(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . We Are Not Afraid: Knocking on Doors in Michigan, Wisconsin and Montana after the Trump Indictment [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-16 We have been talking a lot this week about TFG and his historic indictment. It was hard to get away from on Saturday, and Hope Springs from Field PAC volunteers in Michigan, Wisconsin ad Montana couldn’t escape it. We aren’t knocking on doors in safe blue areas, just the opposite. We have targeted swing districts in Senate and Electoral College Swing States. Not exactly sure how Montana fits that definition (can we really call it a swing state?), but it’s a toss-up state Senate-wise — and that’s why we are there. 2024 Senate Battleground Map I’ve been asking organizers this week how volunteers were reacting to the Trump Indictment and have heard some surprising replies. But the one that really stood out was a reply from a Montana organizer: “They are unafraid.” They are unafraid. In Montana. We’re going to be okay. Now you might think, how do we target Montanans given that 49% of Montana voters are Republican. Doesn’t leave a lot of room to find voters who could pull a Tester lever. But that’s not true, not at all. 61% of Democrats and voters who lean Democrat are female and 72% of all Democratic or Leaners are between the ages of 30-64 (a 20 point margin over Republicans and GOP-leaners). And the state has the highest percentage of Independent or No Lean either way voters of all the states we are canvassing in (21%, equal to Arizona) and use the Tester votes as a guide. (Lots of modifiers follow.) But there is a path (and it helps that Montanans don’t see Tester as a “National Democrat.”) Given all that, within the context of the election results since 2018, the fact that our organizers in Montana are unafraid, that’s a very good sign. Voters seem to feel this way, as well. “You know he comes home every weekend to farm?” Because, you know, our volunteers wouldn’t watch local tv, right? Still, these are very narrow margins we are talking about here, and — like Arizona — every piece of data we collect about voter’s thoughts, priorities and views about Tester will be essential to his victory. So having Trump is the news while we are canvassing helps. A 5 is just as valuable as a 1. This is the mantra of the first round of canvassing (in a traditional 5 round canvass). This is the second week that Hope Springs from Field volunteers have knocked on doors in Michigan and Montana and our fourth week in Wisconsin. 228 volunteers canvassed in Wisconsin on Saturday. Like last year, we continue to canvass in Milwaukee (where we are canvassing in African-American wards) and its suburbs, as well as Kenosha, Waukesha (although we did not canvass these two last week) and Dane counties. The key Democratic and swing areas of this Senate Swing State. Volunteers knocked on 16,598 doors on Saturday and talked to 1,258 voters. 777 (which is better than 666, right?) of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey. Summer Concerns (like, is our local pool going to open this year!) was the Top Concern, and we had more than one voter worrying about whether their kids in school will find a temp job for the Summer. Perception about a Tightening Economy was the second most frequently cited concern. Political (In)Stability was the third most frequently mentioned concern. For at least the second week in a row, we had voters talk about the length of time it takes for them to get into to see a doctor now. Joe Biden’s Approval numbers in Wisconsin to rose to 53% last Saturday; his Disapproval number was 10%. Senator Baldwin’s Job Approval was 63% with 6% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Evers, meanwhile, was 51%; Disapproval was 8% last Saturday. Hope Springs from Field volunteers registered 5 new voters. 31 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. 58 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. 2 voters filled out Incident Reports in Wisconsin this week, and we are still hearing concerns about the 2022 (or 2020) election. 5 voters asked questions that will be forwarded to the candidate’s campaign (we walk with Q(uestion)-slips that are filled out if the voter asked the volunteer a question; these are then forwarded to the appropriate campaign, freeing volunteers to answer questions that they may or may not know the answer to). We also walk with Observation Forms that volunteer canvassers can fill out if they notice something they think will be helpful to other canvassers. We always record these observational notes in VAN, so that the Democratic campaigns that follow have access to volunteer observations. 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. 209 volunteers came out to knock on doors in 9 canvasses in Michigan last Saturday. The grey Congressional Districts represent most of where we are targeting, but we will also be targeting minority neighborhoods in the Detroit area in the future. Hope Springs volunteers knocked on 13,438 doors last Saturday and talked to 1002 voters. 587 of those voters answered questions to at least part of the Issues Survey. The Economy was the most frequent response to our question about voter’s top concern on Saturday in Michigan. Donald Trump was the second more frequent response this week. Two voters specifically mentioned the Indictment and wondered what effect it would have on Public Safety in Lansing. Political (In)Stability was third. Pretty sure those two things are related. Biden Approval among the Michiganders we talked to was at 51% last Saturday and 8% expressed some measure of Disapproval. 57% of the voters who responded Approved of the job Gov. Whitmer was doing while 6% expressed Disapproval. One vote said, “Oh, hell yeah!” when answering about whether she approved of the Job Governor Whitmer was doing. So there’s that. 39 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, 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 3 new voters and re-registered 21 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! If you support grassroots organizing to increase voter participation and election protection, expand the electorate and prepare the electoral battlefield for Democrats, please help: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fistfulofsteel 58 volunteers showed up for our kickoff canvass in the Bozeman/Butte and Missoula areas on Saturday. Senator Tester is running for re-election and is considered among the most vulnerable Democrats running in 2024. Tester has his own support network that is largely independent of the Democratic party and our effort is designed to reinforce that supporter network among (mostly) independent voters in Montana. They knocked on 3,758 doors on Saturday and talked to 265 voters. 155 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey. Crime(!) was the Top Concern. Retirement Worries (‘Can I Afford to Retire?’) was the second most frequently cited concern. Schools and Hospitals was the third most frequently mentioned concern. There had to be someone on the local tv news about closings or something. Joe Biden’s Approval numbers was 43% last Saturday; his Disapproval number was 19%. Senator Tester’s Job Approval was 64% with 7% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Gianforte, meanwhile, was 19%; Disapproval was 32% last Saturday. Hope Springs from Field volunteers updated the voter registration of 7 voters to comply with federal law. 6 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. Back of Wisconsin Walk Lit 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 Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/16/2175614/-We-Are-Not-Afraid-Knocking-on-Doors-in-Michigan-Wisconsin-and-Montana-after-the-Trump-Indictment Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/