[1]Swing LeftSwing Left
Hi John,
Campaigns usually start talking to voters too late, target too narrowly,
and rely on scripted, one-way interactions that do little to build trust.
Ground Truth is designed to change that.
Ground Truth transforms how we connect with voters, including those left
out of traditional outreach. Using a new canvassing app (that Swing Left
helped design!) volunteers start early, knock on every door, and listen
deeply to understand what voters truly care about. Then, we’re analyzing
and sharing valuable insights campaigns can actually use to build trust,
win votes, and defeat their GOP opponents.
This year, Swing Left volunteers launched 25 Ground Truth pilot canvasses
across 12 congressional swing districts in Arizona, California, Colorado,
Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The
results gave us a real look at what voters are thinking—and show
opportunities for Ground Truth to move the needle in races that could
decide the House next year.
Here are four key findings from the pilot canvasses:
1. Voters are eager to talk, and they want to be heard. Across the pilot
canvasses, 2 out of 3 people who answered their doors had substantive
conversations with Swing Left volunteers, often lasting more than 10
minutes. The barrier for real conversation isn’t disinterest—it’s distrust
and fatigue with when and how campaigns normally show up.
2. Traditional voter contact methods often miss existing Democratic
supporters as well as persuadable voters. By beginning earlier and
utilizing the broad reach of this Swing Left community to knock every
door, we can identify and engage voters who are often missed by
traditional strategies due to time and resource constraints. Early
analysis suggests that about 1 in 4 voters coded as Republican expressed
either explicit concern about Trump, openness to voting for Democrats, or
alignment with progressive priorities. Ground Truth can help campaigns
identify these potentially persuadable voters.
3. Voters are disillusioned, and trust needs to be rebuilt. Across the
pilot canvasses, the most consistent theme heard—from Republicans,
Democrats, and Independents—was “the system is broken.” It signals a need
to rebuild trust through sustained conversation, over a longer period of
time than campaigns are typically capable of.
4. Ground Truth fills a structural gap in the Democratic ecosystem. It
allows for direct conversations between voters that serves like a focus
group at scale, providing free, structured, and early voter insights to
swing district campaigns (that they often don’t have the resources or time
to collect themselves). And it provides year-round trust-building that
grows and sustains the Democratic Party’s brand.
These findings are why we’re expanding Ground Truth to swing districts
nationwide—as part of our focus on flipping the House to Democrats next
year. Growing Ground Truth is a collective effort. When we pool our time
and resources—knocking doors, talking with voters, and sustaining the
program financially—we make this work possible.
[ [link removed] ]If you’re in a position to donate, consider making a contribution of
$25, or any amount you can, to help scale up Ground Truth
across all of Swing Left’s target districts nationwide.
[ [link removed] ]Donate $25 Now
Thank you as always for everything you do.
— The Swing Left Team
P.S. Want to learn more about Ground Truth? [ [link removed] ]RSVP for the “Inside Ground
Truth” national strategy call on Tuesday, December 9th to hear how we’ll
utilize Ground Truth in 2026, and for an exclusive look at Swing Left’s
expanded House targets for the midterm elections next year.
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