Democrats should stop obsessing over the foolish, petty fights that dominate cable news, says former state senator Daniel Squadron. With just over 60 days left before the midterm elections, he says, the most effective way for rank-and-file voters to fight Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda is by focusing on local races.

“For many people, their engagement with politics comes through either the culture or national media sources. The stories and the personalities are so much greater there that they end up sort of defining the conversation,” Squadron told me. “I think that’s part of a real undermining of democracy because if we’re being honest, regular people at that level might be spectators to a circus, but they’re not participants in the outcome.”

More activists, says Squadron, should pivot from the White House to the statehouse, as even small victories in far-flung districts can lead to lasting change. “Once you get just a little behind the curtain, suddenly you’re in the game, whether you’re a candidate, advocate, or just a person who’s really upset by your social-media feed,” he says. (Our full conversation is online at You Decide, my podcast.)

Squadron made a career-defining bet on this idea by resigning from a safe seat in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in 2018 to co-found the States Project, which is targeting high-impact races in a dozen states. In Michigan, where the national media is obsessed with the U.S. Senate race pitting Dr. Abdul El-Sayed against former representative Mike Rogers, the States Project is........

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