven candidate for what is essentially an 18-month term — and against whom the numbers are stacked.
Together, votes garnered by Zinn and Kelly made up more than a third of the 87,000 votes cast, a low turnout for the district. The other two-thirds of the vote went entirely to other Republican candidates.
It's simple math to assume that the district is just too Republican and Kelly will coast to victory, but Zinn says Democrats are wrong.
"They haven't polled me," Zinn, a 34-year-old attorney and political operative, told BuzzFeed News. "They polled two potential candidates before the race started, so they have little data. Most importantly the small amount [we] requested is insignificant for the potential return on such a small investment, especially when compared to what is typically required in this kind of race."
Zinn recently took to social media to prove his point.
"You know why [Mississippi] is a red state?" the meme says, a picture of an all-red drawing of Mississippi with a blue star in the middle. "Because the national Democratic Party doesn't support our candidates."
A second post, which appears to have been deleted from Zinn's Facebook page, featured a picture of a black man holding a contemplative pose: "So I'm supposed to vote for Hillary….but the Democratic party doesn't support Walter Zinn in Mississippi…."
"I doubt the party is happy," a volunteer consultant said.
Zinn claims he wasn't directly responsible for the memes, even though they were sent via his social pages. "I think it really comes from the frustration of my team," Zinn said. "There's just been no progression. You're just days away from the election, so either you're going to do something or you're not."
Zinn takes a different view of the messages levied at national Democrats.
"It's not a criticism of national Democrats, it's a request for help," Zinn said. "We have loyal Democrats here and are frustrated with the lack of help for an attractive candidate that could win with their help.
"My opponent is weak, underwhelming and under-qualified. [Naturally] people would like to see some support."
In addition to the issues with national Democrats, Zinn has had trouble just engaging his opponent: Kelly did not participate in a debate this week and skipped an interview with the candidates. In the 15-minute interview, Zinn appeared alone in front of the communion table that displays the words of Jesus: "Do this in remembrance of me."
Meanwhile, the Clarion-Ledger reported that Kelly was getting support in Washington via a fundraiser from prominent Mississippi Republicans, including Sens. Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran and Reps. Steven Palazzo and Gregg Harper.
"They just think Kelly is going to roll over this guy," one Washington-based Democrat watching the race said of his own party.
Messages to the Congressional Black Caucus and to the Congressional Black Caucus PAC went unreturned Wednesday.
In the unlikely case he were to beat Kelly, he'd join Thompson of Jackson as the only black members of Congress from one of the most densely black populations in the country.