The liberal coalition Win Justice sidelined its usual army of clipboard-wielding activists who swarm neighborhoods to register voters and build a get-out-the-vote database for 2020.
The coronavirus crisis also put a crimp in the plans of political activists and advocacy groups across the political spectrum, with fundraising dried up by the economic lockdown and traditional voter contact strategies stifled by social distancing.
But political activists, by definition, are not easily deterred.
Win Justice’s network of activists from Planned Parenthood, Service Employees International Union and other left-wing groups this week retooled its voter turnout operation into a $30 million effort emphasizing personalized mail and phone banks.
The Committee to Unleash Prosperity’s Stephen Moore said he estimated his income would drop 70% this year because of canceled conferences and speaking engagements, and fewer economic consulting opportunities.
Mr. Moore, a member of President Trump’s task force to reopen the economy, said he is poised to weather the economic storm without hardship but he knows others in the policy-advocacy arena are not as fortunate.
“The biggest problem for what we’re doing now frankly is everybody’s poorer,” Mr. Moore said. “I talk to donors and they say I just lost 30% of my money in the stock market.”
The inability of activists to put boots on the ground nationwide has affected conservatives and liberals alike. The Club for Growth said it hopes to resurrect its door-knocking campaigns if and when state and local officials allow it.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh said the biggest difference now than before the coronavirus shutdowns is that the group has focused more on digital engagement with its members and its new fellowship program.
“We’ve held a number of town halls with our friends including Sen. [Ted] Cruz, [pollster] Frank Luntz and more, and we’ve been getting great feedback,” Mr. McIntosh said. “We are continuing to be very engaged with TV, cable, and digital ads and mail even with many primaries being pushed into the summer.”
Win Justice leaders said they want to do in-person field organizing if it is safe. But in the meantime, they are combining traditional methods with newer digital tools for their campaigns in Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin.
“We need to reach the communities who have been targeted and silenced by this administration and the people in power — from voters of color to immigrants, to young people, to women,” said Planned Parenthood’s Jenny Lawson. “Enough is enough: While our country’s health care needs continue to rise in the face of a global pandemic, it’s time for the politicians who attack our health care and our reproductive rights to lose their jobs.”
The SEIU said it sees Win Justice as the beginning of its chance to fundamentally alter the American economy.
“Workers and communities of color can’t afford to return to normal — we need to reject the inequality and economic pain that defines COVID but was present long before COVID,” said Mary Kay Henry, SEIU international president. “That’s what this election is about. Win Justice is the first step toward a better future where we rewrite the rules, rebuild the economy based on workers’ power, and reinvest in communities.”
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