Ground Game Wins the Long Game
Why and how field work still works
We’re heading into the Fourth of July with a lot of noise (and it’s unfortunately not fireworks). The headlines are heavy and relentless: Middle Eastern geopolitics teetering daily, Supreme Court decisions neglecting due process, the reversal of decades-old public lands protections, and oh yes, weaponization of all things citizenship.
It turns out that stripping Americans of our protections time and time again feels more like bare exposure to cruelty than independence and good governance. So if that’s where you’re at this Independence Day, you’re not alone.
That’s why the conversation we have for you today is about how we build ourselves back up with grassroots organizing. To reinstate our rights, shift policy, and stop the madness, we need an infrastructure for change. That strategy lives on the field.
Republicans vs. Democrats On The Field
Republicans may well be reaping the benefits of years-old investments in ecosystems that reach their voters en masse. They have built that ecosystem largely online, through platforms like Musk’s X and Trump’s TruthSocial. They found major influencers like Joe Rogan and Theo Von to deliver their message straight to target demographics (and if you need to indulge in a guilty pleasure, go ahead and watch them backtrack their endorsements in real time). These figures bridged the gap between political candidates and audiences who might otherwise not get in the weeds on elections – but listened to voices familiar to them.
Democrats are actively configuring our response on platforms like BlueSky and Substack (hey!), but in the meantime, we have our own years-old strategy to bridge that gap: field, canvassing, and talking to voters face to face.
After brutal losses in 2024, many Democrats openly debated if our field strategy was a dead houseplant we were still watering. To our credit, open (and sometimes uncomfortable) debates are the sign of a healthy, functioning party. Republicans have some strengths, but honest reflection and reckoning are certainly not among them at the moment.
But one of the clearest green lights to continue our investments on the field came just last week, with NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary. He ran a massive canvassing effort that is largely credited for his victory, in a deep blue city that swayed shockingly to the right just last year.
What’s better? Democrats are seeing a renewed energy for organizing, with tens of thousands of volunteers around the country hitting doors, ringing phones, and talking to voters.
The Good News About Field
So our dose of good news is that field work isn’t dead! We’re still having face to face, persuasive conversations with voters that can cut through the fractures and distractions of political discourse online. And that’s not just a feel-good proposition– it’s a tactical method to pull us ahead in elections to come.
Field work requires more than maps on clipboards and sticky notes on doors. It consolidates a campaign’s broad message into direct contacts that can shift voter sentiment and ultimately Election Day turnout. Canvassing is one of the main tactics of field work (if you want to learn more about the others, check out our course here). And organizing is the ongoing work of building coalitions for power shifts even in non-election seasons.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recalls the field volunteers that powered her ten point victory who told her “I’ve never voted for a Democrat, but I’m out knocking on doors for you.” Those are the kinds of energized alliances we can establish in communities through field work.
We’ve got to recruit candidates who excite that momentum and use it to build trust and make meaningful voter contacts. Zohran Mamdani’s communications director Andrew Epstein offers this advice to Democrats: “Canvassing works when you have something to say”.
If you’ve got something to say, or you’re still finding your voice, join us on July 9th for a free virtual live training that will go even further on field tactics, or check out our website for more organizing and campaign resources.
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