September Top 5 2022 | LCV Victory Fund

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September Top 5 2022

September 30, 2022

With primary season concluded and Election Day now just six weeks away, September brought the 2022 midterms into full focus. And the picture is critical: across the country, battleground races will pit pro-environment, pro-democracy leaders against Big Oil-backed, ultra-MAGA candidates who deny the threat of climate change and support lies about our elections.

LCV Victory Fund’s efforts to turn out voters to protect and elect climate and democracy champions in key races are now in full swing. If you are a voter in a House or Senate battleground, you may already have heard from us — on the airwaves, in your mailbox, on your digital device, or even at your door. If you haven’t, you should know that we are doing everything in our power to defeat climate and election deniers and elect leaders who will advance climate progress and defend voting rights.

This cycle, LCV Victory Fund is a leading group in a joint $100 million Climate Votes Project with Climate Power Action, Climate Reality Action Fund, EDF Action Votes, NRDC Action Votes, and NextGen PAC to elect climate champions. LCV Victory Fund is reaching voters right now through:

  • massive, highly sophisticated door-to-door canvasses
  • surround-sound communications (digital and mail) targeted at Climate Voters
  • paid media campaigns via TV, radio, and digital channels

With the support of our donors, LCV Victory Fund and partners plan to knock on more than 1.5 million doors and mobilize two million Climate Voters in 17 states by Election Day. Between our efforts to turn out voters by decisive margins in key races, our Dirty Dozen program to help defeat the worst anti-environment candidates, and our state affiliates’ work to elect governors and state legislators, LCV Victory Fund’s 2022 work will not only influence this year’s election outcomes, but will also impact the direction our nation’s leaders take us for years to come.

And now, here are LCV Victory Fund’s Top 5 elections activities for September 2022:

1.) LCV Victory Fund and Climate Power Action Announce $14 Million Paid Media and Direct Mail Campaign to Turn Out Two Million Climate Voters

On August 30, Climate Power Action and LCV Victory Fund announced the launch of the Climate Voters Mobilization program, a strategic, surround-sound digital advertising and direct mail marketing campaign designed to boost turnout among nearly two million voters in battleground Senate states and House districts. The program is specifically targeting voters who supported Biden-Harris in 2020, are at risk of not turning out in 2022, and are uniquely motivated by climate and environmental issues.

By communicating with identified Climate Voters using waves of targeted digital ads, and direct mail that uses data-driven, locally relevant messaging, we are working to mobilize voters who might otherwise sit out the midterms to support pro-environment candidates. Some of our communications focus on where candidates stood on the Inflation Reduction Act — the strongest climate legislation in U.S. history — and the need to return and elect champions to Congress.

READ about the full list of Senate and House races the program is focused on here and WATCH a sample 30-second ad here.

2.) Field Program Update: What We’re Hearing from Voters at Their Doors

LCV Victory Fund completed the first phase of our $16 million field organizing effort with state affiliates and partners in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. More than 500 highly-trained canvassers went door-to-door to conduct in-depth conversations with voters who are still determining their choices this fall. (The Georgia effort is run by Family Friendly Action PAC, with support from the New American Jobs Fund, a joint effort of LCV Victory Fund and the United Steelworkers.)

This phase of our field program, which ran through the end of September, focused on early engagement with voters about issues they care about most, persuading voters to support pro-climate candidates and sign commit-to-vote cards, and helping supporters sign up to vote by mail. We also used a tactic called “vote tripling”– where we ask voters to commit to reminding three friends or family members to vote. By relying on trusted messengers, this tactic has been shown to maximize the impact of voter mobilization programs.

To date, organizers have knocked on 464,000 doors and had over 66,0o0 conversations with voters. This work has generated 1,643 vote-by-mail signups, 4,700 commitment to vote cards, and 7,170 vote-tripling sign-ups.

Here are some highlights of what we heard from voters this month:

  • In Phoenix, Arizona, LCV Victory Fund spoke with Yolanda, who was very happy that the Inflation Reduction Act would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. She has decided to vote for Sen. Kelly in November.
  • In Wyoming, Michigan, Conservation Voters of Michigan PAC spoke with Jose, who, after learning about efforts by Gov. Whitmer and State Senator Winnie Brinks to fight for clean water, pledged to support Michigan Democrats this fall.
  • In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, LCV Victory Fund spoke with 60-year-old Amanda, a registered Republican who said that she’d decided to switch parties after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. She will be supporting Sen. Hassan.
  • In Reno, Nevada, LCV Victory Fund and Nevada Conservation Leadership PAC spoke with 28-year-old Michael, who was very concerned about water shortages and how climate change will affect future generations. He said he will be voting to re-elect Gov. Sisolak and Sen. Cortez Masto and to elect Angie Taylor to the State Assembly.

To read these and other updates from the field, click here.

3.) LCV Victory Fund Announces First General Election Investment in House Races

On the heels of President Biden signing the historic Inflation Reduction Act into law, LCV Victory Fund announced its first six paid media investments in 2022 general election House races, to include $2million in ads in CA-49, CT-05, KS-03, NM-02, PA-07, and WA-08. (Ads in CA-49 and WA-08 will run in conjunction with EDF Action Votes.)

The ad campaigns, which launched on a rolling basis in September, are in support of Congressional climate champions in battleground districts who voted for the Inflation Reduction Act and to oppose pro-polluter, MAGA extreme candidates.

WATCH the spot, “Out For Herself”, calling attention to Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07)’s opponent, Lisa Scheller, and her support for tax cuts for millionaires and opposition to the cost-saving Inflation Reduction Act.

WATCH TV ads in CT-05 and NM-02 to protect climate champion Rep. Jahana Hayes and to defeat pro-polluter Rep, Yvette Herrell, a member of the 2022 Dirty Dozen, here.

WATCH our ad with EDF Action Votes to support Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), here.

4.) First State-level Candidates Named to Dirty Dozen in the States

In 2022, LCV Victory Fund is supporting the work of our state affiliates to protect and elect pro-climate and pro-democracy governors and state-level candidates. In states such as Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, our state affiliates are working to elect state-level environmental champions while targeting some of the worst anti-environment candidates in the nation for defeat.

Last month, our state affiliates announced the first six candidates to the 2022 Dirty Dozen in the States list. Modeled after LCV Victory Fund’s federal Dirty Dozen, the Dirty Dozen in the States will highlight a total of 12 of the worst state and local environmental candidates who have consistently sided against the environment and are a danger to our democracy.

The first six candidates in 2022 are:

  • Maine candidate for Governor Paul LePage
  • Nevada Secretary of State candidate Jim Marchant
  • Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine
  • Oregon candidates for Governor Betsy Johnson and Christine Drazan
  • Pennsylvania candidate for Governor Doug Mastriano

For more information on this program and to keep up with the evolving list, click here.

5.) Keep Up to Date with the Latest News about Our Campaigns

As Election Day rapidly approaches, LCV Victory Fund is ramping up our efforts to communicate with and turn out millions of voters to support climate champions in key races across the country.

The best way to keep up with our evolving campaign activities is to check out the “Latest News” section of our website. Every Tuesday, we are publishing a weekly update on our field organizing and paid media work, plus anecdotes from voters’ doors across the country. We are grateful for the organizers, supporters, and voters who make this work possible, and for the many candidates out there fighting to build a better future for people and the planet.

READ the latest weekly memo here.

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Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.