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ICYMI: DGA’s Digital Program Makes Big Money Moves Under Chair Gov. Phil Murphy, Outraises RGA In First Half of 2020

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Under the leadership of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the Democratic Governors Association’s investment in a robust digital program is paying off big time – in August, the DGA raised $5.4 million from its digital program alone, more than it raised in all of 2016 and 2018.


Even in the face of unexpected challenges, Gov. Murphy’s efforts have put the DGA in a great position to win gubernatorial races across the country in November. According to Politico, the DGA outraised the Republican Governors Association in the first half of 2020.


The success of the online fundraising program is a reflection of the strong, life-saving leadership of Democratic governors like Gov. Murphy, and the strategic investments made by the DGA both last year and this year. Americans across the country know Democratic governors are using science and facts to make the best decisions for their constituents – a stark contrast with the President.


Democratic governors have been the strongest line of defense against the Trump agenda. Since 2016, Democratic governors have succeeded in expanding voting rights, creating clean energy jobs, increasing access to accessible and affordable health care, making record investments in public education, and more.


Activists are responding by supporting DGA’s efforts to elect more Democratic governors.


Another critical component to the DGA’s success with small dollar donors is the co-op it co-founded with other Democratic organizations. DGA Digital Director Laura Carlson said while it typically takes months to have a positive ROI, with the co-op, “we had our first batch of folks come back in just 10 days, which is unheard of.”


Read more about the DGA’s impressive digital program below.


Politico: DGA builds online money machine to replace in-person fundraisers


The Democratic Governors Association’s digital program is outraising its traditional big-dollar donor operation, a major shift for a campaign committee that is grappling both with the pandemic and the limited attention span of traditional donors.


For the first six months of the year, the DGA’s digital program outraised its finance program, staffers say, the first time in the committee’s history that has happened. The committee is also seeing rapid growth in online donors: It raised $2 million in the first quarter of the year and nearly $7 million in the second — and in August alone, its online program raised $5.4 million dollars, more than it raised for the entirety of both 2016 and 2018.


[…]


The committee also hopes it can help close the gap with its GOP counterpart. The Republican Governors Association has typically outraised the DGA in recent cycles, often by large margins. But for the first half 2020, the RGA raised $24.9 million, a little less than the DGA’s $26.5 million.


[…]


The organization also hopes that the fundraising boom this year will help lay the groundwork for 2022, when 36 states are holding their gubernatorial elections. The group has over 292,000 donors on its email list, up from 92,000 at the same point in 2018, and projects to have roughly 500,000 by the time the next cycle starts.


The group is also touting a digital co-op it co-founded with other Democratic organizations, including other committees and outside groups. The co-op uses predictive modeling to help find new potential supporters from the other organizations at a cheaper rate than through traditional acquisition routes, like Facebook.


“It can take several months typically, for [a] name to have a positive ROI … after you make that investment,” said Laura Carlson, the DGA’s digital director. “The coolest thing about the co-op: We had our first batch of folks come back in just 10 days, which is unheard of.”


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