Notes From The Field #1: Door Knocking and Recruiting Volunteers in Arizona for 10 Days
Dear Friends,
I just arrived in Arizona, where I will be volunteering for 10 days knocking on doors and recruiting volunteers to mobilize voters for local campaigns, organizations, and to stop Trump. You are getting this email because I thought you might be interested or can provide me feedback, but if you’d like to opt out of future emails, just let me know,
I got tired sitting in my blue state of Oregon, watching the news and hoping that a conviction would damage Trump and save us from the nightmare of a second Trump presidency. Instead, we saw it invigorate Trump’s base, where he raised $50 million in one day. And last I heard the conviction helped Biden only 1% in swing states.
I wanted to join the organizers and campaigns on the ground in the state that could decide both the Presidency and the Senate: Arizona. Trump knows this too, which is why he decided to make his first post-conviction appearance in Arizona TODAY.
Notes From the Field is an organizing journal, where I will document what I see, hear, and learn from talking with voters and organizers. I started this journal volunteering with the WA-3 Marie Glusenkamp victory in 2022, a campaign where a Democrat surprised the establishment by winning a red district (that Nate Silver gave a 2% chance of victory) held by Republicans for 16 years with 500 volunteers knocking on 40,000. I was deeply involved in mobilizing this volunteer base. More information about this race can be found SLATE Article: The Future is Doorknocking, the Seattle Times Editorial or listen to this Rabble Podcast. I think there are lessons in this campaign that can help take back the House and beat Trump.
Some of the questions I am trying to answer on this organizing road trip:
What are moderate/independent voters saying at the door after the conviction? What moves them to vote and volunteer against trump?
How cranky are anti-Trump voters in this election? What does it take to move them to act?
How are the organizers on the ground in Arizona doing? How can we support them?
What is the environment for recruiting volunteers in Arizona?
How can I (and my network)best be of service to the fight against Trump?
The Importance of Relational Organizing
Given that a small number of swing states will decide the Presidency, Arizona voters will be saturated with millions of dollars of ads in an election that many have reported voters are already not enthusiastic about. This is a problem, especially because Trump’s base does seem animated and enthusiastic about the election. To stop Trump, we will have to both mobilize a cranky base, and get moderate voters to vote for Biden/against Trump. Generations of successful campaigns and movements have taught us that the most effective way to get anyone to do anything (vote, volunteer, go to a rally) is when someone talks with a friend or family member. This is the essence of relational organizing. And the great thing is you don’t have to live in a swing state to do relational organizing- you can go there, or even make calls and build relationships over time.
Setting a Personal Goal to Mobilize Voters
I decided to set my personal goal of how many swing state voters I would volunteer to mobilize to the polls. My goal is to mobilize 100 Arizona voters to stop Trump. While it instantly makes me nervous to set this goal, I know I can get there by talking with 100 voters myself, or better if I can get 5 people to mobilize 20, or get 10 people to mobilize 10. I don’t yet know how hard this will be. Over the next 10 days, I want to try and find some volunteers willing to make a goal themselves for the issues they care about. I also want to be part of a team that is doing the same thing. On my drive to Tucson last night, I called and recruited Olinda, Josephina, and Maria (all good organizers in California with Arizona connections) to also pledge to volunteer to organize 100 voters. We are collectively pledging 400 and are going to support each other through trial and error to get there. Remember, Trump lost Arizona by only 10,000 votes, 0.3%. If we all do a small part we can be a part of a big victory.
Ok, I’m itching to get out in this 100 degree weather and go knock on some doors and do some organizing. I’ll report back later by email and also on my BLOG….
Cheers,
Harley
