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Campaign technologyA Democratic organization made up of tech industry workers seeking to influence state elections is expanding its playing field to include six states where Republicans hold commanding majorities in state legislatures.
Jessica Alter, co-founder and president of the organization, said in an interview that starting this year, Campaign technology would commit resources to state legislative candidates in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, as well as swing states like Arizona and Michigan, where the organization has previously focused.
The move is part of a new long-term strategy the organization calls the “Next Ten”: targeting Republican-dominated state capitals where Democrats could have a chance to control the state legislature over the next 10 years.
Tech for Campaigns is made up of 17,000 tech workers who are clustered in coastal cities like San Francisco and New York, but who volunteer remotely to help Democrats in state legislative elections. This year they say they are using artificial intelligence to help create fundraising ads and emails, allowing them to leverage resources more than before.
The organization is unabashedly pro-Democratic and was formed in 2017, a low point for the party, when progressive tech workers in Democratic states decided to think more strategically about helping rejected candidates across the country.
Alter said the organization is filling a void that other Democratic organizations have not invested in.
“Because these places are a little more overlooked, it’s even more valuable. No one is breaking down their door to help,” she said.
Unlike Tech for Campaigns, many conservative tech figures have moved away from participating in the 2024 election compared to previous years, but Republican groups have also specifically saying are leveraging artificial intelligence technology in their electoral efforts.
Republicans have majorities in each chamber of the Democratic caucus’ six “Next Ten” state capitals and, in some states, they have supermajorities. In North Carolina, that has meant Republicans can cancel any veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper if they stick together. But the chamber is split 30-20, and Democrats could take override power away from Republicans if they win a seat and keep the governorship.
“So the plan this year is not to flip the North Carolina Senate, for example, where we are working very closely, but to break a supermajority,” Alter said.
Democratic state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri said the party’s long-term plan to make North Carolina competitive involves getting new district maps, which will likely require getting more Democrats on the state’s highest court. Last year, a new Republican majority on the state Supreme Court permitted new maps much more favorable for Republicans.
Chaudhuri said Tech for Campaigns can help with about five state Senate campaigns this year, with more help expected in the coming years.
“Too often, progressive and Democratic donors focus much more on the presidential level than the state legislative level. “They are too focused on winning the election cycle instead of winning the decade,” he stated.
The stakes are rising given the important issues facing state lawmakers, from abortion to electoral administration to LGBTQ rights. And with more than 7,000 people service There is no shortage of candidates with extreme views in state legislatures.
“You’re seeing people who have signed the pledge to get Texas out of the union. There are people who are supported by groups that want to execute people for abortions,” said Dylan Doody, executive director of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, referring to two in progress controversies in the state.
Doody said that as a result, Texas has some recovery opportunities for Democrats and he believes help from Tech for Campaigns could put them over the top.
“They are thinking far beyond what many of the establishment and old money think,” he said.
Tech for Campaigns helps state legislative candidates in a variety of ways. Assign volunteers to work closely with campaigns on specific tasks, such as website design. Those volunteers also provide ongoing assistance with email fundraising and digital advertising, often using skills from their day jobs at technology companies large and small. Some are helping candidates in the states where they grew up, while others have no specific ties to where they direct their volunteer hours.
The organization also has a political action committee that it uses for voter participation efforts outside of campaign work. In the 2020 campaign cycle, he spent $10.5 million, $6.1 million of which went to buying ads with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, according to the nonpartisan research site. Open secrets. By 2024, the organization said its budget will be between $10 million and $14 million across all its programs. Its donors include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, although its biggest donors were tech investors Jessica Livingston, who donated $5 million, and Michael Duca, who donated $1 million. .6 million dollars, according to OpenSecrets.
That money and voluntary help can go much further in a state legislative race than in a U.S. Senate race, especially in places where state lawmakers are not accustomed to outside help.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico said some of his fellow Democrats have shoestring budgets, but he said it takes $1 million to run in a competitive Texas House district.
“There are groups all over the country that will swoop in and support you (provide your name, put you on a website), which is great and any help is appreciated, but there are very few groups that provide tangible help, i.e. dollars , volunteers or communications support. , and Tech For Campaigns provides all three,” she said.
Talarico said he is familiar with claims going back many years that Democrats are on the verge of turning Texas “blue” — claims that have consistently not been true — and said what is missing is tangible help.
“I have come across other organizations that want to turn Texas blue, but not many organizations that have offered tangible help to make it happen,” he said.
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