MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — As the Democratic Party fights to maintain their majority status in Monongalia County, their leader reports a lot of energy.

On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Monongalia County Democrat Executive Committee Chairman Cal Carlson said he is the leader of the Democrat stronghold in the state. Carlson, the second youngest committee chairman in the state, also has leadership roles in other Democrat organizations statewide that have a national footprint.

“We’re really fortunate in Monongalia County because we have three Democratic delegates, and we share a Democratic state senator,” Carlson said. “I’m also the chair of the West Virginia Democratic Chair Association, picked unanimously by my colleagues.”

One year ago this week, Carlson was part of the West Virginia delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Despite the outcome of the election, he said there’s been a great deal of energy locally and on the national stage. The party needs to transfer that energy to the ground in Monongalia County, where they maintain a voter registration advantage of less than 1,000 registered voters.

“The election obviously didn’t go our way,” Carlson said. “But the energy and excitement I’ve seen from the Democratic Party, not just in Mon County but nationally and statewide—there really is a movement growing.”

The West Virginia Young Democrats have been rechartered, and Olivia Dowler has been selected as the interim president of the group. Dowler and Carlson recently traveled to Philadelphia for the 2025 Young Democrats of America National Convention, where he served as the interim national committeeman.

“It’s a really great opportunity for young Democrats between the ages of 14 and 35 to get involved with the party and others in the same age bracket,” Carlson said.

As chairman of the state Democratic County Chairs, Carlson has been traveling the state and meeting with party leaders and supporters across the state. Those interactions have shown him there are many that have been negatively impacted by the initial months of the Trump administration and the GOP-dominant state legislature.

“I’ve been traveling around the state, and I travel to a lot of deep red areas of the state, and what I’ve found since the election is these folks are fired up,” Carlson said. “These folks are the ones who have experienced the DOGE cuts and a lot of the ramifications of the supermajority in the legislature.”

The West Virginia Federation of Democrat Women will hold their 61st Annual Meeting September 19-21, 2025, at the Holiday Inn on Pineview Drive in Morgantown. Carlson hopes to see current and new members at the event.

“This is a really great opportunity for Democratic women and men to gather with folks from around the state to hear from local leaders and Democratic women leaders,” Carlson said. “It’s a really great opportunity to gather before the winter starts and the legislative session starts.”