Voters Rising: MoveOn and the 2014 Midterm Elections

8/10/2019 Voters Rising: MoveOn and the 2014 Midterm Elections

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THE 2014 MIDTERM ELECTIONS


2/10

Thanks to the time, energy,

and financial backing ofMoveOn members, these

candidates won in competitiveraces across the country:

Sen. Al Franken (MN)

Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR)

Sen. Gary Peters (MI)

Sen. Brian Schatz (HI)

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH)

Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ)

Rep. Mike Honda (CA)

Rep. Rick Nolan (MN)

This year,when MoveOns 8 million members set out tostand up to the Koch brothers cash and prevent a Republican

takeover of the Senate, all the pundits said the odds were against

usbut we knew we could have an impact.We didnt

save the Senate, but we are immensely proud of

everything we did do.As part of our VotersRising effort, MoveOn members made millions

of phone calls to drop-off voters who show up

in presidential years but are less likely to

vote in midterm elections.

We also helped voters find information about

their states voting laws and polling locations,

and drove progressive messages via ads and

events. We made gains in analytically-driven voter

contact organizing that are an important foundation

for the future. Multiple races were likely much closer than they

wouldve been because of MoveOn members hard work.

And we helped ensure that progressives like Al Franken and Jeff

Merkley stayed in the

U.S. Senate where they

will continue fighting

for working- and

middle-class families

not big corporations

and the 1%.

MoveOn members in our

New York City calling office

Thank you.

Thanks for the greatVoters Rising software,

great selection of candidatesin close races, and great

script. Its great to be ableto dosomething.

Alexandra H.

MoveOn memberLa Crescenta, CA


3/10

MoveOn made calls

and bundled memberdonations for endorsed

candidates:

1,892,347 calls& $100,000+

for Kay Hagan

1,542,762 calls& $30,000+

for Mark Udall

1,221,450 callsto defeat Mitch McConnell

1,073,507 calls& $25,000+

for Bruce Braley

492,348 callsfor Jeanne Shaheen

442,666 callsfor Rick Weiland

95,650 callsfor Gary Peters

$50,000+for Al Franken

$50,000+for Jeff Merkley

$50,000+for Mary Burke

For more than 15 years,MoveOn membersgrassroots activism and people-powered organizing have helped

shape public policy and media narratives, and decide who we

elect to office.

MoveOn members have helped elect progressive champions likeSenator Elizabeth Warren and played a decisive role in crucial

primaries, from Senator Brian Schatzs victory this summer in

Hawaii to then-Senator Barack Obamas wins on Super Tuesday

in 2008, just after MoveOn members voted to endorse him.

Weve also advocated on important issues,

from fighting corruption on Wall Streetto passing the Affordable Care Act to

challenging Republican governors

who refused to expand Medicaid to

bringing Bushs wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan to a close.

MoveOn opened

an office in

Honolulu and mademore than 23,000

calls to send Brian

Schatz back to the

U.S. Senate

We made a big difference.

Everyone givingtheir little bit, from

whatever the motivation orpersonal reserves that keep them

going, is the people power thatalone can withstand the

1%ers money flooding the

airwaves and election.

Nick D.MoveOn memberSan Antonio, TX


4/10

MoveOn membersansweredthe call to help turn out drop-off voters,coming together in homes, our field offices,

and communities across the country to

make 6,760,302 phone calls to progressives

who needed some extra encouragement

to turn out.

We used cutting-edge technology, hired

organizers to staff field offices in key cities, and

used tested messaging to turn out voters.

We turned outthe progressive base.

4 FIELD OFFICES:NEW YORK CHICAGOSEATTLE BERKELEY

6.76 MILLION

PHONE CALLS

TO TURN OUT

PROGRESSIVE VOTERS

VOTER CONTACT PROGRAM

SIX TIMESMORE EFFECTIVE THANO U R 2 0 1 2 P R O G R A M

765,413MINUTES ONTHE PHONE28,818CALL-FROM-HOMESHIFTS

4,700UNIQUE

GOTV CALLERS


5/10

Our calling programwas based on social-scienceresearch and voter turnout data, along with cutting-edge data analysis

and new research from the Analyst Institute. With this secret weapontechnology and a predictive dialer, our volunteer calls were six times

more effectivethan in previous elections.

We commissioned polls and focus groups to find

messages that resonated with progressive voters,

such as protecting funding for education and

ensuring access to health care for women.

MoveOn members in Hawaii kicked off

our election work by opening an office in

Honolulu and making more than 23,000

calls to voters in support of progressive

Senator Brian Schatz, turning out voters

in his successful primary election thatwas won by less than 2,000 votes.

We opened offices in

cities that are geographic

hubs, for MoveOn

members to gather to

make calls to voters,

alongside volunteers from

Daily Kos, the SEIU, and

other allied organizations.We also hosted 107 house

parties, and thousands of

us pitched in by calling

from our own homes.

We turned outthe progressive base.

Thank you,MoveOn, for creatingthis system, and thankyou first-time callersfor getting involved.

Jonathan M.MoveOn member

Santa Rosa, CA


6/10

MoveOn members played a vital role in ensuring that voters understood the stakes

of this election, from the anti-women views held by far-right candidates to the

massive influence of corporate money and the billionaire Koch brothers. We

pushed back against misinformation, educated drop-off voters, and held

Republican candidates accountable for regressive stances.

MoveOn members launched a Supervoters

campaign to inspire progressive women inkey swing states to voteand to remind them

that they could defend the rights of women all

across the country by simply voting. The campaign

included movie-poster-style images featuring ordinary voters, which

ran as ads in major newspapers and online outlets like Cosmopolitan,

Elle, Good Housekeeping, Oprah.com, and Womens Fitness.

In Colorado, we partnered with NARAL Pro-Choice America to run

a TV ad holding Republican Senate candidate Representative Cory

Gardner accountable for misleading voters about his views on birth

control and womens health. And we took

on The Denver Postfor its misguided

endorsement of Rep. Gardner, whichflew in the face of the editorial boards

previously articulated positions on

womens rights, climate change, and immigration reform, with a full-

page ad in the Sunday edition.

Colorado mom and MoveOn member Jamie Chesser delivered more

than 13,000 petition signatures to the Post, asking them to rescind theendorsement.

We explained the stakes.

Im uplifted.

Hopeful. Raringto go. Because this is

what democracylooks like.

Suzanne P.

MoveOn memberBethlehem, CT


7/10

It was people power vs. big money this election,and MoveOn members organized press events that generated local

media coverage and underscored how Republican candidates are

beholden to special interest money or working for the wealthiest

few.In Michigan and

Kentucky, members

convened outside GOP

campaign events attended

by former presidential

candidate Mitt Romney.

MoveOn members also

funded TV ads in states

like Iowa and Kentucky

that explained how right-wing candidates had pledged allegiance to

the Koch brothersat voters expense. And when the Koch brotherstop lawyer was caught on tape saying he couldnt believe MoveOn

was entirely funded by small-dollar

donations, we showed up at their

Kansas headquarters with a giant

card setting the record straight,

which read: We are here! We exist!

And our democracy is not for sale.



8/10

In South Dakota, MoveOn

ran an ad campaign in

support of progressive

champion and prairie

populist Rick Weiland,

who campaigned

extensively on getting big

money out of politics. And in Kentucky, we asked MoveOn

members to design their best Ditch Mitch billboard ideas

hitting Senator Mitch McConnell for siding with billionaires

and corporations, and we erected several in the state.

We also partnered with high-profile figures former

Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Senator Elizabeth Warren,

singer Joan Jett, activist Van Jones, actor-activists Susan

Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo, and othersto share important

information

about what was

at stake through

online videos,

emails, and

phone calls.

Hundreds of national and

local media hits, including:

The New York Times

The Washington Post

POLITICO

The Huffington Post

Bloomberg Politics

CBS News

Associated Press

The Hill

The Seattle Times

TIME Magazine

MSNBC

Fox News Channel

C-SPAN

and coverage on local

TV stations and in local

newspapers in

key states



9/10

The right to voteis afundamental right, and ensuring that every

eligible American has access to the ballot

box has always been a priority for MoveOn

members.

When the Koch-backed group Americans

for Prosperity sent false information to

voters in North Carolina, MoveOn members

responded quickly with newspaper

and radio ads with the correct voting

information. The ads featured RizikiOmonde, a 20-year-old college student and

MoveOn member who was organizing to

protect voting rights for students in her state.

Also in North Carolina, which saw one of the

closest Senate races this year, students at

Appalachian State University turned to MoveOn Petitions to fight back

against the Republican-controlled state Board of Elections, which wastrying to remove an early voting site from campus. Despite Republican

lawsuits, the students were able to ensure that

the site remained open, and more than 700

students showed up to cast ballots on the first day

of early voting alone.

MoveOn members fought back against a voter IDlaw in Wisconsin that would have made it harder

for many people to voteand won a victory when

the state Supreme Court put the law on hold.

We protectedthe vote.

MoveOn members

have also supported

progressive groups

doing crucialturnout and election

protection work

at the state level,

through grants.

They include:

> Every Voice Action

> Working Familiesfor Vermont

> Action NC

> Rise Up GA

> Raise Wisconsin

> International Forumon Globalization

> American FamilyVoices

> DemocracyNorth Carolina

> Vermont FoodFight Fund

> The AdvancementProject


10/10

MoveOn has always beenabout morethan electionswe know that influencing debates at the

local and national levels is vital to making our country a

more progressive place.

So we also kept up important work in other areas during

election season. We urged President Obama and Congress

to use military force only as a last resort when confronting

ISIS, we supported the largest-ever climate march in New

York City, and we funded Kids In Need of Defenses work

to ensure that refugee children have legal representation.MoveOn members organized a day of vigils to end the GOP

Medicaid blockade, and they used MoveOn Petitions to

highlight injustices in Ferguson, MO, and to fight conservative

censorship of the Jefferson County Public Schools history

curriculum in Colorado.

Find out more atMoveOn.org.

MoveOn.org Political Action is a federally registered political committee and is subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act. MoveOn.

org Civic Action is organized as a nonprofit organization of under section 501(c)4 of the Internal Revenue Code. All express advocacy

and bundling projects were undertaken by MoveOn.org Political Action. Although each organization undertook its own programs, for

the sake of simplicity the report describes the work of both organizations as having been carried out by MoveOn.

And wellkeep on fighting...

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Voters Rising: MoveOn and the 2014 Midterm Elections