By Lauren Baer and Mandela Barnes
The worst kept secret among Democratic organizations and campaigns last year was that Democrats are facing funding challenges. Financial resources are drying up, sparking concern across the Democratic ecosystem as we stare down the 2024 election, and the left now finds itself at a crossroads. This challenge, however, also presents our party with an opportunity to reset; we find ourselves in a position to rethink how we invest in our electoral programming, and we should seize the opportunity.
That ought to mean prioritizing investments in more sustainable campaign infrastructure and a new generation of diverse candidates and political staff—efforts that can increase our chances of success this election year, but also build power in the long run.
Campaign infrastructure, in a nutshell, is everything good candidates need to be successful but can’t be expected to build themselves in the short timeline of a campaign. This includes permanent, year-round organizing infrastructure to register and mobilize voters; the recruitment and training of diverse campaign staff to ensure an skilled, effective, and reflective talent pool to hire from; and strong state parties and advocacy organizations to lean on for support.
Investments in this kind of infrastructure are not sexy. The work is inherently less visible, but the reality is that this work serves as the linchpin of electoral success. The capacity to mobilize voters, engage in effective outreach, and run a well-organized ground game is pivotal, especially in closely contested races. These efforts require time, dedication, and resources and can’t simply be stood up in the final weeks before an election.
Unfortunately, though, Democratic donors have historically waited until the final stretch of an election to invest heavily, and that has led to missed opportunities for candidates and the Democratic movement as a whole. Last-minute massive cash injections may generate a brief surge in visibility, as the resources are traditionally used to fund advertising, but without a solid campaign infrastructure in place, those gains are unlikely to translate into electoral victories.
As leaders of two key Democratic infrastructure organizations, and as former candidates ourselves, we’re suggesting a different approach. Instead of keeping their powder dry until later in the campaign season, donors should shift their focus towards early investments in campaign infrastructure, particularly staffing and building a Democratic bench.
What might this look like?
One example is an innovative fellowship program launched in 2022 by Arena. Rather than deploying financial resources at the end of the election cycle, Arena placed trained campaign staff on critical but under-resourced state legislative races that would be key to securing Democratic majorities. Arena spent only $25,000 per race, but won nearly 75% of the races they invested in, and the program was credited with helping flip the Pennsylvania House for Democrats. As it turns out, paying for talented people, not late cycle campaign ads, wins races.
Another example is identifying and investing in young, diverse, LGBTQ+, and working class candidates who can win in their critical races as long as they have the support they need from the beginning. Mandela Barnes started The Long Run PAC to do just that. They are uplifting diverse candidates and creating proof that “different” candidates can win critical elections if only they have support from day one. And, at the same time, they are helping build a bench of Democratic leaders for the future, which is essential for the long-term success of the Democratic movement.
In both cases, the common thread is that investing early and investing in infrastructure can yield big results, and that can pay off for Democrats not just this year, but for years to come.
But, if we are going to see any of these gains in 2024, we need to course correct now. We can’t stay on the same funding trajectory and just hope for things to change this fall when we’re in the home stretch. Democratic wallets should open while there is still time to make meaningful investments in campaign infrastructure and set us on a course for victory in 2024 and beyond. The stakes are simply too high to hope for a miracle in the eleventh hour. Protecting our democracy and advancing our Democratic values requires that we start investing smartly now.
Lauren Baer is Managing Partner of Arena, the flagship organization for convening, training, and supporting the next generation of Democratic candidates and campaign staff.
Mandela Barnes was Wisconsin’s first black Lt. Governor, 2022 candidate for the United States Senate and Founder of the Long Run PAC, which supports diverse and groundbreaking pro-democracy candidates around the country who are helping to flip critical swing districts and bring more working-class voices to the table.
