By
Guy Cecil, chairman of the super PAC Priorities USA, is warning that his fellow Democrats have to focus on mobilizing their base of voters who are tuning out the midterms.
“Priority No. 1 for Democrats has to be to correct the mobilization deficit,” Cecil told reporters during a Tuesday briefing, encouraging Democrats to immediately launch paid programs and grassroots efforts.
“There’s no time to waste for us to increase the salience of the election,” Cecil said.
One in five of the group’s so-called mobilization targets view the 2022 midterms as less important than the 2020 presidential election, according to a Priorities USA survey of 1002 voters across 10 battleground states who supported President Joe Biden in 2020 but did not vote in 2018 or 2016. The survey was conducted in late February through early March.
Of those voters, 24 percent said it did not matter who won the upcoming congressional elections.
“We really have some work to do with that small but significant group of voters that are not motivated,” Cecil said. “It could be the difference between us winning and losing in several battleground states.”
The group’s survey found that these voters’ top concerns included economic security and the cost of living; misinformation and political divisions; threats to the environment; threats from extremists and white supremacists; and crime.
Cecil said economic messaging on the economy must acknowledge Democratic accomplishments, discuss Democrats’ economic plans, and provide a contrast to Republicans. Cecil also noted that painting Republicans as extremist is a key strategy for not only mobilizing Democratic voters, but convincing persuadable voters to support Democrats.
“If it’s not being effectively communicated, it’s our fault, and no one else’s — the Democratic Party’s fault and no one else’s,” Cecil said.