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The Hill
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrats seek to close social media gap with GOP, Trump
Democrats are grappling with how to up their game on social media following an election cycle where they acknowledged they were trounced by Republicans on platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube. In recent focus groups and polls, Democrats have pressed for answers on why they failed to connect with voters on the platforms in 2024. So far, they have concluded it was both a message and messenger problem. But political observers say that Democrats were also missing the mark on social media. New polling by the Democratic super PAC Unite the Country, for example, revealed that social media is the third most popular way for voters to get their news. But Democratic spending on social media pales in comparison to the consistency and efficacy of Republican efforts online. 'There's a twofold problem,' said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who is also the CEO of Unite the Country. 'I think they're light-years ahead of us. … But also, I think … we're not trusted by enough voters in enough parts of the country to be able to push back.' Elizabeth Sena, the Democratic pollster who conducted the survey for Unite the Country, said this disparity counts social media and other modes of communication, like cable TV and online news sites. Sena also said Unite the Country's poll showed the 'fractured environment' in which people receive information. 'People get information multiple different ways, and being able to access all of those different ways … is one of the things that Republicans did well,' she said. 'They hit all of the different channels.' President Trump's campaign was backed by an army of already established conservative influencers and podcasters, such as Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk and Theo Von, among many others, who successfully sold their broad audiences on Trump. Clips from their shows also circulated all over social media, allowing them to go viral — and reach new parts of the electorate in some cases. In the three-and-a-half years before November 2024, Republicans consistently outspent Democrats on social media until the party poured in $30 million right before Election Day, as revealed in a report last year by the Democratic super PAC Tech for Campaigns. The report showed that while Democratic campaigns typically outspent Republican efforts on social media, Republicans focused their funding more effectively on persuasion and mobilization content as opposed to fundraising pleas. Most recently, on the heels of the New York City mayoral primary, Democrats have pointed to Zohran Mamdani, the progressive upstart-turned-party nominee, as an example of how Democratic campaigns can leverage the power of social media. Mamdani, relying predominantly on Instagram and TikTok, clawed his way from obscurity to winning the primary. He amassed his own following of more than 4.5 million across the two platforms and collaborated with various social media influencers in New York City throughout his campaign. Political observers say the strategy put him on the radars of young, first-time voters and created an energy around his campaign that motivated voters to the polls. Mamdani drove home his message of affordability on social media and frequently tried to draw the contrast between himself and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), his main competition in the race. In a 30-second video posted to his Instagram and TikTok accounts four days before Election Day, Mamdani could be seen walking with his sleeves rolled up surrounded by a crowd of his supporters delivering a message directly to voters. 'Everyone knows what's on the ballot this June 24th,' he said in the post, which has upward of 1.5 million views across Instagram and TikTok. 'It's whether we can actually afford the city that we call our home, and our campaign is fighting exactly for that.' 'We're fighting through the most amount of money that has ever been spent by a super PAC in New York City municipal history, and we're going to be able to overcome that because of you,' Mamdani continued, referring to Cuomo's establishment-backed campaign. 'One of the things he clearly did very effectively was take his message directly to voters and do it in creative and interesting ways,' Schale said. 'The concept of speaking directly to economic issues and finding creative ways to take that message directly to voters is something that all Democrats should learn from.' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — whose name has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2028 — has also emerged as a member of the Democratic camp whose social media presence has been among the few bright spots of the party, according to political observers who point to her authenticity and clear vision. Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani 'are connecting with people by sort of leveraging the affordances of digital media,' said Adrienne Russell, a professor of communication at the University of Washington and a co-director of the school's Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy. Russell said both Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani 'also happen to have really clear messages and a vision for where we need to go as a country.' 'The Democrats that are sort of making a move to connect more with people are … young, and most of them have a very clear vision, and social media happens to be the place where they can connect with the public,' Russell added. 'For decades, we've been saying it's a social media thing when it's actually a people and politics thing, and social media is a tool.' Political observers say they think that Democrats are looking for a quick fix and an easy solution in social media. But the party's redemption, they say, has to be a long-term effort centered on running effective messengers in battleground territories. 'At the end of the day, candidates drive interest,' Schale said. 'A lot of folks want to find the easy solution. They want to spend $20 million to build a better podcast. And the reality is we need to elect more mayors and state legislators and county commissioners and county judges in communities that we have to do better in.' 'There are things we can do to do a better job at driving a message, but candidates are the ones that go in races,' Schale added. 'If you have messengers who are going to talk directly to the issues that voters care about, you can do well.' 2024 Election Coverage Experts also caution that social media algorithms breed extremism and polarization, which is why they say Republicans have seen so much success on platforms like X and YouTube. But they say the answer is not for the Democratic establishment to radicalize and change its rhetoric. 'What Democrats can do to most effectively deal with social media is create conditions within social media that don't privilege extremism and misinformation and polarization,' Russell said. 'I think social media is dropping the ball. When we have our public conversations boosted on platforms that privilege extremism, that's where the ball is being dropped.' 'This is the moment when these things are still movable,' she added.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats aren't engaged enough online in nonelection years, study finds
Democrats aren't engaged enough online in nonelection years, and Republicans' digital advantage gave the right a leg up in 2024, new research shows. A report from Tech for Campaigns, a pro-Democratic nonprofit focused on commercial digital marketing and data techniques, found that Democrats continue to treat digital communication as 'a campaign-season sprint,' while Republicans have embraced year-round, off-year investment in the online space. 'The Right, especially [President] Trump, recognized that persuasion is no longer about last-minute convincing, but about shaping beliefs continuously—building trust, shifting opinions, and staying visible through frequent engagement,' the report reads. For example, left-wing advocacy groups and media companies dropped spending on Meta, which owns platforms like Facebook and Instagram, by 75 percent in off years between 2020 and 2025, according to the research. Their right-wing counterparts, on the other hand, decreased that spending by just 3 percent. 'For presidential and major federal and statewide races … the persuasion groundwork is now laid years in advance through partisan media ecosystems. The Trump campaign didn't need the same massive persuasion push in 2024 as the Democrats. The work was already done,' the researchers said. The report comes as Democrats grapple with the party's brand in the wake of 2024 losses. A number of Democrats seen as potential White House hopefuls, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, have recently stepped into the podcast space, where right-wing voices dominate. As of December, right-wing podcasts had nearly three times the audience of left-leaning programs, according to Tech for Campaigns. But trying to duplicate Republican tactics isn't necessarily a ticket to success for Democrats, the report argued, noting that successful influencers on the right have largely emerged organically, rather than appearing as a 'top-down creation.' Former Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign, which faced a short runway after former President Biden's historic exit from the race, did lean heavily into social media and made concerted efforts to reach young voters in the digital space. She also spent $400 million more than Trump on the race, according to the research, but she spent a smaller share of her funds on mobilization efforts, focusing instead on fundraising and voter persuasion. 'Some will argue the Harris campaign's heavy focus on persuasion was necessary given her late entry. This misses the crucial point: persuasion shouldn't begin a few months before Election Day,' Tech for Campaigns said. 'It requires continuous engagement throughout the four-year cycle with candidates, left-wing groups and other advocates building the brand and the relationship with voters.' Politico first reported on the new advertising report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Democrats aren't engaged enough online in non-election years, study finds
Democrats aren't engaged enough online in non-election years, and Republicans' digital advantage gave the right a leg up in 2024, new research shows. A report from Tech for Campaigns, a pro-Democrat nonprofit focused on commercial digital marketing and data techniques, found that Democrats continue to treat digital communication as 'a campaign-season sprint,' while Republicans have embraced year-round, off-year investment in the online space. 'The Right, especially [President] Trump, recognized that persuasion is no longer about last-minute convincing, but about shaping beliefs continuously—building trust, shifting opinions, and staying visible through frequent engagement,' the report reads. For example, left-wing advocacy groups and media companies dropped spending on Meta, which owns platforms like Facebook and Instagram, by 75 percent in off years between 2020 and 2025, according to the research. Their right-wing counterparts, on the other hand, decreased that spending by just 3 percent. 'For presidential and major federal and statewide races … the persuasion groundwork is now laid years in advance through partisan media ecosystems. The Trump campaign didn't need the same massive persuasion push in 2024 as the Democrats. The work was already done,' the researchers said. The report comes as Democrats grapple with the party's brand in the wake of 2024 losses. A number of Democrats seen as potential White House hopefuls, including Govs. Gavin Newsom (Calif.) and Andy Beshear (Ky.), have recently stepped into the podcast space, where right-wing voices dominate. As of December, right-wing podcasts had nearly three times the audience of left-leaning programs, according to Tech for Campaigns. But trying to duplicate Republican tactics isn't necessarily a ticket to success for Democrats, the report argued, noting that successful influencers on the right have largely emerged organically, rather than appearing as a 'top-down creation.' Former Vice President Harris's campaign, which faced a short runway after ex-President Biden's historic exit from the race, did lean heavily into social media and made concerted efforts to reach young voters in the digital space. She also spent $400 million more than Trump on the race, according to the research, but spent a smaller share of her funds on mobilization efforts, focusing instead on fundraising and voter persuasion. 'Some will argue the Harris campaign's heavy focus on persuasion was necessary given her late entry. This misses the crucial point: persuasion shouldn't begin a few months before Election Day,' Tech for Campaigns said. 'It requires continuous engagement throughout the four-year cycle with candidates, left-wing groups and other advocates building the brand and the relationship with voters.' Politico first reported on the new advertising report.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats' online problem: They're not doing enough year-round
It turns out, Democrats aren't online enough. Conservative organizations spend more than left-leaning ones on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in non-election years, capturing a large audience while those Democratic-aligned groups go more dormant in the digital space. And it's making Democrats' election-year persuasion game that much harder. That's the warning of a new report from Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on using digital marketing and data techniques to support Democrats, that argues one of the party's major problems is that its communication falters in non-election years. While Democratic spending and presence online surged leading up to the election, for example, Republicans quickly regained the spending advantage this year. Democrats, in other words, aren't putting in the work online during 'off years.' The report, shared first with POLITICO, comes as Democratic donors and officials have grappled with how online personalities and social media content boosted President Donald Trump in 2024, and openly acknowledged Democrats need to fix their brand. 'The Right, especially Trump, recognized that persuasion is no longer about last-minute convincing, but about shaping beliefs continuously — building trust, shifting opinions, and staying visible through frequent engagement — just like commercial brand building,' the report's authors wrote. 'Democrats may acknowledge this shift but continue treating digital communication as a campaign-season sprint.' Republicans' audience advantage spans from podcasts, where Democrats have fretted about the influence of hosts like Joe Rogan, to social media and digital sites. On Facebook and Instagram, for example, Republican-aligned pages outspent those associated with Democrats throughout former President Joe Biden's term, the report found. The only exception of the fourth quarter of 2024, when Democratic-aligned spending surged ahead of the November election. Republicans regained the spending advantage in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting Democrats are not making up ground. 'Democrats have a brand and customers who require consistent and constant communication,' said Jessica Alter, co-founder of Tech for Campaigns. 'And ads … 3-6 months before an election can certainly supplement that strategy, but they can't be the main strategy, not when Republicans never stop talking to their audience.' The online spending gap is not coming from political parties or campaigns. Instead, Republicans' digital advantage largely stems from allied groups and digital media companies, such as PragerU and the Daily Wire. Those sites and other similar ones are not focused strictly on electoral politics. But they have cultivated broad audiences, and spent years sharing content about issues — such as transgender students' participation in sports and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs — that are electorally potent. And Republican candidates are primed to take advantage of those large, sympathetic audiences when an election draws near. While there are newer left-leaning media competitors, such as Courier Newsroom and NowThis Impact, the conservative pages and websites still have a larger audience and spend more on to boost their content across the platforms. When it comes to campaigns, Democrats do have a financial advantage. But although Democratic campaigns consistently outspend Republicans on digital platforms, that's often more focused on fundraising than persuasion and mobilization ads. That's a mistake, Tech for Campaigns argues. While former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign spent nearly three times as much as Trump's across Facebook, Google and CTV after she entered the presidential race in July 2024, only a small share, 8 percent, was devoted to mobilization, the report finds. That allowed Trump and his allies to close much of the gap when it came to digital content designed to get voters to the polls. But the report cautions against simply trying to recreate what Republicans have done well — for instance, by trying to find a Democratic equivalent of Rogan or even assuming that podcasts will be the most important medium for 2028. Instead, it argues, Democrats need to be willing to try different formats, testing what works and adapting as needed. 'Simply increasing funding to replicate Republican tactics from the last cycle won't be sufficient — nor will continuing to rely primarily on the same networks of talent,' the report concludes. 'Successful right-wing influencers emerged largely organically outside party structures, not through top-down creation.'
Politico
04-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
Democrats' online problem: They're not doing enough year-round
It turns out, Democrats aren't online enough. Conservative organizations spend more than left-leaning ones on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in non-election years, capturing a large audience while those Democratic-aligned groups go more dormant in the digital space. And it's making Democrats' election-year persuasion game that much harder. That's the warning of a new report from Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on using digital marketing and data techniques to support Democrats, that argues one of the party's major problems is that its communication falters in non-election years. While Democratic spending and presence online surged leading up to the election, for example, Republicans quickly regained the spending advantage this year. Democrats, in other words, aren't putting in the work online during 'off years.' The report, shared first with POLITICO, comes as Democratic donors and officials have grappled with how online personalities and social media content boosted President Donald Trump in 2024, and openly acknowledged Democrats need to fix their brand. 'The Right, especially Trump, recognized that persuasion is no longer about last-minute convincing, but about shaping beliefs continuously — building trust, shifting opinions, and staying visible through frequent engagement — just like commercial brand building,' the report's authors wrote. 'Democrats may acknowledge this shift but continue treating digital communication as a campaign-season sprint.' Republicans' audience advantage spans from podcasts, where Democrats have fretted about the influence of hosts like Joe Rogan, to social media and digital sites. On Facebook and Instagram, for example, Republican-aligned pages outspent those associated with Democrats throughout former President Joe Biden's term, the report found. The only exception of the fourth quarter of 2024, when Democratic-aligned spending surged ahead of the November election. Republicans regained the spending advantage in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting Democrats are not making up ground. 'Democrats have a brand and customers who require consistent and constant communication,' said Jessica Alter, co-founder of Tech for Campaigns. 'And ads … 3-6 months before an election can certainly supplement that strategy, but they can't be the main strategy, not when Republicans never stop talking to their audience.' The online spending gap is not coming from political parties or campaigns. Instead, Republicans' digital advantage largely stems from allied groups and digital media companies, such as PragerU and the Daily Wire. Those sites and other similar ones are not focused strictly on electoral politics. But they have cultivated broad audiences, and spent years sharing content about issues — such as transgender students' participation in sports and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs — that are electorally potent. And Republican candidates are primed to take advantage of those large, sympathetic audiences when an election draws near. While there are newer left-leaning media competitors, such as Courier Newsroom and NowThis Impact, the conservative pages and websites still have a larger audience and spend more on to boost their content across the platforms. When it comes to campaigns, Democrats do have a financial advantage. But although Democratic campaigns consistently outspend Republicans on digital platforms, that's often more focused on fundraising than persuasion and mobilization ads. That's a mistake, Tech for Campaigns argues. While former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign spent nearly three times as much as Trump's across Facebook, Google and CTV after she entered the presidential race in July 2024, only a small share, 8 percent, was devoted to mobilization, the report finds. That allowed Trump and his allies to close much of the gap when it came to digital content designed to get voters to the polls. But the report cautions against simply trying to recreate what Republicans have done well — for instance, by trying to find a Democratic equivalent of Rogan or even assuming that podcasts will be the most important medium for 2028. Instead, it argues, Democrats need to be willing to try different formats, testing what works and adapting as needed. 'Simply increasing funding to replicate Republican tactics from the last cycle won't be sufficient — nor will continuing to rely primarily on the same networks of talent,' the report concludes. 'Successful right-wing influencers emerged largely organically outside party structures, not through top-down creation.'
