POWERFUL, TOGETHER: 2018 POLITICAL STRATEGY This November, the Sierra Club Independent Expenditure Committee is poised to mobilize thousands of voters in Colorado to elect pro-conservation champions, take back the state Senate, and elect a pro-environment Governor. The Trump Administration, the clear and present danger of climate change, and the influence of corporate special interests threaten Colorado’s iconic mountains, landscapes, wildlife, and heritage. Fortunately, these grave threats have awakened Coloradans and focused Sierra Club’s role as an electoral force to protect Colorado, our democracy, and safeguard our natural resources for present and future generations.
Dysfunction isn’t unique to Washington, D.C. Since 2015, the Republican-controlled Colorado State Senate, emboldened by a corrupt and corrosive fossil fuel industry, has obstructed conservation progress. With an open Governor’s seat and control of the Legislature hanging in the balance by one Senate seat, 2018 is a pivotal electoral year. We have the opportunity to advance progress on climate, public lands, and equity and justice for all. LANDSCAPE: Long a red state dominated by conservatives in the 1990s and 2000s, Colorado’s changing demographics--driven by an influx of Latinos and young people--have reshaped it into a battleground. Despite recent high-profile Democratic successes, and a slight Democratic voter registration advantage, most voters are unaffiliated and embody western values. Colorado voters are independent yet pragmatic, aspirational and authentic, who value Colorado’s quality of life and consider themselves stewards of the environment. Governor John Hickenlooper won his elections in both 2010 and 2014 on a fairly moderate platform. Colorado remains a purple state that Republicans can carry. Therefore, the progressive
gubernatorial nominee must tailor messaging to reflect the values of all Coloradans. Colorado's state government is divided: Republicans hold an 18-17 majority in the Senate, while Democrats hold a 37-28 majority in the House. Except for the Governor’s office, every other statewide elected constitutional office is held by a Republican. The stakes are high for 2018, as the election will determine which party has considerable power going into the 2020 redistricting process. Colorado stands to gain one congressional seat so it’s vital that Democrats retain control the governor’s seat and regain control of the state Senate. Our 2018 goals include: 1. Building on our 2017 political progress; 2. Electing a pro-conservation governor; 3. Winning Senate control; 4. Protecting a House majority; 5. Scaling our local power to raise environmental ambition and to advocate for conservation and justice.
Paid for by the Sierra Club Independent Expenditure Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
SIERRA CLUB: Sierra Club has a role to play in Colorado’s progressive infrastructure and environmental movement. With 100,000 members and supporters, Sierra Club acts as a force multiplier, creating pathways for activists to support conservation champions. By welcoming volunteers into our our statewide program, we are building a strong movement to resist powerful corporate special interests and advance progress. That’s why our political program is dedicated to building local grassroots’ power and integrating it with a statewide strategy. STRATEGY: Working in partnership with our allies, we are building a community-based relational organizing program, one that activates and trains our supporters, persuades the right voters, and turns out the right people to vote. The 2018 program will build a nested program, starting with priority Senate races, then layering on House races, and finally building support for the progressive gubernatorial candidate. We will focus on a suite of races where we can make a difference at the scale at which we are able to invest, running a program to target a total of 109,000 persuadable and infrequent environmental voters. A BRAND THAT COUNTS: The Sierra Club does not just have energetic, well-connected members in every community in the country--we have a brand that is recognized as one of the strongest of any organization in the environmental movement. With more than 3 million members nationally, and supporters spread across the country, Sierra Club members are especially important as on-the-ground organizers as we operate in our communities among our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and colleagues, representing a brand well-respected by the general public. HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT: The Sierra Club’s 2017 work in Colorado, achieved with a $25,000 budget, is an example of this approach. Early in 2017, Colorado Springs, a well-known conservative enclave within the state, held city council elections. Sierra Club members and civic-minded community members across the board were fired up and ready to get involved, looking forward to their first chance since the 2016 election to have their voices heard at the ballot box. We won both districts 3 and 5, where the Sierra Club engaged in a general public mail program with a pro-public lands message that resonated with voters. We also won in district 4, where Sierra Club volunteers worked to support a longshot and ultimately successful progressive community activist,
Yolanda Avila. In this predominantly lower-income and Latino district, our best value-add was to partner with and lend support to other community groups. Ultimately, progressives claimed a majority on the city council for the first time in Colorado Springs history--a hopeful harbinger of things to come in 2018. PROGRAM: HOW WE WIN Collaboration (Ongoing): The Sierra Club believes that all people deserve a healthy planet with clean air and water and a stable climate. These issues are not separate. Indeed, we believe that working toward a just, equitable, and transparent society is not only morally necessary but also exactly what we need to confront the environmental challenges we face. This requires building relationships with communities outside the environmental movement. We will collaborate with partners such as America Votes to develop a common strategy, save financial resources, and drive electoral success. Activation and Base Building (today through July): We will train and organize volunteers to knock on doors and recruit others to get involved. We will conduct research and modeling to refine our voter universes and discover the best message to use to persuade voters to support conservation champions and increase our program’s ROI. We will augment our 2018 base building with digital campaigning and list building. Persuasion (September - October 15): We will deploy a field effort and augment it with a paid voter contact persuasion program (mail, digital, phones, and texting) to reach voters with the right message at the right time. We are implementing a new tactic which lends itself to Sierra Club’s strong network: relational organizing. Relational organizing uses a powerful friend-to-friend outreach platform that enables our supporters to use their personal address books to identify and connect with pro-conservation voters. Get Out The Vote (October 15 - November 6, 2018): We will run an integrated field, mail (including social pressure), digital, and phone GOTV program. GOTV will be an all-hands-on-deck moment, with supporters, staff, and Sierra Club leaders knocking on doors and turning out voters.
Sierra Club Independent Expenditure Committee 1536 Wynkoop St. , Suite 200 Denver, Colorado 80202 (303) 861-8819
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