Episode 8: Betsy Hoover — Partner, Higher Ground Labs
One of the many reasons Barack Obama won two terms as President is because he was able to deploy state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology to target voters and get them out to the polls. But Republicans have recently begun to close the gap and cut into Democrats’ technological advantage.
According to Betsy Hoover, my guest on Episode 8 of Next Gen Dem, one of the main culprits is because political tech innovations largely only occur every four years during a Presidential cycle. Betsy, however, is trying to change that. She and two other partners — including Andrew McLaughlin — recently launched a company called Higher Ground Labs, which is an incubator and accelerator for entrepreneurs who are building tools to help democrats win elections. It has the potential to drive political tech innovation that will not just help Democrats win the White House, but also help Democrats compete in state and local elections.
Betsy and I talk about the role of tech in campaigns, her vision for Higher Ground Labs, and areas in the political arena that are ripe for technological disruption.
Quote of the episode:
“Democrats chose to invest in technology early. It was a big part of 2004, 2008 and 2012…But we need to double down on our efforts. The work we have done thus far has been great. We have a greater bench and more tested tactics as a result, but we can’t rest on that. We need to continue to push the envelope.”
For more information on Higher Ground Labs, visit https://www.highergroundlabs.com/.
If you would like to be a guest on the Next Gen Dem podcast, or know someone who you think would be a good fit — or if you know of a good organization to feature — please email me at max@nextgendem.com.
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