One of the things Hope Springs from Field PAC [website] gets asked about a lot is have we seen evidence of MAGA canvassers while volunteers were knocking on doors. Which is interesting because you wouldn’t expect to see a MAGA canvasser at the same doors that we knock on. We focus on Democrats and unaffiliated households and while there are times when we have found that the unaffiliated voter doors are in both our and their universes, it isn’t that typical (yet).
TPA = Turning Point Action AFP = Koch Groups (not Libre)
LI = Libre Initiative CWA = Concerned Women
CfG = Club for Growth Unk = Unknown MAGA
But we started really tracking it and documenting this last week (June 29th). Figure this will make it easier to answer these questions accurately.
A little explanation, these numbers represent what many volunteers saw and the groups they saw. So if a volunteer sees multiple groups of canvassers, it is still 1.
We have started to run across MAGA canvassers out on Saturdays. Before, we usually saw evidence they were out canvassing, generally through door hangers or other lit.
Turning Point Action is now fully engaged. TPA had been claiming it would start an aggressive field program and had received lots of media for that claim, but you just never know. It’s business model (paid canvassers) is different from our own and has raised money on such claims without being evident in the field (fraud is, apparently, the MAGA model, so).
Now, Turning Point is pouring tens of millions of dollars into an ambitious get-out-the-vote operation in three battleground states, making the 2024 election a major test of the organization’s operations — with ramifications not only for Kirk and his organization, but for Trump and the GOP at large.
But canvassers in TPA gear have been seen in more than 3 states now.
Hope Springs from Field PAC began knocking on doors again on March 2nd to set up a favorable “battle space” or foundation for Democrats in 2024. We target Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans. The voters we talk to in these 12 Swing States tell us they come away more invested in governance and feel more favorably towards Democrats in general because of our approach.
Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do.
But TPA is not alone. Far from it. “Since May, his campaign has quietly been in talks with more than three dozen conservative groups to outsource parts of its voter turnout operation.” Another group purportedly relies on “3,000, at least” paid canvassers, “financed with unlimited corporate dollars and untraceable dark money from political nonprofits that are otherwise off-limits to a federal campaign.”
Here’s the thing: MAGA and conservative orgs have been competing to get the funding, indeed, we are seeing this competitive on the ground. Hope Springs volunteers have come across evidence of canvassers sponsored by Club for Growth, the various Kock-related efforts, Concerned Women for America, Turning Point Action and Heritage Action. Close encounters have been less frequent in 2024 than i remember for 2022, but i could be wrong.
We didn’t see anyone from Heritage Action this week (Heritage is the “author” of Project 2025) nor America PAC — which doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.
AFAIK, Hope Springs from Field is the only Democratic or Progressive group on the ground week in and week out, year in and year out, as weather allows. In fact, that was one of the biggest reasons why Obama alums came together to create what we envisioned to be a pop-up PAC for the Georgia Senate runoffs. There are a number of MAGA or conservative orgs who have done (and are doing) the same thing.
But running into another group of canvassers is pretty rare. We have different target or walk lists. When we find evidence that we are knocking on the same doors, we always note that because that is the very definitely of a swing voter. Some of the evidence that volunteers bring back to organizers is not actually Saturday evidence but from the weekdays. It is one of the differences between MAGA canvassers and our Hope Springs volunteers: the MAGA canvassers we have encountered have all been paid canvassers. Now there are Democratic orgs that pay canvassers (Fair Fight, for example). That’s just not what we do (at this time).
Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or the Electoral College in 2024, as well as districts that are remapped in ways that offer opportunities or vulnerabilities for Democrats next year (specifically those where a Republican won a Congressional District that voted for Biden in 2022). There is a lot of work to be done!
By starting early, and aiming towards super-compliance with these really, really onerous provisions, Hope Springs from Field seeks to undermine Republican efforts to throw Democrats off the voter rolls, informing voters about the new laws and regulations aimed at them.
2023 Hope Springs expenses
Our biggest expense is the Voter File. But it is also a fixed cost. That won’t change as we raise and spend more money. Printing literature is our second largest cost. Printing and mailing our our Post Cards to New Voters is our third cost and paying the fees for ActBlue is the smallest of our monthly costs.
If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the ActBlue page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!
