4 Things You Can Do for Democracy Before the Holidays
By Sarah M. Williams / Co-Founder and CEO, Propel Capital
This week the House of Representatives will vote to impeach the president. Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress should spell the end of any presidency, but we all know it won’t be that simple.
One thing is clear — now is the moment to take nothing for granted. We can’t wait until the primary season is underway or the Democratic candidate is anointed this summer. Trump’s re-election committees have spent nearly $30 million in 2019 alone on Facebook and Google ads, while progressives are left playing catch-up.
While so much about this moment feels out of our control, it’s time to take a deep breath and rally everything we can for the 2020 fight. Think back: We thought we could never flip the House (Gerrymandered districts! Unproven candidates!), but we did. We thought the Democratic Party had lost the ability to compete in the South forever, but we won (Alabama! Kentucky! Mississippi!). Opportunity is everywhere, in places and communities long ignored and rarely reached or invested in.
Let’s seize the opportunity and make deep, urgent investments in the progressive infrastructure and not rely on a business-as-usual approach to win in 2020. An organized base that is mobilized in-person and online during and between election cycles will transform our political culture and have a profound impact on this cycle and beyond.
If we act with urgency and invest now before the end of the year, voter mobilization efforts can start strong in January getting teams in place and testing messaging and outreach. Here are four winning strategies to get behind before the holidays:
- Compete Online
We must strengthen our ability to compete with the Trump campaign’s massive ad buys online through our own fully scaled paid ad and digital content strategy. ACRONYM’s paid ads and media play and A/B Partners’ content strategy, Fight for the Base, are some of the best opportunities out there to get into the digital game and enhance progressives’ strengths in fighting disinformation and mobilizing voters. - Expand the Electorate and Mobilize the Progressive Base
Campaigners like Color Of Change and Care in Action have put in the work to organize in the field and online, building strong communities ready to mobilize voters in 18 of the most critical electoral states. This multi-cycle, year-round organizing worked in Virginia, in the 2018 midterms, and will be the backbone of victories in 2020. - Protect the Vote
Republicans have made their brazen voter suppression strategy clear in the last several cycles. Stacey Abrams, through Fair Fight Action, is working in 17 key states to protect the right to vote, which is essential to defend communities of color — Democrats’ most reliable voters. - Invest in States
With the Census coming up, we face a new wave of gerrymandering that could restrict progressive power for years to come — partners like Sister District are already organizing on the ground to produce critical down-ballot wins. State-level wins can shield us against unfair district maps that dilute the electoral power of communities, and can expand our ability to make meaningful differences in people’s lives at a time when many among us are hungry and the federal government is aggressively cutting food stamps and other protections.
All of these are opportunities to engage and expand our base of voters by building up the digital and ground organizing efforts we need so candidates — up and down the ballot, including the eventual Democratic nominee — can hit the ground running and win. Think of all we can do if we pretend the election is April 1, not November 1 and move contributions right now.
Propel Capital has committed $5M to this initiative through 2020. Together with other funders, we’ll need to mobilize millions of additional dollars to build the infrastructure necessary to win next year and begin to create the just and equitable future we all want.
Learn more about our partners here.
