On March 7th, Hope Springs from Field PAC volunteers started knocking on doors in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas. Which means, we return to my weekly updates or wrap-ups of the previous Saturday’s numbers.
One of the aspects of an evolving, growing political entity — upon which increasing demands are being made — is that you can’t really compare one year to another. Everything changes. For example, 2025 saw our best start ever — 562 volunteers in six states showed up for our kickoff canvasses last year. That was up from 335 volunteers in two states in 2024 (after the grueling special election in NY-03).
This year, 2,772 volunteers showed up in 5 states. BUT, that was after our best year yet and Hope Springs’ volunteers had a much greater under-standing of what we are doing. They are seeing how all the data we collect fits together. From feedback from voters’ themselves, they feel like we are accomplishing something — together.
There are lots of indicators that 2026 could be a very good year for Democrats. As it should be. Kinda had enough of this sh*t. But it’s much needed as we start in the hole compared to Republican orgs. “Republican incumbents still have a distinct cash advantage,” a reality that will factor in outcomes if we don’t reverse that trend.
Mid-Decade Redistricting Map
The turnout in the Texas primary didn’t hurt!
Last Saturday, those 2,772 volunteers knocked on 152,144 doors and talked to 13,496 voters. At every door, we left a piece of literature promoting the Democratic Party as an explanation of why we were there.
We collected 8,559 survey responses at the door. It helps that we leave literature behind — something that makes up a majority of the expenses that Hope Springs from Field has each month — and why we continue to ask for your financial support to help defray these costs.
Hope Springs volunteers registered 6 new voters and re-registered 37 voters at their current address to comply with federal law. We continue to differentiate between new registrants and re-registrants because we like to engage in follow-up communications, as well as mentoring, with the people whom we newly register to vote.
Hope Springs from Field PAC began knocking on doors this year on Saturday. 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 continue to 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/UNRIGtheMidterms
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.
Yes, we really need your help here! Our printer’s bills are — like most things — much higher than we had anticipated for the year. Adding extra states (like California) did not help the budget!
Arizona
498 volunteers came out to knock on doors in the Phoenix metro area. We knocked on 26,742 doors and talked to 2,353 voters. 1,489 of those voters answered at least some of the questions on our Issues Survey. We re-registered 9 voters.
The Economy was the Number 1 issues for the Arizonans we talked to. Rising Costs were second and Health Care and Health Insurance Costs was third. 163 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms.
5% of the voters we talked to said they approved of the job that Trump was doing. 58% disapproved. There is no senate race next year in Arizona, but we are asking about job approval for GOP House incumbents. 3% approved and 55% disapproved. 49% approved of the job Gov. Hobbs is doing while 8% disapproved.
Florida
We wrote about last Saturday's canvass in Florida in our diary on Tuesday. 528 volunteers knocked on 29,251 doors. They talked to 2,615 voters and had in-depth conversations with 1,639 of them, respectively, guided by our Issues Questionnaire.
We wrote about last Saturday's canvass in Georgia in our diary on Monday. 410 volunteers knocked on 23,452 doors in southern Georgia. They talked to 2,040 voters and had in-depth conversations with 1,279 of them, respectively, guided by our Issues Questionnaire.
Nevada
379 volunteers came out to knock on doors last Saturday in the Las Vegas area. We knocked on 20,352 doors and volunteers talked to 1,819 voters. 1,164 of those voters answered questions on our Issues Survey.
We re-registered 2 voters to comply with federal law.
Gas Prices was the Number 1 Issue in Nevada on Saturday. Health Care Costs was second. The Sluggish Economy were third.
5% of the voters we talked to said they approved of the job that Trump was doing. 54% disapproved. There is no senate race next year in Nevada, but we are asking about job approval for the Members of Congress in these districts. 49% approved and 3% disapproved. 8% approved of the job Gov. Lombardo is doing while 43% disapproved.
83 voters filled out Constituent Service Requests. 1 voter filled out an Incident Reports, citing potential problems they had witnessed in a prior election.
Texas
We wrote about last Saturday's canvass in Texas in our diary yesterday. 957 volunteers knocked on 52,347 doors. They talked to 4,669 voters and had in-depth conversations with 2,988 of them, respectively, guided by our Issues Questionnaire.
Grassroots support drives Hope Springs, and our grassroots organizing. No amount is too small (and the FEC puts a strict ceiling on what we are allowed to accept). Regardless, we would certainly appreciate your support:
We canvass with an Issues Survey that serves as our jumping off point for conversations with voters. We find this is an easy way to begin the canvass season.
I still get butterflies the very first times i engage with voters each year. But then they go away, as the conversations ensue. You would think, after decades, those would go away.
738 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms last Saturday. We send the completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if the appropriate office is held by a Republican, we still send it along anyway.
15 voters filled out Incident Reports on Saturday. A lot of these were reports about primary elections allegations. Incident Reports are used to plan Election Protection activities, and will be combined with other, historical incidents and handed over to District and State Attorneys, Attorney Generals and the DoJ Civil Rights Division right before Election Day as a precaution against Election Day Incidents in November. Past polling place activity is a predictor of future voter intimidation or suppression activity.
All the data we collect is entered into VAN, the shared Democratic database. We knock on the doors of Democratic and Independent voters. At every door, we leave a piece of “show the flag” lit, something that tells them we were there and hopefully reinforces the Democratic brand. The lit focuses on the things voters told us were important to them last fall, aiming to appeal to every voter. We also ask voters if they have an problems that local, state or federal governments need to address in their neighborhoods.
Hope Springs from Field has a hybrid approach. We aren’t interested in competing with regular campaign field organizing. We are in the field before they get there and then move on when the Democratic campaigns start their own intensive field work. Indeed, when we wind up the typical field work by Labor Day, we will encourage all the volunteers working with us to move over to the Senate campaigns in their states (and hope that our field organizers will be hired on by those campaigns). After Labor Day, we will begin organizing our Election Protection Project.
We continue to remind voters to verify their registration and also ask voters if they have any concerns about the upcoming elections. Last year, we walked with lit about the changes in voting laws, but we also asked voters about their fears and experience in prior elections. This year, we are asking about RealID and name changes, in the remote possibility president felon is able to force his newest whims about suppressing the vote into law.
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 vulner-abilities for Democrats this year (specifically those where a Republican won a Congressional District that voted for Biden in 2024).
But the main focus of our canvassing is the Issues Survey, asking voters for their input and concerns. Voter responses to the questionnaire are entered into VAN and made available to all Democratic candidates who use VAN in the state after the primary. Creating this kind of data isn’t done with a specific goal in mind but has the purpose of engaging voters and creating a dataset that any Democratic candidate can use in opposition to a Republican.
Hope Springs is a seat-of-the-pants grassroots-driven operation. We don’t have employees but we realize that to formalize and professionalize this effort that will have to change eventually. We are a bottom up project, one that doesn't just help Democratic presidential, senate and house candidates, but every Democrat running for office in these swing state areas (who uses VAN).
Hope Springs has been called “the most comprehensive, organized grassroots voter contact project out there right now. It is truly astonishing that it is grassroots-based!” Not sure why it is “astonishing,” but i probably have more faith in grassroots or self-organized efforts because of my experience with Barack Obama’s early days in 2007.
No other Democratically-aligned org has been methodically trying to circumvent MAGA efforts to rig the House Midterm elections. And we need your help to continue. Our printer costs alone are way beyond our budgeting.
If you are able to support Hope Springs from Field’s efforts to turn out the vote here, protect Democratic voters, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, we would appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/UNRIGtheMidterms
If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!
