With an eye on midterms, the DNC is overhauling the tech that powers its outreach
It's the first time the DNC has overhauled its technology infrastructure in nearly 20 years, a DNC spokesperson said.
The new tools, which include a platform that helps Democrats host and attend their own political events, were placed in an open request-for-proposal (RFP) process in April to secure vendors who can provide the amalgam of services.
"The RFP invited a broad range of tools, from innovative voter contact technologies to streamlined volunteer management platforms," the committee said in an announcement Tuesday. "The DNC knows that Democrats needed to redefine the tools we use to organize and communicate with voters and volunteers."
Among the new tools is Matchbook, which is billed as a way "to turn raw data into real strategy," including by tracking support and finding voters and volunteers. The company behind Matchbook, Indigo, is a relatively new entrant into the politics-and-tech scene, having launched less than a year ago and getting acquired by another company, Switchboard, in February.
"We're really excited for an opportunity to help the DNC, Democratic state parties, and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot find new ways to organize their communities," Indigo CEO Max Wood said in an email. "We're particularly excited to offer a new approach when it comes to the basics of collecting and leveraging data from organizing programs. If everything goes well, Matchbook will help campaigns develop more personal, long-term relationships with voters and supporters."
The announcement comes as the party wrestles with an uncertain road ahead.
The DNC is coming off a disappointing 2024 election cycle, and it continues to face fundraising challenges. It had $15 million on hand at the end of June, well behind the Republican National Committee's $80 million. Democratic Party polling remains at or near all-time lows.
Many Democrats turned their backs on the party last year for a number of reasons, including former President Joe Biden's dropping out of the race too late, Vice President Kamala Harris' failing to distinguish herself from his administration and disillusionment with the Democrats due to their stance on the war in Gaza.
What was once seen as an advantage for the Democrats — data-driven field organizing in the late 2000s was seen as a boost for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns — has more recently lost its luster. A May report from Higher Ground Labs, a left-leaning venture fund, found that Democratic outreach efforts had floundered.
"Despite record-scale outreach via text, phone, and door-to-door efforts, declining voter engagement reveals stagnation in effective voter contact strategies, underscoring the need for new methods that prioritize genuine connection and measurable impact, alongside technologies and data that can support them," the group found.
The new technology includes a management system to help track interactions among the DNC, voters and volunteers; software that encourages "high-quality interactions with voters"; and a platform to empower Democrats to participate in online and offline events.
The tools were selected for a pilot program, and the DNC will begin using them immediately, including in the New Jersey and Virginia Democratic parties ahead of the elections in November, it said.
DNC Chair Ken Martin said the committee's goal is "organizing everywhere to win anywhere."
"We take our responsibility seriously to ensure that Democratic campaigns everywhere have the best, most modern, and most effective tools available to engage with voters and win elections," Martin said in a statement.
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