Challenge:
Democratic candidate Travis Childers faced the challenge of taking back a northern Mississippi Congressional seat that had been held by the GOP since 1994. With limited time and resources and a small budget, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) needed to quickly persuade enough swing voters to boost base voter turnout for the May runoff election.
Solution:
grassroots solutions teamed up with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to help the Travis Childers’ campaign win the May 2008 election. Within a week after the April 22nd special election, grassroots solutions established a robust canvass that aggressively engaged voters, with a special emphasis on motivating and turning out African-American supporters for the May 13th runoff. In the two weeks before the runoff, grassroots solutions oversaw a team of canvassers who knocked on over 74,000 doors. Overall, voter turnout was increased by 58.3% from the April 22nd special to the May 13th runoff. Additionally, in the heavily African-American counties where grassroots solutions worked, turnout increased by an even greater 81.6% over the April 22nd election. grassroots solutions also ran a persuasion canvass in five counties, where Childers ran an average of 11.5% ahead of typical democratic performance. This victory in Mississippi was the third special election win in a row for the DCCC.
Results:
- Knocked on over 74,000 doors in the two weeks before the runoff.
- Increased voter turnout by 58.3% from the April 22nd special election to the May 13th runoff.
- In the heavily African-American counties where grassroots solutions worked, turnout increased by an even greater percentage: 81.6% more people voted in the May 13th runoff in those counties than in the April 22nd special.