Reaching Voters Where they Are
To regain the working class voters Democrats need for a long-term governing coalition we must change how we communicate.
Americans’ levels of trust in institutions – the media, advertising, government – is the lowest it’s ever been. As a result they increasingly tune out of politics, unsure where to turn for trusted sources and more-susceptible to mis- and disinformation. This makes these voters less-likely to turn out for the party promising government solutions and more-likely to vote for the party that promises to tear down those institutions. Voters increasingly say they only trust friends and family for their political information. In 2024 voters’ news consumption correlated directly with their vote choice: Harris won voters attuned “a great deal” or “a lot” to the news; Trump won everyone else. Erza Klein: “The hardest divide to cross isn’t left vs. right. It’s interested vs. uninterested.”
Even as poll-after-poll shows Democratic economic policies more-popular than Republicans’, knowledge of these policies and who supports them diminishes. These issues are particularly-acute with the New American Electorate: young people and people of color. Democrats lost the most-ground with voters of color, both because of our voters switching to Republicans and turning out at lower rates. In Georgia for example, the only group to experience a drop in turnout rates between 2020-2024 were Black Georgians; if 2024 turnout rates had risen as much among Black Georgians as White Georgians, it would have almost-completely erased Trump’s margin of victory.
To build the working-class coalition of the future, Democrats must reach voters early, listen to them, and use trusted messengers. We must make working class Americans interested in voting for Democrats again.
We must think bigger than the typical communication channels deployed late in election cycles. As voters increasingly view Democrats as the party of the elite, we must show voters we care about the lives of working people – which means listening rather than just prescribing policy solutions. And we must communicate with trusted messengers, moving beyond the institutional media ecosystem to tap into sources (particularly personal relationships) that voters tell us they trust. Ahead of one of the most-important midterm elections in American history, particularly in the key state of Georgia, that’s what New Engagement PAC is doing.
Phase 1
September 2024 though Election Day 2024
We’ll begin by communicating directly with the any new democratic registrants, priming their post-election communication. Using targeted digital communication and texting, we’ll do one pass through our targets, improving our contact-rate post-election. We’ll ensure these voters understand that whether or not they vote in November is public knowledge and let them know that we’ll follow up with them post-election to thank them for being voters.
Phase 2
Post-election 2024 through June 2025
We’ll collect vote history from the Georgia Secretary of State, solidify our persuadable voter universe, and immediately launch post-election communication to both of our key targets. This program will include a constantly-tested and targeted digital outreach program along with a large-scale relational canvassing program that makes three passes through our full universe. This program includes office space across the state, state-of-the-art data and relational organizing tools, real-time data analysis, and literature.
We’ll ask them what made them want to be a voter, what issue(s) was most important to them, what they’re looking for in their elected officials, and how Democrats can regain their vote in 2026. We’ll ask, listen, and catalog – and check in with these voters repeatedly through the cycle. We’ll also engage them on how to motivate their fellow non-voters, and recruit them into our relational organizing program. We’ll use A/B testing online to determining the most effective mobilization messages and employ those in our organizing program.
We’ll also target non-voters and ask them why they didn’t vote, what Democrats could have done to earn their participation, and what would make them engage in 2026 – and use our early contact to determine whether to keep them in our universe for the remainder of the cycle.
Phase 3
July 2025 through November 2025
During this phase we’ll scale our field and digital program. We’ll also add new 2025 registrants, replacing non-voters with key new midterm targets, and plan another three passes through this larger universe. We’ll use tested effective messaging to begin more forward-looking communication about the 2026 midterms and using select 2025 municipal elections to build the habit of voting with key targets. These 2025 elections will also be a vital testing ground – we’ll use them as an opportunity to test our messaging and tactics before we enter the on-year.