Breaking the Ice: A Record-Breaking Canvassing Campaign
In the month leading up to the 2024 General Election, Great Society Strategies hired 127 local canvassers to execute a boots-on-the-ground canvassing program in Alaska– one of the largest and most challenging states to campaign in. Despite freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and challenging roads, our team knocked 59,859 doors across Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula, and the Mat-Su Valley.
Our results defied national trends: we flipped the Alaska state house and nearly re-elected Congresswoman Mary Peltola– the only Democrats to do so nationwide in 2024. Campaigning in Alaska presented significant hurdles. The state’s transient population, shaped by seasonal employment, military postings, and migration, added complexity to our voter outreach efforts. Social dynamics, including significant Alaska Native populations, high rates of crime and addiction, and widespread poverty, required us to employ strategic canvassing routes and thorough training. Along with the vast geographic spread and harsh winter conditions, these factors drove us to hit every door, trailer park, apartment complex, and townhome while inspiring creative transportation methods.
Partnering with the Alaska Democratic Party and Mary Peltola for Congress, we focused on direct voter contact and leveraged the local knowledge of every canvasser. By engaging low-propensity voters, independents, swing voters, and even Republicans, our efforts drove record-breaking Democratic turnout and flipped critical legislative seats.
Project Details
Mobilizing Alaska’s Electorate
Our canvassing program drove historic voter turnout and delivered substantial Democratic gains across Alaska. These efforts helped Democrats take control of the Alaska State House and flip a State Senate seat in a traditionally Republican state. Alaska’s overall voter turnout increased by 20.5% compared to the 2022 midterms, and our targeted districts significantly outperformed the statewide average in both turnout and Democratic performance.
Tactics
1. Localized Hiring
To build trust and credibility, we prioritized hiring local canvassers, including:
- Independents and Republicans: To navigate Alaska’s unique political landscape.
- Alaska Native Residents: To effectively engage with Native communities and address culturally specific concerns.
- Multilingual and Rural Residents: To connect with voters in remote areas and bridge language barriers.
- People of Color: To engage underrepresented groups and reflect Alaska’s diverse electorate.
Canvassers were trained to focus on local issues and provided with educational resources to address voter concerns authentically.
2. Comprehensive Training
Our training program ensured canvassers were prepared and motivated through:
- Quizzes on candidates, opposition, and local issues.
- One-on-one role-playing sessions to refine pitches and foster authenticity.
- Script reviews to build confidence in engaging with persuasion and GOTV targets.
- Pre-shift briefings to align canvassers with campaign goals and encourage motivation.
3. Outreach Tactics
- Targeting Low-Turnout Areas: Identified and prioritized regions with low voter engagement, focusing on remote and underrepresented areas.
- Providing Transportation Support: Organized carpools and shuttles to ensure canvassers could reach even the most inaccessible areas.
- Targeting Conservative-Leaning Regions: Deployed diverse canvassing teams to build trust and encourage ticket-splitting.
- Promoting Mary Peltola’s Bipartisan Appeal: Highlighted her record of working with both parties and policies that resonated with local communities.
- Adapting Based on Feedback: Adjusted strategies and logistics in response to real-time voter and canvasser input.
Results
Record Turnout and Real Impact: The Power of Strategic Canvassing
Great Society Strategies’ targeted canvassing approach delivered extraordinary results in Alaska’s politically challenging environment. By prioritizing local hiring, authentic outreach, and data-driven strategies, we exceeded voter contact goals and achieved historic Democratic victories.
These efforts were instrumental in flipping the Alaska State House, outperforming the top of the ticket by over 7 percentage points, and strengthening Democratic influence in Alaska.
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