Photo by Deb Gau Lyon County DFL Treasurer Tim Buysse gave a report on the party unit’s finances and 2021 fundraising goals during the county convention, held Monday night at Southwest Minnesota State University.

MARSHALL — It’s going to take a lot of work, they said. But members of the Lyon County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party said there was still a chance to grow the party in the next election cycle.

At the county DFL convention Monday night, party members talked about both the challenges of the 2020 and strategy for the future.

“I feel we did a really great job of messaging this past cycle,” said Doria Drost, who ran for Minnesota House of Representatives in District 16A last year. While she and other area Democratic candidates did not win in state races, Drost said they did make some headway. Drost said some voters told her they did not vote a straight Republican ticket in 2020.

“I’m really proud of the Lyon County DFL,” Drost said. She encouraged area DFL members to continue building on the work they did last year.

Members of the Lyon County DFL also elected party officers. Anita Gaul was re-elected as Lyon County chairperson, and Dyna Sluyter was elected as vice chairperson.

“I’m very much looking forward to my duties as vice chair as we grow the Democratic Party in Lyon County,” Sluyter said. “This is the first time I’ve served as vice chair, I previously served as outreach officer for the Lyon County and 7th Congressional District DFL.”

Conventions are an annual event for members of the county DFL unit, Gaul said.

“Usually on even years, those are the big years,” she said. Conventions during election years tend to draw more people because of business like caucuses. In odd-numbered years like 2021, there’s often less to discuss, aside from officer elections and proposed amendments to the county DFL unit’s constitution, she said.

Party members also heard short speeches from Drost and Mindy Kimmel, who ran in House District 16B. Kimmel said the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the campaign trail last year. For example, Kimmel said, she didn’t go door-knocking, for COVID safety.

“That put us at a disadvantage,” she said. But while it wasn’t ideal, “We were able to identify more voters … by being creative.” For example, by paying attention to political lawn signs and social media groups, DFL workers could target their efforts on likely Democratic voters in the area.

Flipping more districts blue in the coming years “will take more than we’ve ever done before,” Kimmel said. “That includes on the off years.” She encouraged party members to talk with their neighbors or consider walking in parades or door-knocking.