Thanks Kyle. Help me understand how relational organizing expands the pool of potential supporters, especially from independent voters, or less active voters? Relational outreach misses discouraged, disappointed, or disallusioned voters and non-voters. Those groups are as important to reach as the voters reached through relational efforts. I write as a successful state legislative candidate, who has worked on local, state and federal election. And as someone who has knocked on all doors in swing areas.
Hi Ralph! I'm Greta, from Relentless. Relational is actually a solution for discouraged, disappointed, or disillusioned voters and non-voters. Non-relational outreach misses these voters because more often than not campaigns don't have their data -- or if they do, they're not likely to be persuaded by a stranger. But these voters DO answer calls and texts from their friends and are much more likely to listen to them. So relational outreach is actually the solution for this problem: by recruiting people who know discouraged, disappointed, or disillusioned voters into your relational team, you can reach these voters through the only people who CAN reach them. The challenge is recruiting the right mobilizers, and that’s what Relentless has been focused on the last couple years. Our program in Mississippi last year demonstrates our success: we were tasked with turning out low-propensity Black voters in support of Brandon Presley for Governor. We recruited 1,729 mobilizers who built a relational network of 72,501 people: 52% of voters in the network did not vote in 2019 or 2022, and 82% were Black voters. The Wired story includes an interview with one mobilizer who is a great example of how this works.
thanks Greta for your thoughtful and thorough response. I admire how you handled my questioning the issue of relational organizing—to your credit. In my state of Iowa, I am aware of the interest in relational organizing by some political leaders and the state political party. I will open my mind more to its potential; I still maintain that ‘cold outreach’, especially in leafleting (not doorknocking) has a benefit to reach many people, demonstrates a different view of what the controlling party in Iowa is setting as policy, and is easy for volunteers. I do like what happened in Mississippi.
This is great as I have never been much of a supporter of spamming voters (not asked for contact) via door knocks, phone calls, text or even post cards. I don't think the data shows they work. What they do do is give volunteers a sense that they are doing something.. Something! But there is no real data to prove that they work... And in my experience (all tactics) most people are pissed off that you are interrupting their day... By the way I created the National Political do not call Registry for the 2008 cycle trying to get politicians to stop robocalls... Obviously that didn't work! But I had fun.
Thanks Kyle. Help me understand how relational organizing expands the pool of potential supporters, especially from independent voters, or less active voters? Relational outreach misses discouraged, disappointed, or disallusioned voters and non-voters. Those groups are as important to reach as the voters reached through relational efforts. I write as a successful state legislative candidate, who has worked on local, state and federal election. And as someone who has knocked on all doors in swing areas.
Hi Ralph! I'm Greta, from Relentless. Relational is actually a solution for discouraged, disappointed, or disillusioned voters and non-voters. Non-relational outreach misses these voters because more often than not campaigns don't have their data -- or if they do, they're not likely to be persuaded by a stranger. But these voters DO answer calls and texts from their friends and are much more likely to listen to them. So relational outreach is actually the solution for this problem: by recruiting people who know discouraged, disappointed, or disillusioned voters into your relational team, you can reach these voters through the only people who CAN reach them. The challenge is recruiting the right mobilizers, and that’s what Relentless has been focused on the last couple years. Our program in Mississippi last year demonstrates our success: we were tasked with turning out low-propensity Black voters in support of Brandon Presley for Governor. We recruited 1,729 mobilizers who built a relational network of 72,501 people: 52% of voters in the network did not vote in 2019 or 2022, and 82% were Black voters. The Wired story includes an interview with one mobilizer who is a great example of how this works.
thanks Greta for your thoughtful and thorough response. I admire how you handled my questioning the issue of relational organizing—to your credit. In my state of Iowa, I am aware of the interest in relational organizing by some political leaders and the state political party. I will open my mind more to its potential; I still maintain that ‘cold outreach’, especially in leafleting (not doorknocking) has a benefit to reach many people, demonstrates a different view of what the controlling party in Iowa is setting as policy, and is easy for volunteers. I do like what happened in Mississippi.
This is great as I have never been much of a supporter of spamming voters (not asked for contact) via door knocks, phone calls, text or even post cards. I don't think the data shows they work. What they do do is give volunteers a sense that they are doing something.. Something! But there is no real data to prove that they work... And in my experience (all tactics) most people are pissed off that you are interrupting their day... By the way I created the National Political do not call Registry for the 2008 cycle trying to get politicians to stop robocalls... Obviously that didn't work! But I had fun.