Fundraising Frenemies
Doomscroll 3.26.23
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One Question
Ok, friends. The Republican small-dollar fundraising ecosystem hit a snag this week (see below), and I want to know what you think. Lots of you are or have been involved in online fundraising for campaigns past and present. Where do we go from here? How should Republican candidates navigate a tricky small-dollar landscape without using he-who-shall-not-be-named? Ok I’m kidding. Trump. I’m talking about Trump.
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s survey about candidate websites. 50% of you said candidate websites matter a lot. 25% said they matter somewhat and another 25% said they don’t matter at all. In response to the question about the main purpose of a candidate website, about 60% of you said to raise money and gather data. 33% said the main purpose should be to communicate the candidate’s views and beliefs - and one of you added that it’s because views and beliefs create a “value proposition” for the voter to donate. Makes sense! I also got a few good callouts for examples of great and horrible websites.
Good websites:
www.donaldjtrump.com
www.tomcotton.com
www.claudiaforcongress.com
www.randpaul.com
Bad websites:
www.rondesantis.com
www.witcherforgovernor.com
For the websites in the good category, I agree - they’re all pretty good. Although, I would tell the Claudia Tenney team that maybe it’s time to switch out that homepage image with something that doesn’t have her wearing a mask. It is 2023. No one wants to be reminded of the masking days of COVID. The Ron DeSantis nod in the “bad” category has me scratching my head a little; if you submitted that, please email and tell me why! itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com. As for Witcher…well, yeah….
Who’s Doing What
--GOP Fundraising Frenemies
We all know Trump’s supposedly impending indictment and arrest sucked up all the oxygen this week. And while he’s been fundraising off of it (duh), I’ve also been keeping a weathered eye tuned to the interwebs all week to see who else would be coming to the Donald’s defense. And honestly? I haven’t seen all that much. Elise Stefanik signed an email for Trump asking people to sign a petition to “make Soros’ D.A. answer for the witch hunt.” West Virginia Senate candidate Alex Mooney also sent a petition to condemn the “politically motivated…sham of an investigation.” Last but not least, Vivek 2024 also sent a petition to “denounce politically motivate indictments.”
Speaking of Trump and fundraising, Politico reported that the Trump campaign sent letters to some of the top Republican digital firms warning them not to use the Donald in their fundraising pitches for clients. Doing so would ::gulp:: jeopardize a possible endorsement. Stupid? Yes. Petty? For sure. It’s also rich considering the only reason firms use Trump in fundraising to begin with is because he’s sucked up all the small-dollar oxygen for the last (checks notes) 5 years or so. Trump camp is worried that online cash will go to Senate Candidate X when it could have gone to him? He helped create the environment that forced these firms into this position. Look, I don’t like deceptive(ish) practices. I don’t like seeing firms lure donors into thinking they’re contributing to Trump. It’s bad. It’s bad for them long term. it’s bad for voters, it’s bad for business. It’s just bad. That said, the Republican online fundraising struggle bus just got a little bit bigger. And sadder.
--Under the Influence
Semafor published a story earlier this week about Republican online influencers, and I have a few questions. “Dozens” of GOP strategists were interviewed and the only influencer names Semafor could print were Jack Prosobiec, John Cardillo, Steve Bannon and Libs of TikTok? I have nothing against Libs or Cardillo, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t giving me cause for some deep introspection. What do these strategists know that I don’t? Do they have their finger on the pulse of Republican voters in a way that I don’t? Or is Semafor strategically calling out people like Bannon (corrupt) and Prosobiec (alt-right, Pizzagate conspiracy theorist) because it makes the right look unhinged. Friends, is this the extent of our influencer bench? Hopefully not. And yes, I know about Urban Legend. I haven’t used them (yet), but here’s hoping they’ve cracked the Republican influencer code for us.
-- Buckeye Ballot Measure
Abortion is going to be on the ballot in Ohio this fall and you better believe Doomscroll will be paying close attention. If the tactics used in last year’s fight over Kansas’ ballot measure are any indication, this campaign in the Buckeye State is one we’ll all want to watch closely. Last week, it was reported that the anti-abortion side, Protect Women Ohio, was gearing up to launch a $5 million advertising campaign to oppose a ballot amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Only a small portion of that appears to be on Facebook, but you can watch their ad here. It’s pretty good, IMO. Lots of people may disagree, including the commenters on the group’s Facebook page. But for whatever it’s worth, this fight is going to come down to whoever can define the other side first. How those battle lines are drawn in the digital arena will be fascinating to watch.
--Georgia Ads…On My Mind
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s PAC, Hardworking Americans, is up with digital ads on Facebook. I love Kemp and I love the message of this group, but their Facebook ads pain me a little bit. People: Please stop wasting money on ads asking users to like your page. We know that organic page reach is down across the board. It doesn’t matter if people like your page; they won’t see your content - ESPECIALLY if it’s political.
--Merch, Merch, Baby
You know I love good merch. This week I want to call out two items: one from Nikki Haley for President and one from the California GOP. Love. Them.
Who’s Spending Where
From March 15 - 21, PragerU was the top center-right spender on Facebook, spending about $146,000 on fundraising, traffic, and lead-gen ads. Newsmax came in second place with just over $137,000 in ad spend. American Action Network spent another $96,000ish dollars on ads attacking Democrats on Medicare Advantage and the Lower Energy Costs Act. A group called Better Medicare Alliance also spent around $94,000 on VERY similar Medicare-themed ads. Rounding out the top five is a group called the Coalition for Medicare Choices, which spent $80,000 on ads about, you guessed it, changes to Medicare. I’m considering the group center-right because it attacks “the administration” in ad copy.
I’d like to welcome the Associated Industries of Florida PAC to the Doomscroll Google spend tracker! The group put money behind a 30-second spot this week trumpeting how well the state’s economy is doing under DeSantis, and vowing to end trial lawyer greed. American Action Network came in second place this week with more ads about Medicare, followed by Vivek 2024 in third place. Rounding out the top 5 are the RSLC (still hawking those DeSantis books!) and a group called Fair Courts America, which is running ads supporting Dan Kelly in Wisconsin.
P2P
Industry Watch
Basis just released a report on political ad spend in 2022. Couple takeaways: Almost 70% of the ad spend that went through basis in 2022 was on video inventory. No surprise there, but interesting nonetheless. Also: a quarter of all ad spend was spent in the last 10 days before the election. Again, probably shouldn’t be surprising, but WOW. GC’s were really hoarding those budgets! Read more here.
The Grapevine
IMGE and National Public Affairs are both hiring for digital roles.
Congrats to Push Digital for landing Vivek 2024!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Fav sheet pan dinner recipe? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
First, apparently Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has dumped ActBlue for Anedot (you go, girl).
Also, ignore that this was originally a TikTok video (I don’t think any Republican should be on TikTok!) and just focus on the video itself. This is really good and it’s how politicians should do social media content. It’s authentic. It’s genuine, and it actually adds value. No wonder it went viral. Props to Rep. Jeff Jackson.
From the other side of the tracks:
At this point, you’ve probably all seen the logo associated with the new NYC marketing campaign. I know everyone has been dunking on it all week, and if you were expecting a different take from Doomscroll…prepare to be disappointed. I’m sorry. I’ve been waiting ALL WEEK LONG to dunk on this logo and if you’re tired of the dunking just feel free to move right along. No hard feelings.
First of all, I LOVE that the designer, Graham Cliford, thinks this is a “modern twist” on the legendary I <3 NY logo. I also love that, according to his interview in the NYT, the goal was to reference (wait for it…) the New York City subway system. The rat-infested, crime-ridden subway system. Guys- I’m dying. The subway system, according to Clifford, is “a place where you can bring everybody together…” It’s also a place where you can get a nice, home cooked meal of meth, apparently, but who’s judging??
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!