Democrats Head into 90 Day Stretch on Offense to Win Up and Down Ballot
Democrats Head into 90 Day Stretch on Offense with Momentum, Grassroots Energy, and Infrastructure to Win Up and Down Ballot in November - DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNC West Tennessee Member Deborah Reed
The DNC is crossing the 90 day benchmark on offense with an exciting ticket, robust infrastructure, booming grassroots fundraising, and unprecedented energy online and on the ground. From a surge in small-dollar donations to expansive organizing and data infrastructure across the states, Democrats are strong and only getting stronger.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and the MAGA Republican Party’s embarrassment of a convention put their unhinged extremism on full display last month at the RNC. It’s no wonder the ratings were so bad as the MAGA GOP did their usual song and dance, platforming the extremism that has taken over their party – from January 6 insurrectionists to union busters, to Project 2025 authors, to their creepy VP nominee JD Vance. The RNC was the GOP’s opportunity to reach more voters ahead of November, and they failed tremendously, accomplishing nothing other than making clear to the American people that Trump’s promise of unity was another empty promise and spelling out the gravity of the threat the Trump-Vance ticket and their Project 2025 agenda poses to our communities and democracy.
90 days from Election Day, Democrats are strong and getting stronger: Under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the DNC has made unprecedented investments in the Democratic Party infrastructure, and as we ramp up ahead of Election Day, Democrats are poised to win big up and down the ballot in November with historic resources, robust infrastructure, a winning message (plus out-of-touch weirdos as opponents), and an unbeatable ground game – supercharged by an unprecedented and undeniable surge in grassroots energy, powered by our state parties, on-the-ground staff, and most of all our grassroots volunteers, donors, meme-makers, allies, and organizers.
Image credited to Reuters
Harnessing Grassroots Momentum with Record-Breaking Online Fundraising and Mobilization from Everyday Americans
The DNC broke its record for its best online fundraising day of all time, raising $6.5 million in grassroots donations on Sunday, July 21 with $1 million in the 5 p.m. hour alone.
The DNC has sustained more online donors than ever before, with people chipping in where they can, from $5/month. We’ve also seen record-breaking organic donations online.
Equipping our Grassroots Messengers Online and Beyond
We are doing more than ever before to equip our grassroots supporters with the training and tools to build and sustain the groundswell of enthusiasm for electing Democrats this November – from sharing content in our relational organizing app Reach; to creating organic graphics, memes, and TikToks; to hosting trainings to equip volunteer canvassers with the tools to become content creators activating their communities on platforms including WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Discord.
Reaching Voters through State-of-the-Art Data and Technology Infrastructure
The DNC has developed and maintained data infrastructure for campaigns to store and leverage campaign data built up over decades, purchasing VAN centrally on behalf of all state parties and Democratic campaigns, and providing our state-of-the-art cloud-based data warehouse, Phoenix — a multi-million dollar annual investment.
We’ve invested more than $2.4 million in voter file data, models, and commercial data to help campaigns reach voters where they are, improving cell phone coverage on file from 30 percent of voters in 2016 to over 80 percent, including more than 24.5 million new cell phone numbers as of this month, with monthly releases planned for the rest of the election cycle.
The DNC has developed an algorithm to review over 330 million national voter file records, resulting in the de-duplication of more than 50 million voter records, saving time for organizers trying to contact voters who moved from one state to another.
Investing in all 57 State Parties to Win Up and Down the Ballot
The DNC is investing a baseline of $8.3 million this year as part of our investments in all 57 state parties, a 25% increase since 2020.
In June, the DNC announced grants totaling nearly $2 million to the Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and other Democratic state parties to build infrastructure and provide a boost in down ballot races.
Introduced in the 2022 midterm cycle, the DNC’s Red State Fund builds programs in traditionally Republican states and has already invested more than $4.5 million so far this cycle including investments in critical 2023 races.
This month, the DNC invested an additional $15 million in the battleground states – helping to fund new field offices, build data infrastructure, mobilize volunteers, and strengthen coordinated campaigns. These investments are at work in the battlegrounds – supporting 217 coordinated field offices and more than 1,100 staffers.
Image credited to Reuters
Building a Diverse Democratic Coalition to Win
Through community-centered outreach and education programs, paid media, translation services, and more, Democrats are reaching our diverse coalition to earn every vote.
The DNC has made a seven-figure investment in paid media – print, digital, radio, and out-of-home advertising – to buttress direct voter engagement across key constituencies, including young and rural voters, Black, Native, AANHPI, and Latino voters, LGBTQ+ voters, and beyond.
The DNC has run advertising campaigns in eight languages so far this cycle, including an emphasis on Spanish-language outreach – with a six-figure paid media investment and more than 30 bilingual billboard campaigns during this cycle.
Staying on the Offense with a Winning Message and Defining the Trump-Vance Project 2025 Agenda
Democrats are on offense, making clear to voters that the Trump-Vance ticket will ban abortion nationwide, give tax handouts to billionaires on the backs of hardworking families, gut Medicare and Social Security, and empower Trump to fulfill his promise to be a dictator on “day one.”
In sharp contrast, Democrats’ forward-looking agenda – fighting to restore reproductive freedom for every American, build an economy that works for hardworking families, and defend our freedoms, rights, and democracy – has never wavered.
Our message is resonating. The unfavorability rating of Project 2025 has increased 24 points since June, with most Americans now familiar with Project 2025 and just one in ten having a favorable view of it.
The more Americans learn about the Trump-Vance ticket’s Project 2025 agenda, the less they like it.
Americans know Project 2025 will disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans, CEOs, and big corporations – not working people.
As a result, Trump is desperately and unsuccessfully attempting to distance himself from the far-right blueprint written for him by extremists who include 140 staffers from his first administration under the leadership of the RNC sponsor and Trump-Vance booster, the Heritage Foundation.
A plurality of Americans aren’t buying Trump’s weak attempts to distance himself from his toxic Project 2025 agenda.
As if the Republican Party needed another dumpster fire of their own creation, Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot are getting dragged even further down by JD Vance. Vance is making history as the most disliked VP nominee post-convention that our country has seen in decades – and Americans don’t think he’s ready to lead.
Democratic voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors are fired up. We are confident that in our battleground states, Democrats will win up and down the ballot in November. Tied to an unpopular and dangerous Project 2025 agenda, the GOP is struggling to establish a ground game or make inroads with voters. It seems that GOP infrastructure issues are a feature — not a bug — of the Republican strategy this year, and it will hurt them on Election Day. Democrats answer to working people, not billionaires, and we will continue to engage communities block by block. That’s how we’ll win in November.
As a reminder, this topic is especially important now as we move into voting season. Check out our endorsed candidates below to read more about the upcoming election cycle.