More Credit For The Democratic Field Vanquishers

At the DNC, tech. dir. Ben Self oversaw an $8 million renovation of the Democratic Party's national voter file. The party's 50 state strategy directed investments in staff and money to states like NE, WY, ID, IN and KY, where Dems saw significant increases in their vote share and picked off several key congressional races. In Indiana, ED Mike Edmondson and chair Dan Parker had field staff in IN 02, IN 08 and IN 09 more than a year before the elections.

In Iowa, coordinated campaign director Travis Brock helped oversee a field program that picked up two congressional seats and the state legislature. GOPers in the state say that the staff detailed to legislative campaigns by Sen. Evan Bayh's All America PAC also made a big difference in those races.

According to internal AFL-CIO surveys, union voters supported Democrats 74% of the time, up from 68% in 2002. They focused on -- and managed to turn out -- hundreds of thousands of drop-off voters.

More than 205,000 union members volunteered for the AFL-CIO’s political program this year. Union members knocked on more than 8.25 million doors, made 30 million phone calls and passed out more than 14 million leaflets at workplaces and in neighborhoods. The AFL-CIO’s program sent out more than 20 million pieces of mail to union households, not including those sent by affiliate unions

The AFL-CIO’s “Final Four” program in the final four days of the election proved to be a powerful counter to the RNC’s 72-hour program. The AFL-CIO turned out 187,000 volunteers, made nearly 8 million phone calls and knocked on 3.5 million doors in the final four days.

MoveOn.org also claims credit:

The wave of voter rejection aimed primarily at the President’s failed Iraq policy was amplified by the on the ground efforts of over 185,000 MoveOn volunteers who made 7 million get-out-the vote calls in the closing weeks, days and hours of the election. In many close races, the volume of MoveOn calls far exceeded the Democratic candidates’ winning margins.

Kentucky 3: Yarmuth (D) defeated Northup (R) by 5,890 votes. Call for Change made 42,182 phone calls. New York 19: Hall (D) defeated Kelly (R) by 3,528 votes. Call for Change made 63,745. California 11: McNerney (D) defeated Pombo (R) by 9,355 votes. Call for Change made 39,007 phone calls.