Ryan Nicol
The Progressive Turnout Project (PTP), a Chicago-based group aimed at helping elect Democratic candidates, says it will put money toward digital get-out-the-vote efforts supporting the campaigns of Bill Nelson and Lauren Baer.
The group has raised nearly $14 million this election cycle according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Now, PTP says it will contribute $1.8 million of that to get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts, which will help a total of 31 candidates nationwide.
Alex Morgan, the organization’s executive director, says they believe they can make an impact in what could be a pair of close races.
“Our GOTV experiments have proven that a robust digital program can boost Democratic turnout by at least two percent in even the noisiest political environments,” Morgan said.
“While the bulk of our work is done door-to-door, we recognize that we’re not going to be able to have a face-to-face conversations with every voter and that’s why we’re making this significant investment in digital GOTV to take back the House and Senate.”
PTP says this increased funding will focus on Florida’s 18th Congressional District, where Baer is attempting to unseat incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Mast.
Analysts currently see Mast as the favorite, though by different margins.
Nelson, who is defending his seat against outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott, appears to be headed for an incredibly close contest.
RealClearPolitics currently gives Scott a lead of less than two percentage points, according to an aggregation of available polling. FiveThirtyEight sees Nelson as the slight favorite, projecting him to win by just over one percentage point.
PTP will also be holding a voter registration in Coral Gables on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 5400 Ponce de Leon. The event runs from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
