Over half the states have certified their new legislative/congressional maps, outlining new boundaries for districts for statehouse races as well as congressional races.
The flurry of legal challenges and debate over the fairness of newly-drawn districts continues in other states.
What can campaigns and political organizations do now – today – to prepare for the midterms while waiting for final lines to be certified?
The team of strategists at Majority Strategies recommends a three-step approach to help campaigns:
- Better understand how redistricting impacted their race;
- Who the new target voters are they need to communicate with; and
- How they should adjust their voter contact plans accordingly.
Step One: Research and Analysis
Have your state’s new maps been approved? If so, the critical first step is understanding how your district shifted and what your new district looks like, including new geographic areas.
You also need to understand historical election results and demographic/population totals.
Having a clear picture of the new political realities of your district will help inform future campaign strategies.
The Majority Strategies team can help you analyze your new district’s data along with the latest modeling to understand the composition of the likely electorate.
Step Two: Identify Early Engagement Audiences
Now that you’ve analyzed your new district and understand the composition of its voters, your next step is to identify which audience of voters will be the most critical to your victory on Election Day, including those who did not previously live in your district.
These audiences may include:
- New-to-district GOP donors (think fundraising;)
- New-to-district GOP primary voters (think awareness and name ID;) and
- New-to-district General Election swing voters (think persuasion.)
Step Three: Adjust Your Voter Contact Strategy
First, identify which of your “new-to-district” audiences need early engagement treatments across mail and/or digital.
Next, look at the partisan shift of your race and decide if you need to adjust the portion of your campaign budget that goes towards persuasion vs. GOP turnout.
Last, understand what percentage of your target audience is likely to vote pre-Election Day, which will require a larger budget for absentee and early vote push efforts.
Need help? Reach out to our team of strategists today. We can help you understand your new district, the voters you need to reach and how to build a competitive edge ahead of Election Day 2022.