Good evening! Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll, your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right! Were you at the Reeds this week? Congrats to all the winners!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about relational organizing! So here’s the thing: You guys are split 50-50 on whether you’re persuaded that it’s a good tactic, just a tough one to execute. But those of you who took the time to leave comments didn’t hold anything back:
It's a scaling problem. Relational organizing is a great tactic to move hundreds of votes, but most of us are trying to move thousands of votes. Implementing relational organizing will take 10 percent of our time/energy but will only move 2 percent of the votes. It's just not an efficient use of resources.
VOTERS hold a VOTE and that's how you win an election, so far at least…
The big problem is scaling it quickly. Yes a large Senate, Presidential, or swing seat Congressional race can do it but anything besides that is going to take too long. The other idea would be for an advocacy group to be doing it but they would have to be focused on it year round. Meaning building up their audience who could do it. If the NRA was still a thing they would be perfect for this.
Technology won't fix this problem. It's a cultural issue. You simply won't be able to find enough activists in the wild that are willing to share their info and contact all of their friends about divisive partisan politics.
UGH - relational organizing is the new buzzword thanks to the Dems but it's simply WALKING DOORS and MEETING VOTERS!!!
Ugh.
Someone else asked: "Who is leading the field in conservative politics for relational organizing tools?”
At this point I would say SwipeRed or Numinar! If anyone has any other suggestions for good tools, hmu at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com.
This week’s One Question is about…cursing. That’s f***ing right. Cursing. I feel like I’ve been seeing (hearing?) it everywhere on social lately from the left. We saw it with all those identical SOTU videos. Katie Porter said “bullshit” directly into the camera in her announcement video a couple weeks ago. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who’s one of the worst governors in America (let’s just get that out of the way), isn’t shy about saying “bullshit” on X. And those are just a couple examples off the top of my head.
What is this new era we’re in? Am I scratching my head at this simply because I’m a millennial and back in my day politicians just didn’t curse like this when communicating with voters? Is this a symptom of Democrats wanting to connect *so badly* with the youths on social media that they're doing anything to seem cool? Don’t get me wrong - I’m not offended by this at all. It’s just a new trend that I find amusing and a little befuddling. It’s like some young, hip strategist somewhere told Democrat politicians that the key to authenticity is just to say “bullshit” about everything all the time. So here’s my question: Is it totally no big deal in the year 2025 for politicians to use curse words in their messaging (email, texts, ads, social content, etc). And has anyone seen candidates on the right do this? Let me know! Genuinely curious.
One Quote
One Thought
I know there’s already been a LOT written this week about Ezra Klein’s conversation with Democratic pollster David Shor…and #sorrynotsorry, you’re going to see it here, too. It’s pretty freaking fascinating, and the above quote really stood out to me. In 2024, the less engaged you were, the more likely you were to vote Republican. That’s a complete reversal from what we saw in 2020. So…what should our takeaway be? That if we do our jobs right, we need to be focused on reaching Americans who are unengaged and uninterested? Probs. Shor noted that voters who stayed home last November would have actually voted for Trump had they taken the time to cast a ballot. (!!) Assuming an aggressive outreach strategy doesn’t backfire, it would probably behoove us digital operatives to figure out more ways to reach these people and make sure they get their butts off the couch and to the polls! (oh wait, weren’t we just talking about relational organizing recently?! 😆)
Just a thought.
Who’s Doing What
—Keeping up with Kemp
Gov. Brian Kemp’s group, Georgians First Leadership Committee, has been running ads featuring the gov talking directly to camera, urging people to contact their state legislators to support tort reform. I mean…he is front_and_center in these ads. This stood out to me. It’s not every day you see a sitting governor cut ads like this…right?(Spoiler alert: The Georgia State House did just narrowly pass the legislation, which aims to “limit excessive lawsuits” in the state). I’m trying not to read too much into this particular campaign, but it is interesting given all the calls for Kemp to run for Senate. This sets him up nicely for arguing he’s an independent voice in Georgia that was willing to go up against his own party! Just sayin’.
—More Peach State Politics
Speaking of Georgia…The NRSC has a stellar new ad out hitting Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff for being disappointing, embarrassing, and bad for the Peach State. I think it’s a good ad, but I do wonder if messaging around government shutdowns really resonates with voters anymore. Do they care? I feel like we’ve been through so many near-shutdowns or actual shutdowns in recent years that they barely register anymore. But maybe that’s just me. Still a great ad.
—Words of Wisdom
Watch Interior Secretary Doug Burgum talk about AI. Just do it (it’s only a two minute clip!)
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
This week’s P2P shout-out goes to Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, who sent the following fundraising messages in a joint effort with the Trump National Committee JFC. I was a little surprised to see this was sent from Sen. Britt; the tone doesn’t seem to fit her personality, IMO. The P2P copy itself is a little weird (“Don’t get emotional”? “This goodbye is difficult”?). And what’s the “farewell message”? The copy on the WinRed page actually implies Elon Musk is about to get assassinated. It’s very bizarre.
To me, this is a good example of a text that’s sent by a team more concerned with raising a buck or two than establishing a solid brand or relationship with voters. (Also…that red background is tough on the eyes!) 🤷♀️
Industry Watch
🎧 According to this report from Transistor, Gen Z prefers Spotify for their podcast listening - and audio only. Interesting.
📹 LinkedIn recently published some tips for what kind of videos do well on their platform. Good stuff.
▶️ YouTube Shorts viewership is up 25% year-over-year. There is some serious untapped potential here, my friends!
👧🧒 Interesting: A bill working its way through the Montana legislature would create legal protections for kids who’s influencer parents use them in their social media content.
2025-2026 Watch
Ric Grenell might run for Governor of California. I guess stranger things have happened?
Tudor Dixon is eyeing a run for governor OR the U.S. Senate in 2026.
State Sen. Peter Durant might run for governor of Massachusetts in 2026. We shall see!
Rep. John Rose will run for governor of Tennessee.
House GOPers say the 2026 Midterms won’t be as bad as the last time Trump was president… I like the optimism!
The Grapevine
The Republican Study Committee is hiring a digital/press assistant. See here.
The New York Times has an interesting piece about how MAGA world is trying to “cripple the left.” Read it here. (I mean…all the groups mentioned are pretty effing sketchy, if you ask me.)
The Hill has a write-up about how Mike Pence’s group, Advancing American Freedom, is trying to find its footing in this very Trump-friendly world of ours. Not for nothing, but I feel like the group isn’t shy about using Trump’s name when it suits their fundraising pitches…not knocking it! Just sayin’.
The RNC is already getting ready for 2028…The paperwork don’t lie!
Some good advice here from Daria, Mike and Aaron about GOP online fundraising!
The Republican Women’s Group is hosting a Happy Hour on April 10 at Mission! Go for the Mahjong, stay for the Margs! Details below.
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:
I haven’t been paying too close attention to this special election in Florida, but these fundraising numbers from Gay Valimont, who’s running to flip Matt Gaetz’s old seat, are kind of wild… FWIW, she’s also been spending heavily on Facebook ads: nearly $270K in the last seven days alone.
From the other side of the tracks:
Quaker is running a “deliciously ugly” campaign in the UK. And the ads are…well…kind of gross-looking, which is the whole point. It’s one way to grab attention! But let’s be real: Oatmeal ain’t pretty. We all know it. It’s mush. So…what’s the lesson here, you might be asking? When it comes to advertising, a little bit of reality + humor can go a long way…
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