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MoveOn members’ role in Alabama’s Senate election

December 12, 2017

TO: Members of the Media
FROM: Ilya Sheyman, Executive Director, MoveOn.org Political Action
RE: MoveOn members’ role in Alabama’s Senate election

As Alabamians head to the polls today, here’s a brief update on MoveOn members’ role in the election.`

After Doug Jones earned 98 percent in a MoveOn endorsement vote in September, MoveOn members in Alabama and across the country have mobilized in support of his campaign and to oppose the election of Roy Moore. We have seen high levels of member interest and engagement in this race.

Regardless of the outcome, the fact that a Democrat is even a viable contender in a U.S. Senate race in a recently deep-red state like Alabama is a sign of the potency of the grassroots Resistance movement—progressives are fired up to win power in elections and will mobilize in support of candidates like Jones who run progressive, values-based campaigns including a clear commitment to standing up for a woman’s right to choose. From taxes, to health care, to immigration, Jones has pledged to resist Republicans’ agenda and fight for progressive priorities.

The fact that the race is so competitive also of course reflects the extent to which Republicans have alienated voters with their extremism and deeply unpopular policy efforts such as taking away health care, transferring wealth to the rich, and ending DACA and seeking the mass deportation of immigrant youth.

Here are some of the ways MoveOn members mobilized to support Doug Jones:

  • On September 22, MoveOn.org Political Action was one of the first national organizations to endorse Jones after a near-unanimous vote of the 43,000 MoveOn members in Alabama.

  • MoveOn volunteers sent 93,000 text messages to persuadable Alabama voters and more than 17,000 texts to Alabama MoveOn members encouraging them to vote.

  • 10,710 MoveOn members across the country chipped in more than $250,000 directly to the Jones campaign in response to asks from MoveOn.

  • Alabama MoveOn leaders organized 13 volunteer events with over 120 members RSVP’d. Those members went on to join many other MoveOn members recruited by email and mobile in volunteering directly for the campaign.

    https://front.moveon.org/moveon-members-for-doug-jones-in-alabama/

  • 10 Alabama MoveOn members submitted videos talking about why they supported Doug Jones. After rigorous persuasion testing using an in-house method we piloted in Virginia, we ran a $55,000 digital ad campaign delivering those videos to highly targeted universes of 475,000 Alabama voters who were most likely to be persuaded by them. Our expectation based on testing is that these videos are likely to result in thousands of votes for Doug Jones.

Watch the three most persuasive videos:

Carol from Birmingham  https://fb.me/1IdnlcL63K16oj3
Kathryn from Tuscaloosa https://fb.me/1HREFJiAtiT5evu
George from Montgomery https://fb.me/1HbpSRJP8WSpqC6

  • MoveOn partnered with New Nations Rising PAC and Rep. John Lewis to create GOTV ads featuring Rep. Lewis that we promoted to thousands of Alabama voters in the final days of the election.

Video of Rep. John Lewis
Partner Video with New Nations Rising PAC

For more information:

Senior MoveOn representatives including Senior Advisor and National Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre and Washington Director Ben Wikler are available for interviews about the role MoveOn members played in the race as well as for analysis of the outcome and what comes next.

MoveOn members in Alabama who took part in our mobilization on behalf of Jones are also available for comment.

To schedule an interview or to request more information, please contact press@moveon.org

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