Many readers appreciate the powerful impact of Stacey Abrams’ decade-long movement for year-round on-the-ground organizing infrastructure in Georgia. And many other grassroots groups are building such organizing infrastructure in other swing states. But fewer readers may appreciate the remarkable on-the-ground organizing success of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, now spreading to Democratic parties in other states.
Instead of relying on a last-minute assembly of often inexperienced out-of-state organizers, the model relies on local volunteer-led neighborhood teams, supported by professional regional staff to help the entire Democratic effort. The secret is to organize, train, equip and motivate those teams early in the election cycle.
Our organization, 31st Street Swing Left, is focusing support on such state Democratic party infrastructure in Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia. We firmly believe doing it now, and throughout the Spring, is the best available investment to win in November. State parties are grossly underfunded compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars often spent on high profile races.
31st Street partners with the State Party Advancement Network (SPAN). SPAN represents a community of donors committed to working together to build strong and effective state parties. SPAN members recognized the critical infrastructure that well-run, well-funded state parties can provide.
Why such a good investment? The list below identifies major problems with Democratic election campaigns and how we can tackle those weaknesses by the neighborhood team approach.
Boom and Bust Cycle. Campaigns are generally tied to a “boom and bust” cycle, with most action occurring within a few months of the election. That short time span is highly inefficient for staffing, learning, use of resources and relationship-building. Positive impact? A year-round organizing infrastructure is an obvious antidote to that boom-and-bust syndrome.
Separate Siloed Campaigns. Campaigns generally operate as largely separate enterprises. In any state, there may even be hundreds running at the same time. Most states typically have some form of “coordinated” effort, but it is generally very loose and dominated by the top-of-ticket campaign. Result? Massive duplication, lack of coordination, reinventing the wheel, and even competition for resources. Positive impact? The teams support all Democratic candidates concurrently.
Abundant Funding for Top-of-Ticket, but Thin Leftovers Down-Ballot. We Democrats have only recently realized what Republicans have long known - the key to elections and defending our democracy lies down-ballot. The immense value of state legislatures, secretaries of state, attorneys general, judgeships, mayors, and even county commissioners and supervisors, school boards and election officials has become apparent. Yet we see the bulk of funding, indeed hundreds of millions of dollars, spent on US Senate and governors’ races, and many millions for prominent US House races. Positive impact? The teams promote all the Democratic candidates, up and down the ballot. And since volunteers are locally-based, they can focus more effectively on local candidates.
Too Much and Too Late Emphasis on TV. The influence of broadcast TV is declining rapidly. Yet, many campaigns follow an outmoded playbook emphasizing TV. Being “up on TV” offers status to campaign managers and income to consultants who call the shots. Moreover a plethora of money typically becomes available in the fall, when almost all voters have made up their minds and/or are turned off by the inundation of ads from all directions. Positive impact? Neighborhood teams shift emphasis to direct field outreach over a sustained period of time.
Poor Emphasis and Poor Execution of Field Operations. Canvassing is the most effective way to persuade voters, especially those all-important lower propensity voters who turned out in 2020, and must again if we are to win. And we Democrats have the comparative advantage of large numbers of able and willing canvassers. But training is typically egregiously poor, relying on last minute on-the-spot training at busy launch sites, using “scripts” that are unrealistic substitutes for real conversations, and failing to address crucial conversation techniques. Plus funding for such field operations too often takes a back seat. Positive impact? It puts direct voter contact front and center. Training can be much more cumulative and effective. And outreach is much more effective since contact is “relational” in that team members reach out to their actual neighbors.
Weak Messaging. Republicans have a potent propaganda machine beginning with Fox and right wing talk radio. Moreover, Republicans excel at endless orchestrated repetition of emotion-laden issues like gun control, late term abortion, crime, welfare handouts and anti-vax, using divisive language that intensely motivates various segments to vote red. Conversely, we Dems often rely on relatively complex, erudite, even-handed fact-based messaging. In a totally rational world that should win out, but often that approach doesn’t resonate with the voters we need to persuade. Positive impact? Team members can have meaningful conversations with their neighbors on issues and matters that resonate with them, and provide intelligence to campaigns overall about how those discussions are received.
Poor Outreach to Red Counties. Democratic campaigns often largely write off red districts. But losing by less there can mean state-wide victory. Moreover, red counties often have clusters of Democratic-leaning voters in cities and towns, who may feel isolated and demoralized. And rural areas typically have more swing voters. Positive impact? Recent elections in Wisconsin and Michigan show that neighborhood teams can be quite effective in rural counties.
Conclusion - Need for a Strong Three-legged Stool. Our success requires strong elements of 1) Candidate campaigns 2) Democratic Party and 3) Independent organizations including grassroots groups. Of these, the Democratic Party at state level and below is the most neglected and offers a great investment for our support. I don’t claim that supporting Democratic parties to build neighborhood teams will magically bring about everything we need to win elections. Indeed Democratic Parties have other priority needs, and building on-the-ground infrastructure via grass root groups is extremely important as well. But the state party year-round neighborhood team approach provides an amazing gamut of improvements over our current work. Still strengthening infrastructure takes time - for hiring, learning and forming strong relationships. So, for impact in November, we need to act now.
You can read more about 31st Street’s support for state Democratic parties at our website: Here
Jim Shelton is a retired epidemiologist and political analyst for 31st Street Swing Left