Before we get too far away from this week’s elections, I wanted to take a moment to recap the incredible work we did together this cycle. I’m proud of the DNC’s contribution in taking back the House, winning back governorships and other critical state seats, along with hundreds of seats at the state and local level. And I’m proud of the incredible diversity of our newly elected Democrats everywhere.
We spent months on the ground working with campaigns and state parties, and this election is another proof point for the importance of good organizing. Volunteers and organizers made this victory possible — and I’m proud the DNC was able to invest in them. Today, I’d like to tell you a little bit about what exactly those investments looked like.
OVER $30 MILLION INVESTED IN STATE PARTIES AND CAMPAIGNS
We made an unprecedented investment in a midterm election of more than $30 million in state parties, grassroots infrastructure, and campaigns across all 50 states — Frank, these extraordinary investments were made possible by generous donors like you. And we did so earlier in the cycle than previous midterm efforts to maximize our investment. These investments were strategically focused on rebuilding infrastructure in state parties, expanding the electorate, and competing everywhere, including in places where Democrats haven’t been in a long time — like Alabama, Kansas, and Georgia. This cycle, for the first time in history, the DNC also used its email list to raise grassroots funds directly for 104 House candidates and 12 Senate candidates.
63 MILLION REACHED IN IWILLVOTE EFFORT TO REGISTER AND MOBILIZE VOTERS
We reached more than 63 million people about the importance of voting in the midterm elections as part of our IWillVote campaign. Visitors to IWillVote.com were able to check their registration, commit to vote, and look up their polling place for both early voting and Election Day. Over the cycle, anyone who committed to vote was then made part of a fully digital, first-of-its-kind chase program that used SMS, email, and other tools to send supporters their personalized polling place and encourage them to make a plan to vote.
110 MILLION CELL PHONE NUMBERS ADDED TO THE VOTER FILE
We’ve made critical investments needed to expand the electorate by reaching potential and new voters where they are. In a seven-figure investment, the DNC acquired the cell phone number of every registered voter across the country for whom a cell phone was commercially available and provided this data to state parties. Throughout the cycle, the DNC has used this data to send more than 10 million tailored, state-specific peer-to-peer text messages to voters. This investment will be critical to our future nominee in 2020.
STATE-OF-THE-ART CYBER DEFENSES
We hired a team of experts who have overhauled the DNC’s cyber defenses and instilled a complete culture change in regards to protecting our data. We provide state parties with technical assistance and advice on the best safety precautions.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FOR CAMPAIGNS OF THE FUTURE
This cycle, the DNC made it a priority to pilot emerging tech and tools and put the best ones in the hands of Democratic candidates. We gave candidates new technology to turn out voters, providing all state parties access to Mobilize America, a volunteer recruitment platform that’s activated more than 300,000 dedicated volunteers like you to help Democratic campaigns nationwide. To make choosing campaign tech easier, the DNC launched IWillRun.org, with more than 55 best-in-class tools available to campaigns either at no cost or with pre-negotiated pricing.
HELPED FUND AND TRAIN HUNDREDS OF ORGANIZERS IN BASE COMMUNITIES
We believe our party’s staff should look like the people whose votes we are trying to earn, so one of our key priorities has been to help fund hundreds of diverse organizers and train thousands more who reflect rural, millennial, and base communities all around the country through the DNC’s Best Practices Institute.
REAL-TIME VOTER PROTECTION ASSISTANCE
The DNC is using state-of-the-art voter protection tools that help state parties and campaigns develop their voter protection programs. The DNC has national English and Spanish permanent voter hotlines, which fielded tens of thousands of calls during the final days of this election to help Americans check their registration status and determine how, when, and where they could vote.
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Here’s something to keep in mind about these midterm results: The Republicans have invested at the state and local level for decades — and until recently, our party hadn’t attempted to match them. The GOP won seats, built their bench, drew the districts, and wrote the rules to make it harder for Democrats to win. Tuesday’s results were a huge step forward in the fight to undo that, but we’re by no means done — this is something that you and I will have to keep at for the months and years to come.
But for now, I’d like to take a moment to tell you how proud I am of everything we’ve accomplished together — we’re rebuilding this party from the ground up, the only way we can.
Seema Nanda
Chief Executive Officer
Democratic National Committee