GOING BACK TO MY GRASSROOTS: the return of the ground campaign
In this episode:
Away from the set piece speeches and TV interviews, British elections are fought by thousands of party activists going door-to-door to speak to voters. But what impact does this really have and why are political campaigns around the world increasingly looking to the ‘ground campaign’? Becky Bond tells us the story of how her team pioneered a new way of involving volunteers in the Bernie Sanders campaign. Then Vincent Pons and Simon Kruschinski explain why door-to-door canvassing has made a return to French and German elections in recent years.
And comedian Rosie Jones comes back to talk to us about what's keeping her cheerful in the election news this week
Guests
Becky Bond (@bbond), former senior advisor on the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and co-author of ‘Rules for Revolutionaries’
Vincent Pons (@VinPons), assistant professor at Harvard Business School
Simon Kruschinski (@meinungfuehrer), research associate at Mainz University
Rosie Jones (@josierones), comedian
More info
Big organising in the Sanders campaign
Vox: Experiments show this is the best way to win campaigns (Nov 2018)
The Nation: How Big Organizing Can Take Down Trump (Nov 2016)
Becky Bond and Zack Exley: Rules for Revolutionaries
French ground campaign
Prospect: How big data helped secure Macron’s astounding victory (June 2017)
Vincent Pons: Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change Your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France (2016)
NYT: In France, Using Lessons from Obama Campaign (April 2012)
German ground campaign
Simon Kruschinski: Restrictions on political microtargeting in Germany (Dec 2017)
Economist: Campaigning in Germany (Sept 2017)