In Arizona, 228 volunteers came out in the heat to knock on doors last Saturday in the eastern suburbs of Tucson. Canvassing in Phoenix was cancelled due to Heat Advisories.
We knocked on 14,751 doors and talked to 1,073 voters. 3,495 of those voters (most through follow-up phone calls to homes that did not answer the door on Saturday) answered at least some of the questions on our Issues Survey. We registered 1 new voter and re-registered 12 voters. 52 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. The bruising heat had a lot to do with those numbers.
The Economy was the Number 1 issue for the Arizonans we talked to on Saturday. Border Security or Immigration was the #2 issue voters raised. Summer Worries (like the oppressive Heat) was third.
Biden Approval among the Arizonans we talked to was at 43% last Saturday. Disapproval was 20%. 18% approved of Sinema, while 21% disapproved. Voters seem to have really stopped thinking about the Senator. 52% of the voters we talked to on Saturday approved of the likely Democratic Senate nominee, Ruben Gallego. 54% approved of the Governor, Katie Hobbs. 9% disapproved.
Florida
405 volunteers came out last Saturday, knocked on 29,038 doors and talked to 2,328 voters. 5,734 Issues Surveys were completed (again, most through follow-up calls), and 22 new voters registered and 18 voters re-registered (all using the Secretary of State website). 194 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. 2 voters filled out Incident Reports.
The Top Issue in Florida last Saturday was Economic Uncertainty. It’s always amazing when voters ask when the Fed is going to lower interest rates because that means they know what the Fed is. Something we’ve been calling Summer Worries was the second most frequently cited Issue. Heat, hurricanes, tourist traffic — that kind of thing. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was the third. Insurance Issues; price increases, dropped coverage, sharp increases in deductibles.
49% of the voters we talked to approved of the job President Biden is doing in Florida. 10% disapproved. 18% approved of the job Rick Scott was doing; 31% disapproved. 24% approved of the job Ron DeSantis is doing; 25% disapproved. The governor’s ratings are, well, interesting.
Georgia
393 volunteers came out to knock on doors last Saturday in the Atlanta suburbs and in southern Georgia Blackbelt counties. We knocked on 28,964 doors and talked to 2,560 voters. 6,455 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on our Issues Survey (primarily through follow-up calls).
We registered 21 new voters and re-registered 27 voters. Note the fact that Hope Springs volunteers registered more new voters than re-registrations (again!), largely a result of our efforts to find and register voters in Counties where African-Americans have been historically suppressed. 163 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms, and 1 voter filled out Incident Reports.
The Economy was the Top Issue in Georgia on Saturday. Elections and Election Security was second. (Rising) Prices and/or Inflation was third.
Biden Approval among the Georgians we talked to was 52% last Saturday. 17% of the voters we talked to disapproved of the president. 37% approved of the Governor, Brian Kemp. 21% disapproved.
Maryland
276 volunteers came out last Saturday for just our fifth week of canvassing in Maryland. Volunteers knocked on 20,065 doors and talked to 1,583 voters. 976 answered questions on our Issues Survey. We registered 1 new voter and re-registered 8 voters at their current address. 89 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms.
The Economy was the Number 1 Issue with the voters we talked to. Concerns about our Political System was second. Climate Change and related issues was third.
Biden Approval among the voters we talked to was 52% last Saturday in Maryland. 11% of the voters we talked to disapproved of the president. 47% approved of Democratic Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks. 57% approved of the Governor Moore. 7% disapproved.
Michigan
314 volunteers came out to knock on doors in Michigan. Michigan was one of four states where we knocking only on Democratic doors at the request of the campaign. We also had visitors from outside groups join us — in this case, quite a few union members. We knocked on 22,827 doors last Saturday. Volunteers talked to 1,778 voters. 1,097 of those voters answered questions to at least part of the Issues Survey. We registered 1 voter and re-registered 18 voters at their current address. 77 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms.
(Rising) Prices and/or Inflation was the Number 1 Issue in Michigan on Saturday. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was second. Housing Availability, Costs and Political Instability was third.
Biden Approval among the voters we talked to was 47% last Saturday. 14% disapproved of the president. 54% approved of the Governor Whitmer. 10% disapproved.
Montana
In Montana, 57 volunteers came out last Saturday. They knocked on 4,145 doors and talked to 363 voters. 235 Issues Surveys were completed. 1 voter re-registered at their current address. 8 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms.
The Top Issue in Montana Saturday was Concern about Mortgage/Loan Rates. Economic Uncertainty was the second most frequently cited Issue.
43% of the voters we talked to approved of the job President Biden is doing in Montana. 19% disapproved. 59% approved of the job Jon Tester was doing (i believe this was the biggest change this week); 8% disapproved. 21% approved of the job the Governor, Greg Gianforte is doing; 36% disapproved.
Nevada
In Nevada, 73 volunteers came out to canvass in the Reno suburbs. We knocked on 5,455 doors and talked to 483 voters. 314 answered questions on our Issues Survey. We registered 2 new voters (!) and re-registered 7 voters, updating their current address (4 of these were at one address). 42 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms. 2 voters completed Incident Reports.
The Economy was the Number 1 issue voters talked about last weekend. Climate Change and related issues was second. Reproductive Freedom or Rights was third.
Biden Approval among the voters we talked to was 54% last Saturday. 9% disapproved of the president. 57% approved of their Senator, Jacky Rosen. Rosen is definitely in for a fight, not because she has a competitive opponent, but because the political environment in Nevada is tumultuous right now. 7% disapproved. 24% approved of the Governor, Joe Lombard. 29% disapproved.
North Carolina
328 volunteers came out to knock on doors last Saturday in North Carolina. We’ve started using cooling vehicles here, too. One of our volunteers asked why we don’t include cooling vehicle drivers in our number of volunteers, and that’s because we want to compare like (door knockers) to like in every state. We knocked on 24,042 doors and talked to 1,935 voters. 1,213 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on our Issues Survey. We registered 41 new voters and re-registered 43 voters. 182 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms and 3 voters filled out Incident Reports.
(Rising) Prices and/or Inflation was the Top Issue in North Carolina on Saturday. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was second. The Economy was third.
Biden Approval among the voters we talked to was 46% last Saturday. 16% disapproved of the president. 52% approved of the Governor, Roy Cooper. 10% disapproved.
Ohio
394 volunteers showed up last Saturday in Ohio to knock on doors in the competitive OH-01, OH-09 and OH-13 Congressional Districts. They knocked on 28,959 doors on Saturday. Hope Springs volunteers talked to 2,325 voters, and 1,434 voters answered questions from at least part of the Issues Survey.
We registered 1 new voter and re-registered 16 voters, updating their current address. 96 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms.
The Economy was the Number 1 issue for the Ohioans we talked to on Saturday. Fears of Political Violence was second. Housing Concerns and Insurance (Price) Increases was third.
Biden’s Job Approval was at 48%; 17% expressed some measure of Disapproval. 55% of the voters who responded Approved of the job Sen. Brown was doing while 11% expressed Disapproval. 33% of the voters we talked to thought Gov. DeWine was doing a good job, 29% said they disapproved of the job he was doing.
Pennsylvania
353 volunteers showed up to knock on doors in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh regions last Saturday. This is another state where we only knocked on Democratic doors on Saturday. We knocked on 23,865 doors and talked to 1,797 voters. 1,114 voters completed questions on our Issues Survey, at least in part.
We registered 14 new voters and re-registered 33 voters, updating their current address. 163 voters completed Constituent Service Request forms and 2 voters filled out Incident Reports.
(Rising) Prices and/or Inflation was the Top Issue last Saturday in the state. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was the Second most cited Issue. Economic Uncertainty was third.
Biden’s Job Approval was at 45%; 13% expressed some measure of Disapproval. 58% of the voters who responded Approved of the job Sen. Casey was doing while 9% said they Disapproved. 57% of the voters we talked to thought Gov. Shapiro was doing a good job, 6% said they disapproved of the job he was doing.
Texas
482 volunteers came out to knock on doors last Saturday in Texas. Again, heat was a factor is some of the areas where we were knocking on doors (and we expect that to be true today). We knocked on 32,631 doors and talked to 2,404 voters. 6,765 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on our Issues Survey.
We registered 13 new voters and re-registered 20 voters. 211 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. 2 voters filled out Incident Reports.
The Economy was the Top Issue in Texas last weekend. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was second and Immigration and Border Security was third.
Biden Approval among the Texans we talked to was 54% last Saturday. 9% of the voters we talked to disapproved of the president. 12% of the voters voiced approval of Ted Cruz; 38% disapproved. We have also been asking about job approval of Colin Allred, the Democrat running against Ted Cruz. 46% of the voters we talked to approved of the job he’s been doing. 13% approved of the Governor, Greg Abbot. 39% disapproved.
Wisconsin
306 volunteers came out to canvass in Wisconsin in Milwaukee (where we are canvassing in African-American wards) and its suburbs (the WOW counties), as well as Kenosha, Waukesha and Dane counties. Hope Springs volunteers knocked on 22,766 doors and talked to 1,882 voters. 1,186 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey. We registered 3 new voters and re-registered 17 voters. 56 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. 1 voter filled out an Incident Report.
The Economy was the Top Concern among the Wisconsin voters we talked to on Saturday. Housing Availability, Costs and Housing Insurance Costs was the second most frequently cited concern. Voter Concerns over Political Violence was third.
Biden’s Approval numbers in Wisconsin was 48% last Saturday. His Disapproval number was 14%. Senator Baldwin’s Job Approval was 57% with 9% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Evers, meanwhile, was 47%; Disapproval was 12% last Saturday.
If you are able to support this kind of intensive grassroots organizing and voter contact, we would certainly appreciate your financial support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
We canvass with an Issues Survey that is our jumping off point of conversations with voters. We find this is an easy way to begin the canvass season. All the data we collect will be entered into VAN, the Democratic database.
We knock on the doors of Democratic and Independent voters. At every door, we leave a piece of “show the flag” lit, something that tells them we were there and hopefully reinforces the Democratic brand. The lit focuses on the things voters told us were important to them last fall, aiming to appeal to every voter. We also ask voters if they have an problems that local, state or federal governments need to address in their neighborhoods.
But the main focus of our canvassing right now is the Issues Survey, asking voters for their input and concerns. We find that most voters who aren’t in a hurry or in the middle of something are willing to answer at least a couple of these questions, especially their top issue or concern and their views of President Biden. Voter responses to the questionnaire are entered into VAN and made available to all Democratic candidates who use VAN in the state after the primary. Creating this kind of data isn’t done with a specific goal in mind but has the purpose of engaging voters and creating a dataset that any Democratic candidate can use in opposition to a Republican.
Hope Springs from Field has a hybrid approach. We aren’t interested in competing with regular campaign field organizing. We are in the field before they get there and then move on when the Democratic campaigns start their own intensive field work. Indeed, when we wind up the typical field work by Labor Day, we will encourage all the volunteers working with us to move over to the Senate campaigns in their states (and hope that our field organizers will be hired on by those campaigns). After Labor Day, we will begin organizing our Election Protection Project.
We also ask voters if they have any concerns about the upcoming elections. Last year, we walked with lit about the changes in voting laws, but we also asked voters about their fears and experience in prior elections. So far there haven’t been significant changes in the laws but we still ask about fears and experience vis-a-vis elections. Voters who say they have experience voter intimidation or other problems with voting are asked to fill out Incident Reports.
Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or the Electoral College in 2024, as well as districts that are remapped in ways that offer opportunities or vulnerabilities for Democrats next year (specifically those where a Republican won a Congressional District that voted for Biden in 2022). There is a lot of work to be done! Especially since we have had to expand the map this year.
By starting early, and aiming towards super-compliance with these really, really onerous provisions, Hope Springs from Field seeks to undermine Republican efforts to throw Democrats off the voter rolls, informing voters about the new laws and regulations aimed at them. There’s a lot of work to be done, but fortunately, the three states that are making it most difficult are also states in which you can knock on doors at least 10 months out of the year. And, with your help, we will be there, getting our people to super-comply with these restrictive provisions.
Our biggest expense is the Voter File. But it is also a fixed cost. That won’t change as we raise and spend more money. Printing literature is our second largest cost. Printing and mailing our our Post Cards to New Voters is our third cost and paying the fees for ActBlue is the smallest of our monthly costs.
But here’s the reality: Identifying Single Issue Voters and Constitutional Amendment supporters and doing GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) costs us more money than our regular canvassing because this issue drives volunteer turnout higher and higher and we reach more voters. Which means we have to buy more lit to distribute and other minor expenses (like water for volunteers). We are starting earlier, and staying in the field longer, for this election year. So please:
If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization2024
If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the ActBlue page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!