A radical shift in how Democrats listen to and learn from voters

Democrats lose when they don’t listen to all voters' real concerns—and win when they do.  

In 2024, Democrats lost ground across nearly every demographic group. In 2025, we learned that we can win voters back, but only if we show up and listen.

​​Too often, campaigns rely on outdated technology, incomplete voter data, and narrow targeting that overlooks potential supporters who could make the difference in tight races.

Voters and volunteers are tired of short-term, transactional outreach that starts too late, misses the mark, and ends abruptly after Election Day.

On Election Day 2025, we saw candidates who understand the voters they're talking to—and tailor their messaging to specific concerns—perform better.

Ground Truth reimagines voter contact.

We’re starting earlier, listening deeply to all potential swing district voters, and giving candidates a clearer picture of what their district needs.

Two Ground Truth volunteers stand outside a house reviewing a clipboard while canvassing

Deeper conversations

Traditional campaigns tend to rely on short conversations that simply remind voters to cast a ballot shortly before each election – and increasingly avoid investing in deep persuasion. Ground Truth canvasses train volunteers to engage in substantive conversations that focus on listening openly and non-judgmentally to voters’ concerns and enable persuasion communication well before Election Day.

Better data & technology

Volunteers are using new technology that Swing Left helped design to support longer, open-ended conversations with every voter, not just the ones campaigns typically target. Ground Truth’s technology reimagines outdated systems—building the infrastructure Democrats need to listen at scale, deliver on voters’ needs, and win close races.

Stronger insight sharing

Ground Truth sets a new standard for collaboration by being the first national field program to gather and analyze deep insights from potential voters and then share that data with Democratic campaigns.* This is now possible due to the 2024 FEC advisory opinion allowing unlimited hard-side spending on coordinated canvassing.

This enables richer, real-time data sharing with Democratic campaigns and state parties, helping to fill gaps in the voter file and strengthen their messaging and outreach.

*Via an unblinded swap with the Democratic Data Exchange.

Rapid iteration & improvement

With a nationwide program launch planned for January 2026, Swing Left has already been piloting Ground Truth in competitive swing districts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Every step of the way, we’re integrating feedback from our volunteers and political partners to help us scale effectively ahead of the 2026 midterms.  

  • "Swing Left’s Ground Truth program creates space for genuine dialogue across every neighborhood so we can better understand and reflect our communities’ experiences. Hearing directly from families, veterans, and small-business owners gives us insights no poll or algorithm could ever provide, and it’s how we’ll build lasting power heading into 2026 and beyond."

    — Congressman Derek Tran, CA-45

  • "Ground Truth is critically important. Deep listening and reaching voters where they are is the future of voter contact, and we need more organizations like Swing Left leading the way. Ground Truth will continue Swing Left’s long tradition of running innovative programs that drive outsized electoral impact."

    — JB Poersch, President of Senate Majority PAC

  • "From congressional races to presidential campaigns, I’ve seen firsthand how listening to voters face-to-face drives better outcomes and stronger campaigns. Ground Truth offers a powerful new model that can transform and strengthen campaigns and storytellers alike. Its real-world insight will help us better reflect the voices of our communities, particularly those who have been left behind and overlooked."

    — Jalisa Washington Price, Democratic Strategist

  • "As someone who began my career organizing on the Obama campaign, I know how powerful it is to truly listen to voters—it’s how we build trust and win. With so much at stake in the fight for fair maps and the future of our democracy, I’m thrilled to see Swing Left leading the way, combining innovation with the fundamentals of talking to people and building real connections in communities."

    — John Bisognano, President of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NRDC)

Early findings from pilot canvasses, Sept - Nov 2025

19

Pilot canvass events across the country

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Ground Truth volunteer shifts completed

235

Deep conversations with Swing District voters

Voters feel the system is broken

About 50% of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike mentioned broad frustration with both political parties and a sense that the government isn’t working for them. Notably, we have not yet seen a federal or state party entity systematically tracking this theme in their canvassing and voter files.

There’s untapped voter potential for Democrats

Democrats have an opportunity to make up ground with the demographic groups they lost in 2024 and also persuade Trump supporters. Expanding whom we talk to and improving how we talk with them can uncover meaningful new support. In our pilot data, 1 in 3 of the voters campaigns typically classify as very unlikely to support Democrats expressed serious concerns about Trump's actions and the direction of the country—indicating that traditional voter contact efforts are missing potentially persuadable voters.

Voters are very eager to engage

Two-thirds of people who answered their door were willing to have a real, 10–15 minute conversation. Voters across the spectrum also expressed their pleasant surprise that Democrats are interested in talking and listening to them, not just asking for votes—an important step in rebuilding the broken party brand, and proof that when someone shows up and listens, voters are eager to be heard.

Conventional “issue framing” isn’t quite right

Early results also indicate that the traditional single-issue based framing used to categorize voters is increasingly insufficient. In more than 80% of our conversations, voters brought up at least two motivating issues. Ground Truth’s approach is helping Democrats think more holistically about the narratives people believe in and what truly drives their engagement.

A group of Ground Truth volunteers poses for a picture near the train station

Go deeper: see what we learned from Ground Truth’s pilot canvasses

  • "Most people, regardless of their party affiliation, seemed grateful for the opportunity to talk about their experience of our country’s politics.”

    — Janet B., Experienced canvasser in Oregon

  • "Knocking every door led to some remarkable conversations with people who we probably wouldn't have met through traditional canvassing.”

    — Bill M., Experienced canvasser in Illinois

  • "I drove home thinking that Ground Truth can provide so many benefits like hearing issues first hand, establishing a deeper relationship with voters, AND it also occurred to me that it can be a real differentiator in terms of the brand of the Democratic Party.”

    — Ben E., First-time canvasser in Colorado

Taking Ground Truth to the next level is only possible with your support. 

Your donation will help scale this transformative program to reach more swing district voters and help Democrats win in 2026 and beyond.

Help fund this work