To: Sean Casten for Congress
From: Don Black, Campaign Manager
Memo: How we hold Sean’s seat in 2022

Redistricting threw a wrench in our re-election strategy, to put it bluntly. We have new voters to talk to and our most dangerous Republican opponent has officially entered the race, a Mayor who refused to implement vaccine or mask mandates during the worst of the pandemic.

Election analysts believe it just became significantly harder for IL-06 to stay blue, but Sean has defied expectations before, and we’re up for the challenge. Here’s our strategy for re-election:

• Fundraise, fundraise, fundraise. First and foremost, we need resources to carry out our strategy -- and that means activating our grassroots donors. The good news is that Sean is already outraising the field, and our supporters are very engaged with our campaign. We saw incredible returns on our match program, so we plan to actively seek out more matching donor opportunities in the future.
• Keep delivering results for IL-06. Sean continues to do incredible work in Congress -- voting for and passing the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act, calling out his Republican colleagues on their BS, returning nearly $3 million back into the pockets of his constituents, and fighting for what he believes in, like lowered healthcare costs and a green economy. These are the things we will focus on.
• Spread Sean’s message to new people. Now that the lines of our district have been redrawn, we have thousands of new constituents to talk to. Once we have the funds, Sean and other members of our team will visit these communities and talk to people one-on-one about the issues they care about most. We’ll launch field programs in these areas, run tv ads, send mailers, as well as other types of paid media. Once we have established outreach in these areas, we’ll be able to identify community leaders and folks who want to be involved with our campaign and grow our volunteer base as the election gets closer.
• Get folks that people trust on board. I’d venture to say that most, if not all, of Sean’s supporters from the last year are well aware of the type of Congressman he is and the type of work he does in Congress, but some of our new voters may not be familiar. This is where we’ll utilize trusted community leaders, other elected officials, and groups to vouch for Sean’s integrity, leadership, and effectiveness in Congress.
• Get out the vote come Election Day. It’s not enough just to get supporters on Sean’s side -- we need to make sure that people actually show up on Election Day. This will require early educational campaigns about registration deadlines, mail-in ballots, polling place location and hours, as well as sample ballots so people can be as informed as possible before heading to the polls. We should also make folks aware of any services in their area that will provide transportation to the polls, and also their rights as voting citizens.