Hi there,
This past weekend, Swing Left volunteers were out knocking doors across the country. I joined a team of about 20 volunteers from New York City's Upper West Side, who made the short trip north to New York's 17th Congressional District—one of the most competitive swing districts key to flipping the House.
It was my first time knocking doors with Ground Truth, our new canvassing initiative (and Swing Left’s big bet for the 2026 midterms). I left with one main takeaway: Democrats need to get better at listening to voters. And people are hungry to be heard.
What struck me most was how eager people were to talk. These weren’t short, surface-level conversations. They were long, honest exchanges about what’s keeping people up at night. This is what makes Ground Truth different. And it’s what made me feel excited to knock on doors again.
Two things make this approach especially powerful. First, what’s happening at the door: volunteers genuinely listen, not lecture. That simple act helps rebuild trust in Democrats.
Second, we’re using new technology to channel the rich insights we gather back to campaigns—to improve how well candidates address voters’ real-world concerns, both at the individual level and district-wide.
The people I met reflected back what we’re seeing nationally: deep disillusionment, especially among Black and Latino men who are critical to the Democratic base—and who shifted right nationally in the 2024 elections.
It was a day full of revealing conversations. On the train ride home, I kept thinking: What would it mean for this kind of listening to happen on a massive scale? Across the country, in every swing district, in every community that’s stopped believing Democrats care what they think?
Early organizing is key to winning elections in swing districts, and talking with voters now, more than a year before the midterms, is how we can make the changes needed for Democrats to win again. If we get this right, it will help Democrats flip the House in 2026, and could redefine how we reach and move voters in 2028 and beyond.
For too long, Democrats have started too late, targeted too narrowly, and relied on outdated data and scripts. Ground Truth fixes that, by helping get the right message to the right voter at the right time, and doing it through real human connection.
Since we started piloting this program in September, we’ve held eight canvasses in swing districts like OR-05, NY-04, WI-03, IA-01, and NY-17 (with many more coming soon). Together, our volunteers have had meaningful conversations with voters—each one of which is helping to refine the tools, tech, and tactics we’ll need to scale Ground Truth nationally.
Taking part in a program like Ground Truth shows us it’s possible to believe that even in a big, diverse, polarized country like ours, we can still bring voters together by listening and persuading—and I do.
I also want to say thank you. This program only exists because of the commitment of people like you. There’s more to come soon, so keep an eye out for more updates this fall on Ground Truth and how you can get involved.
Yasmin Radjy
Executive Director
Swing Left
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Since 2017, Swing Left has channeled the energy of grassroots volunteers and donors to elect Democrats, up and down the ballot, focusing on the most competitive races that can swing the national balance of power. Right now, Swing Left is investing in early grassroots organizing in key swing districts and initiatives across the country to lay the foundation to win back the House in 2026. If you’d like to help support our work, you can make a donation using this link. |
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Paid for by Swing Left, swingleft.org, not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
