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Beatin' the Rain in Wisconsin; Toughin' Out Knocking on Doors in the 70s in Michigan: Weekly Report [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-07-28

Political Stability was the most frequent response to our question about voter’s top concern on Saturday in Michigan. Infrastructure was the second most frequent response. Remember that we are knocking in the Flint Congressional District, and we always hear this concern in that CD. Climate Issues was third.

Biden Approval among the Michiganders we talked to was at 52% last Saturday and 7% expressed some measure of Disapproval. 58% of the voters who responded Approved of the job Gov. Whitmer was doing while 6% expressed Disapproval. Still hear voters talk about Michigan as being a “fly-over” state for Democrats and how important it is for Whitmer to be changing that.

88 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. We send completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if the appropriate office is held by a Republican (and there isn’t a Democrat who could take on the request), we still send it along. For Democrats, though, we encourage them to reach out immediately to the voter who filled out the Constituent Service Request forms and let them know they are working on the issue. This credit-taking is enormously valuable to the Democratic office-holder.

Volunteers registered 9 new voters and re-registered 47 voters in compliance with Federal (HAVA) law. Again, we note that we differentiate between the new voters and existing voters because the former can often be forgotten (or clumped together with their family) during GOTV and first time voters need special care! And Hope Springs will again engage in special GOTV efforts aimed at getting young new voters to the polls next year.

Hope Springs from Field PAC has been knocking on doors since March in a grassroots effort to prepare the 2024 Electoral Battleground in what has been called the First and Second Rounds of a traditional Five Round Canvass. We are canvassing Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans.

Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fistfulofsteel

Hope Springs from Field PAC understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do.

188 volunteers came out to canvass in Wisconsin on Saturday. Like last year, we continue to canvass in Milwaukee (where we are canvassing in African-American wards) and its suburbs (the WOW counties), as well as Kenosha, Waukesha and Dane counties. The key Democratic and swing areas of this Senate Swing State. In everybody’s minds, Wisconsin is one of the most important states in the Electoral College and maintaining a Democratic majority in the Senate. Recent Supreme Court rulings have made it doubly so. And our volunteers understand just how important is the state. On Saturday, Volunteers knocked on 14,175 doors and talked to 1,114 voters. 685 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey. Climate Change, and especially the worry about air quality in Wisconsin due to the Canadian wildfires, was the Top Concern among the Wisconsin voters we talked to on Saturday. The Economy was the second most frequently cited concern. Schools was third, and we had a bunch of voters who talked about the upcoming school year. Joe Biden’s Approval numbers in Wisconsin to rose to 51% last Saturday; his Disapproval number was 8%. Senator Baldwin’s Job Approval was 58% with 6% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Evers, meanwhile, was 49%; Disapproval was 12% last Saturday. We still have voters asking if Tammy had an opposition yet. So (some) people are paying attention. Hope Springs from Field volunteers registered 3 new voters. 26 more voters updated their voter registration to comply with federal law. We differentiate between new voters registered and existing voters re-registering because we plan to continue our New Voter Postcard effort, and even add Voter Video Chains this cycle. 43 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. We send completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if there are no Democrats who can further the request, and the appropriate office is held by a Republican, we still send it along. For Democrats, though, we encourage them to reach out immediately to the voter who filled out the Constituent Service Request forms and let them know they are working on the issue. This credit-taking is enormously valuable to the Democratic office-holder.

We knock on the doors of Democratic and Independent voters. At every door, we leave a piece of “show the flag” lit, something that tells them we were there and hopefully reinforces the Democratic brand. The lit focuses on the things voters told us were important to them last fall, aiming to appeal to every voter.

But the main focus of our canvassing right now is the Issues Survey, asking voters for their input and concerns. Voter responses to the questionnaire are entered into VAN and made available to all Democratic candidates who use VAN in the state after the primary. Creating this kind of data isn’t done with a specific goal in mind but has the purpose of engaging voters and creating a dataset that any Democratic candidate can use in opposition to a Republican.

Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or the Electoral College in 2024, as well as Congressional Districts that are remapped in ways that offer opportunities or vulnerabilities for Democrats next year (specifically those where a Republican won a Congressional District that voted for Biden in 2022). There is a lot of work to be done! Especially since we have had to expand the map this year.

By starting early, and aiming towards super-compliance with these really, really onerous provisions, Hope Springs from Field PAC seeks to undermine that strategy, while informing voters about the new laws and regulations aimed at them.

If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fistfulofsteel

If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address, as well. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/28/2183776/-Beatin-the-Rain-in-Wisconsin-Toughin-Out-Knocking-on-Doors-in-the-70s-in-Michigan-Weekly-Report

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