(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Briefing on Elon Musk’s Return to MAGA Field Operations [1] ['Dan K', 'Sabrina Haake'] Date: 2026-08-02 Believe it or not, this year has been busier for me personally than 2024. In part, this is because Hope Springs from Field PAC [website] and myself personally have never been under the threat of being subpoenaed (in Florida and Texas) or been summoned before the Department of Justice for our knocking on doors before. They keep looking for any little thing to stop Hope Springs from Field from canvassing. But progressive orgs have always been coordinating our Election and Voter Protection efforts in the face of president felon’s numerous threats to Rig the Midterms. And i’ve been involved in both Senate and House Dems’ preparations for the elections, including tabletop exercises for Trump interference. The amount of data we collect each week has been useful to gauge voter concerns. For the next few Sundays, i will dwell on these briefings shared with other activists/campaigns. Nothing seems to have burned up my phone like Elon Musk’s announcement that he’s “jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout.” This came a little after a week from our first post about Initial Signs of the MAGA Ground game in Swing States. 2024 HSFF It some ways, this was expected. Personally, i always felt that Musk graved the attention he got from his promise to “hack” field (Voter Contact) to be able to claim he had won president felon his “re-election.” But Hope Springs volunteers had tracked MAGA canvassing efforts in 2024 and we had started to do it again this year. Musk’s efforts in 2024 can be seen in the orange line (Apac, or America PAC) in the graphic to the right. We already knew that this kind of information was coveted by other Democrats. And our friends in the Democratic ecosystem remembered the data we collected in 2024 (and helped us to make more sense of the results after that election). Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, has authorized his super PAC to spend $100 million to $120 million on a new field program in at least eight states to help elect Republicans in November, according to two people briefed on the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. The planned injection of cash from Mr. Musk, the biggest donor in the 2024 presidential election, would only add to Republicans’ yawning advantage over Democrats in funding from super PACs and party groups. While Democratic candidates in key Senate races are raising more than their Republican rivals, many in the Democratic Party have begun to worry about being badly outspent overall in the midterms. Officials from Mr. Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, have communicated their nine-figure budget to other Republicans in recent weeks as part of an aggressive spending plan that is set to begin next month, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. “Mr. Musk’s group plans to initially target Senate races in at least five states — Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and Ohio — and is having conversations about the contests in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, according to two people with knowledge of the super PAC’s plans.” Outside of Alaska, Hope Springs from Field is already knocking on doors in these states. Hope Springs‘ volunteers have now knocked on 10,786,774 doors (so far) this year in the Swing States and Congressional Districts that will decide who controls the next Congress. Here’s the thing: at this point, we remain an all-volunteer, all-grassroots organization, albeit one with direct connections to the Obama presidential campaigns. Musk is resuscitating his dormant super PAC, America PAC, which spent more than $260 million to help get President Trump elected in 2024. America PAC will focus on door-knocking, digital advertising and direct mail aimed at turning out the conservative base, including voters who typically are less inclined to cast ballots in a non-presidential election year, sources with knowledge of the plans tell Axios. […] Musk’s investment will add to a huge Republican cash edge over Democrats at a time when Trump’s low approval ratings — particularly on the economy and the Iran war — have put GOP control of the House, and perhaps the Senate, in jeopardy in the Nov. 3 elections. “America PAC, which has said it knocked on more than 10 million doors in 2024 across more than a half-dozen swing states.” Hope Springs volunteers had already knocked on 10,207,329 by Labor Day that year. Here’s the thing: Musk’s canvassers were paid at least $25 an hour (up to $36/hour in some states), Field Directors made up to $30,000 a month and Chris Young claimed a fee of $300,000. So while some Democrats have called Hope Springs from Field “Musk Busters” we aren’t exactly in the same league. Even if our data is more reliable. Hope Springs from Field PAC is back knocking on doors this cycle. We continue to target Democrats and unaffiliated voters with our systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but that Democrats are determined to deliver the best, most affordable government possible to all Americans. The voters we talk to continue to tell us they come away more invested in governance and feel more favorably towards Democrats in general because of our approach. 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/UNRIGtheMidterms Hope Springs from Field 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. Yes, we really need your help here! Our printer’s bills are — like most things — much higher than we had anticipated for the year. Republican field ops will only grow hereon out. “We have the manpower, the message and the money.” Over the last two weeks, Hope Springs from Field volunteers have seen evidence of MAGA canvassing in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas & Wisconsin. We’ve found lit (generally on the ground) from Turning Point (TPA), the various Kock-related efforts (AFP), Libre Initiative (LI), Club for Growth (CfG), Heritage Action (HA) and Concerned Women for America (CWA): TPA = Turning Point Action, AFP = Koch Groups (not Libre), LI = Libre Initiative, CWA = Concerned Women, CfG = Club for Growth, Unk = Unknown MAGAHSFF HSFF turnout operations can matter enormously in close contests, particularly in midterm years when participation is generally lower than in presidential election cycles. That is the significance of America PAC’s return. Rather than focusing solely on television advertising, the organization’s reported strategy centers on identifying supporters and making sure they vote. The PAC intends to focus heavily on door-knocking, digital outreach and direct mail, Axios reports. “America PAC said that it would be active in battleground Senate and House races. The group declined to comment on its budget and targeted states. Some of its high-level plans were earlier reported by Axios.” There’s every indication that America PAC will be in the same battlegrounds that Hope Springs volunteers are canvassing. HSFF “Musk’s investment will add to a huge Republican cash edge over Democrats at a time when Trump’s low approval ratings — particularly on the economy and the Iran war — have put GOP control of the House, and perhaps the Senate, in jeopardy in the Nov. 3 elections.” Here’s the thing: we don’t utilize the same tactics. America PAC seek to find infrequent voters and convince them to vote Republican. Hope Springs targets Democrats and unaffiliated voters and listens to them, their concerns, their issues, their desires for our country. We use Observation Sheets to document volunteer observations like the presence of MAGA literature or canvassers. But they aren’t the only things Hope Springs volunteers document. They are trained to think in terms of “can this be used to help GOTV (get-out-the-vote)?” And one of the benefits that our volunteers have in 2026 is that most of them have now gone through an election cycle where they can see how this systemic approach greatly benefits GOTV. Cross-fertilization of experienced volunteers from other states has also helped. But the one thing we know is that president felon and his MAGA cohorts are sitting on a pile of money, and some people fear they will spend some of it on field. Which is why we track this. “Maga Inc, the main fundraising group supporting Donald Trump, has amassed a war chest of more than $400mn, giving the president’s allies a huge financial advantage in the fight for control of Congress.” Hope Springs started up our Issues Canvass again in March. Our volunteers knock on doors of Democratic and Independent voters and use a voter-driven approach to guide them through the Issues Survey, the CSR and Incident Reports. We record questions voters raise with a Q(uestion)-slip and record other relevant observations on an Observations form. Q-slips are sent to the relevant Democrat to respond to and Observations are entered into VAN. 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 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. Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or Congressional Races in 2026. There is a lot of work to be done! We remain a seat-of-the-pants grassroots-driven operation. But Hope Springs has been called “the most comprehensive, organized grassroots voter contact project out there right now. It is truly astonishing that it is grassroots-based!” No other Democratically-aligned org has been methodically trying to circumvent MAGA efforts to rig the House Midterm elections in 2026. And we need your help to continue. Our printer costs alone are way beyond our budgeting and we are asking for your help (if you are able). If you are able to support Hope Springs from Field’s efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, we would appreciate your support: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/UNRIGtheMidterms If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/2/800078685/community/briefing-on-elon-musks-return-to-maga-field-operations/ 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/