America's Starting Five
Doomscroll 4.7.2024
Happy Sunday and welcome to another edition of your all-time favorite newsletter. There’s a lot to dissect this week; you guys sure do keep me busy! We’ve got some Diet Coke content, some P2P texting angst, a new Tim Scott video that I *love* and much more. So let’s dive right in!
One Question
Thanks to the (very few) of you who answered last week’s One Question. Maybe you were too full of Easter candy. Maybe no one’s doing anything worth mentioning that isn’t related to fundraising. Either way, answers to “what are you focusing on right now that is NOT money related” ranged from “nothing exciting” to “general content” to “s*** the client thinks is important.” Alrighty then! Moving on…
This week’s One Question is about texting. I know we’ve tussled with this issue before, but every once in a while I feel like some things are just worth revisiting. There’s lots of angst over political texts right now - especially as it pertains to small-dollar fundraising. Earlier this week, the Washington Post published a piece about how Republicans have “texted and emailed their way into a money problem.” The basic gist? Everyone wants to raise money online and everyone is going after the same, small pool of donors. The result? Donors are unhappy and we’re all making less money (basically). Add on top of that the tweets I highlighted last week from Apex Strategies’ John Hall (see one example here) who is rightly exasperated. He’s not alone; I’ve had conversations in the last couple weeks with many of you who are annoyed, frustrated, and maybe just a little bit pissed off about bad actors in the P2P text world for the simple reason that they’re making things harder for the rest of us.
So my One Question is this: How many of you actually think this is a real problem? Are the groups sending 1500X matches and not unsubscribing people screwing things up for the rest of us?
I think you all know where I stand. I’m generally on the side that says we need to treat our donors with respect, not lie to them about absurd matches, and not threaten or guilt them into donating. In other words: We need to stop treating voters like ATM machines and more like the actual people that they are!
Am I right? Or am I wrong?
Who’s Doing What
—The Starting 5
This past week, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott unveiled a new video series called “America’s Starting Five” and I LOVE IT. In fact, I’m wondering why it took this long to come up with the concept - and that’s not me throwing shade. That’s me saying “wow this is so good I wish he/his team had done it sooner!”
The series features Scott talking race and politics with four other black Republicans: Reps. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Byron Donalds, R-Fla., John James, R-Mich., and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. The first video, which runs about 4 1/2 minutes and can be watched here, features the five reacting to clips of Joe Biden talking about black voters.
You guys: this is the kind of thing that proves Republicans are capable to putting out great content. We clearly have the talent - we just need the willingness to devote the time and resources to it. I know something like this will, 98% of the time, not be feasible for a campaign to pull off, but I would encourage everyone to use this as the gold standard - something to strive for. There are Republicans out there who are doing some great things content-wise (Vivek, Eric Hovde, for starters). And now this crew. I love it - and I have no doubt the average American voter will, too.
—West Virginia, Mountain Mama
Some big money is being spent in the West Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary and I figured it was high time I write about these guys. The primary takes place on May 14, which is right around the corner and whoever wins will more than likely replace Gov. Jim Justice this fall. Lately, it’s gotten a little ugly.
A pro-Chris Miller PAC is dropping more than $1 million to go after Miller’s primary rivals - mainly frontrunner Patrick Morrisey. But that’s after pro-Morrisey group Black Bear PAC dropped negative attack after negative attack in the last few weeks against Miller for being too liberal (let’s not forget Jim Justice was a Democrat until just a few years ago!) They’re pretty brutal ads too, if I say so myself. Club for Growth PAC also has Morrisey’s back, fwiw.
And then there’s Moore Capito, who was recently interviewed on the Ruthless podcast and seems like an all-round nice guy (from what I can tell). His digital ads, at least, seem mostly focused on hitting Biden and establishing his own conservative credentials.
As far as each of their respective digital footprints go, they’re all pretty respectable. Their social media accounts are legit. Their websites are nice, though if I had to choose a winner it’d be Morrisey’s for the simple fact that it’s clean, it has an issues page, and it has a merch store. My critique of Capito’s website is that the homepage is way. too. long. I know some web developers and designers have embraced the “let’s have one long page and buttons that jump to different sections rather than different pages” philosophy. I am simply not one of those people. So a homepage that requires me to scroll THAT much is a loser in my book. Also not super into all the low-res photos - sorry! Chris Miller’s site occupies a decent middle ground for me.
Anyway, I expect this primary to get uglier before it’s all over…but we shall see!
—Diet Coke, FTW
I’ll be honest. I’m not 100% sure what’s going on here, but that’s ok. A) Presumably his followers do. B) It’s some good campaign behind-the-scenes content with the candidates speaking directly to camera. C) It showcases an interesting quirk about him. He’s obsessed with Diet Coke? I’ll take it!
—And the award for most random email subject line goes to…
…Sen. Marco Rubio! For this stunner, that’s popped up in my inbox probably a dozen times in the last week or two.
It has barely anything to do with the actual email copy itself…but it must be working! So keep calm and carry on.
2024 Roundup
This is where I make note of a few other things that caught my eye this week.
No Labels won’t be fielding a presidential ticket after all (maybe labels ARE important!?) Read about it here.
Blake Masters is going all in on his Congressional race with a huge media buy. Read about it here.
Trump and The RNC raised $65.6 million in March. Read more here.
Trump endorsed Eric Hovde in the Wisconsin Senate race. Read more here.
Larry Hogan posted a nice video encouraging voters to vote by mail. See it here. (Shield your eyes, TPUSA!)
Who’s Spending Where
Between March 28 - April 3, Americans for Prosperity was the top conservative spender on Facebook ads, at right around $158,000. Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee came in second place at $126,835, while AFP Action came in third at around $80,000. No huge surprises here. The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Inc spent $77,000 and American Parents Coalition spent another $73,000 on an ad about the dangers of TikTok.
BONUS: Speaking of TikTok, the social media company was the second-highest spender overall on Facebook ads. Take a peak:
During that same time period, Trump Save American Joint Fundraising Committee was - once again - the top Republican spender on Google, at $361,000. Americans for Prosperity spend $59,000, and AFP Action spent $47,000. Robin Ficker, Republican senate candidate in Maryland, spent $28,000 on ads (woof), and Chamber for Indiana spent $27,000.
P2P
Industry Watch
Well, well, well, the CCP has TikTok AND Facebook ads??? How 2016 of them…
According to a new piece in the New York Times, China is working overtime to influence the 2014 election. And yet, we still pretend they're our friend. Hmmm. Here’s the nuts and bolts:
Covert Chinese accounts are masquerading online as American supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, promoting conspiracy theories, stoking domestic divisions and attacking President Biden ahead of the election in November, according to researchers and government officials.
The accounts signal a potential tactical shift in how Beijing aims to influence American politics, with more of a willingness to target specific candidates and parties, including Mr. Biden.
TBH, I don’t know who looks worse here: the CCP or the American voter who’s susceptible to this kind of thing. Ok I’m mostly kidding, but I wish someone would launch a massive ad campaign to educate the public on how to separate fact from fiction online. Like, if it sounds too much like an insane conspiracy theory…it probably is. No Labels - you up for it?
In all seriousness though, even Microsoft is sounding the alarm. The company just released a new report detailing Chinese influence operations around the world, and well, it ain’t pretty. One example: during the 2023 Hawaii wildfires, China operatives started posting about how the fires were started by the U.S. government after testing a military-grade weather weapon. Mmmmkkk.
What does all this mean for us digital operatives? I’m not sure, exactly, except maybe there’s a lesson in here about division and politics. If the Chinese government is sowing division to accomplish its goals, maybe that’s our sign to NOT do that? I’m not saying sit around a fire and hold hands with the Dems while singing kumbaya, but ratcheting down the rhetoric a bit may not be such a bad idea.
The Grapevine
Friend of Doomscroll and DeSantis alum Andrew Mullins talked about his experience on the campaign with Nexxen. Read it here.
Samba TV released real-time ad targeting that looks cool and should come in handy. Read more about it here.
Speaking of releasing new stuff, WinRed just rolled out upsell pathways and I already can’t wait to use them. Read their blog post here.
The Dispatch wrote about the Michigan Republican Party drama and WOOF. Guys: you are a key 2024 state. Can you PLEASE get your ish together. The opposing factions even have dueling Republican Party websites. For the love of all things holy… Read about it here.
Fast Company published a piece from someone who’s been tracking Congressional emails for the last 15 years, and I’d like to officially give all the GOPers on the Hill a hardy high-five for winning the email wars!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Ah, another Sunday evening in which I’m writing about the Courier Newsroom. For the 10 millionth time. Per Fox News:
A longtime Democratic political operative behind a network of left-leaning media organizations masquerading as "independent" local news outlets has maintained access to the upper echelons of President Biden's White House.
Tara McGowan, the founder and publisher of Courier Newsroom, has visited the Biden White House nearly 20 times, a Fox News Digital review found.’
It’s interesting stuff, for sure. But is it evidence of corruption or yet another example of the Dem politicians cozying up to the media? I don’t think so, TBH. If and when Trump gets back into the White House, you can bet conservative “journalists” and influencers will be visiting the White House just as much. So say what you want about the Courier Newsroom and its agenda (goodness knows I’ve opined on it many times here in Doomscroll!), but if we’re being smart about when to pick and choose our moments of outrage…this ain’t one of them. Think I’m wrong? Email me and let me know!
OK that said…You know what IS weird? The Biden Campaign spending money on Facebook ads through a “news” page called The Daily Scroll, that’s what. I get The Courier and others doing this…but the President of the United States? Idk ya’ll…seems funky to me - disclaimer or no disclaimer.
From the other side of the tracks:
Ok, here are some tips on how to get more followers on Facebook in the year of our Lord two thousand, twenty-four. Goodness knows we could all use the help. This post was definitely written more for corporate-y or influencer-y type pages, but lots of this still applies to politics. For instance: Growing on Facebook is a marathon, not a sprint (preach). And also: Facebook groups! I haven’t talked about these in a while, but in theory I’m a huge fan of Facebook groups for campaigns if you can get one up and running ASAP. In my own experience, I’ve found that volunteers/activist types engage way more in groups than they do on an official page.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!