Continuing on with our state wrapups where we’ve ended canvassing. Hope Springs from Field PAC [website] came to Georgia because, to be frank, that’s where we started, that’s where we’ve had the most committed volunteers, and they feel responsible for the two Senators we elected in 2021. It’s not rocket science. We persist.
2025/26 Consensus Governor’s Map
You can see from the two Consensus 2026 Maps that Georgia has competi-tive elections in both Ossoff’s Senate race and the open Governor’s race. So, again, the center of the political universe next year.
We spent 32 Saturdays knocking on doors in Georgia this year, in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in south Georgia. 16,758 Hope Springs volunteers came out to knock on 1,234,649 doors this year. We talked to 100,429 voters at their doors and had in-depth conversations with 64,202 of them, guided by our Issues Questionnaire. We collected another 154,246 responses to our Issues Survey by contacting voters who did not open their doors on Saturdays through other means (usually phone follow ups, but some through texts). IOW, 218,448 responses in total for the year. 67.6% of these were voters who were not identified as Democrats. We don’t canvass Republican households.
The biggest issue voters cared about was Inflation, High Prices and the Economy. Tariffs, Economic Stability, the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (and its impact on Rural Hospitals), Housing Availability & Affordability, the Costs of Housing Insurance and Higher Electrical Costs were other issues that carried a lot of weight in Georgia this year.
Hope Springs from Field PAC began knocking on doors again on March 1st. We targeted Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans. The voters we talk to continue to tell us they come away more invested in governance and feel more favorably towards Democrats in general because of our approach.
Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/UNRIGtheMidterms
Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot that counts and that is the goal of what we do.
We asked voters if they approved of deep cuts in federal programs and Trump budget. Supporters’ response is reflected by the deep blue line on the graphic below. Opponents are represented by the orangish line. Trump approval is represented by the yellowish line and disapproval by the green line. Jon Ossoff’s approval is the maroon line and disapproval the light blue line. Gov. Kemp’s job approval number is represented by the blackish line, and her disapproval numbers are represented by the olive green line.
For Hope Springs volunteers, this cycle is all about re-electing Jon Ossoff. Because we expanded our canvassing map to include the Atlanta metro area, we’ve been knocking on doors that were Ossoff’s natural base since 2018.
Jon Ossoff is doing what needs to be done to make this a strong race. And Hope Springs will be running our Constituent Service Requests through Ossoff’s office almost exclusively, to give him the broadest contacts with Georgia’s voters as possible. He already runs a formidable Constituent office for a Senator. We think our Issues Survey approach with Constituent Service Request forms will help.
You have to really agree with Nate Silver’s conclusion that “Georgia has turned from a luxury for Democrats to a necessity.”
Volunteers registered 1,579 brand new voters, while another 682 voters re-registered, updating their addresses for the voter file to comply with federal law.
6,761 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms this year. We sent completed CSRs to Jon Ossoff’s office, except where it was deemed inappropriate.
147 voters filled out Incident Reports this year. A lot of these were reports about primary elections allegations. Incident Reports are used to plan Election Protection activities, and will be combined with other, historical incidents and handed over to District and State Attorneys, Attorneys General and the DoJ Civil Rights Division right before Election Day as a precaution against Election Day Incidents in November. Past polling place activity is a predictor of future voter intimidation or suppression activity.
We knock on the doors of Democratic and Independent voters and use a voter-driven approach to guide them through the Issues Survey, the CSR and Incident Report. We record questions voters raise with a Q(uestion)-slip and record other relevant observations on Observa-tions forms. Q-slips are sent to the relevant Democrat to respond to and Observations are entered into VAN. At every door, we leave a piece of “show the flag” lit, something that tells them we were there and hopefully reinforces the Democratic brand. The lit focuses on the things voters told us were important to them last fall, aiming to appeal to every voter.
But the main focus of our canvassing is the Issues Survey, asking voters for their input and concerns. Voter responses to the questionnaire are entered into VAN and made available to all Democratic candidates who use VAN in the state after the primary. Creating this kind of data isn’t done with a specific goal in mind but has the purpose of engaging voters and creating a dataset that any Democratic candidate can use in opposition to a Republican.
Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or Congressional Races in 2026. There is a lot of work to be done! Especially since we have had to expand the map this year.
Hope Springs is a seat-of-the-pants grassroots-driven operation. We don’t have employees but we realize that to formalize and professionalize this effort that will have to change eventually. We are a bottom up project, one that doesn't just help Democratic presidential, senate and house candidates, but every Democrat running for office in these swing state areas (who uses VAN).
Hope Springs has been called “the most comprehensive, organized grassroots voter contact project out there right now. It is truly astonishing that it is grassroots-based!” Not sure why it is “astonishing,” but i probably have more faith in grassroots or self-organized efforts because of my experience with Barack Obama’s early days in 2007.
If you are able to support Hope Springs from Field’s efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, we would appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/UNRIGtheMidterms
If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address at the bottom of the page. Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!
