The MeidasTouch Podcast - The Playbook to WIN with Swing Left Organizers David Berrios and Ryan Quinn (BONUS)

Episode Date: May 14, 2022

On today’s BONUS edition of The MeidsTouch Podcast, we sit down with two incredible guests from Swing Left, an outstanding group founded to create an easier way for Democrats to volunteer in their nearest swing district. We speak with David Berrios, Head of Community at Swing Left and Ryan Quinn who is Senior Director for Campaigns. Today's show is a masterclass how we can all get involved and put in the work to win these crucial midterm elections. We discuss what's at stake in the midterms, highlight the most competitive races we need to focus on, and provide the tools necessary for you to make a difference and save our democracy. We also discuss Swing Left's affiliate organization, Vote Forward, who just announced a MASSIVE letter-writing program to reach unregistered and low propensity voters to encourage them to participate in our democracy. More than 17 million Vote Forward letters were written and sent in 2020! If you enjoy today’s episode please be sure to rate, review and subscribe! As always, thank YOU for listening. Find volunteer efforts today at SwingLeft.org. Get Meidas Merch at store.meidastouch.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Today, we're bringing you an extra special bonus edition of the show, This is Brett, and I'm here to welcome you to the Midas Touch Podcast. Today, we're bringing you an extra special bonus edition of the show, and we are going to give you the playbook to win the midterm elections. You heard that right. It's always our aim not only to inform and analyze the most important breaking news, but to also provide you with the tools that you need to actually get out into the world and take action so that you can be part of the solution. And that's why today we are excited to share our conversation with two incredible activists from the organization Swing Left. They're a group that has made it easy for you and me to find ways to volunteer, to put in the work needed to flip the

House and Senate seats that we need to retain and grow our majorities. We'll be speaking with David Berrios, who is head of community at Swing Left, where he leads national organizing and mobilizing efforts that support races up and down the ballot. He most recently served as the coordinated campaign director for the North Carolina Democratic Party and Biden for president, where he oversaw the state's organizing, digital organizing, data analytics, training, and get-out-the-vote programs. David also worked on Senator Cory Booker's presidential primary campaign as the national organizing director. Alongside David, we're going to chat with Ryan Quinn.

He is the senior director for campaigns at Swing Left. As the organization's senior director for campaigns, Ryan leads the organization's candidate support strategy and works with candidates running for federal office across the country in order to support their campaigns. Ryan previously oversaw Swing Left's state legislative program in 2020, directing $11 million to nearly 180 candidates across 11 states. So get ready to get inspired and get the info that you need to lead us to victory. And remember to sign up for volunteer efforts near you at swingleft.org. It's super easy. You may have seen recently that Ben actually spoke at a local Swing Left event here in Los Angeles.

Please, this is the time to get involved and make a difference. Without further ado, here's our interview with David and Ryan from Swing Left. And welcome back to the Midas Touch podcast. We are joined by David Barrios, head of community at Swing Left, and Ryan Quinn, who is the senior director for campaigns at Swing Left. Both of you, welcome to the Midas Touch podcast. Thank you for having us. I want to let

you know, Swing Left is something I've been involved in myself. So I was asked to speak at a Swing Left event in Southern California very recently, and it was a letter writing campaign that was organized in the backyard of someone's house. They said, hey, I've been organizing these Swing Left campaigns where people from my community come by. We have a barbecue. We write letters to candidates. And there was a swing left representative who showed up, who brought a lot of like, you know, the signage and helped educate. And so that's my own experience with swing left. I thought it was a great local community event to get involved with. But David, for know, it's essentially about relationship building, doing high impact actions, in this case, letter writing, right. And, you know, it's, you know,

we're in a position right now where we're able to continue to build community, continue to organize, continue to meet our neighbors or mobilize our own network to, in this case, write letters to voters encouraging them to vote in the 2022 elections, which is a really good segue into just, you know, what we're focusing on as it relates to the Big Send, you know, and really a coalition of partners spearheaded by our affiliate organization Vote Forward to really contact voters in different parts of the country, encouraging them to vote in the 2022 midterm election cycle. So people always want to know how can we get involved? And we try to give solutions to that question on the Midas Touch podcast, you know, not just motivate, not just energize, which is great, but then what's the action item? And so,

Ryan, you want to tell us about what the big send is that David just teased? Yeah, so the big send is a huge campaign that we're running. We're aiming to write 10 million handwritten letters to voters across the country, across the 53 House races, the seven Senate races, six gubernatorial races all across the country that we are really focused on this cycle. These letters will be going to underrepresented voters of color, as well as folks who may not be regular voters in midterm cycles. And so those letters will go out just really encouraging them to vote. Already, we've had a lot of success. We're continuing to write letters at a rate of more than 10,000 letters per day and adding 150 new volunteers on a daily basis. And so we've already sent or already prepared 500,000 letters and stockpiled them, but are aiming to get that next nine and a half

million over the next five, six months. So that's an ambitious goal. David, say I'm listening to this podcast. I'm a member of the Midas Mighty. I say that sounds great. I want to get involved. How do I get involved if I'm listening to this and become member of the Midas Mighty. I say, that sounds great. I want to get involved. How do I get involved if I'm listening to this and become part of the big send? It's super simple and a couple of different ways to go about it. One, you can go to voteforward.org. And as soon as you land on the website, you'll be redirected into the big send, which will allow you to essentially adopt the letter online.

You'll be able to walk you through the process when it comes to what it means to adopt the letter and get you started. We'll, in the coming days, also be launching the big send.org where essentially we'll direct you right into the campaign itself. So those are just two quick and easy ways that you can go and be able to get started.

And we're talking about letter writing. The studies show that letter writing is actually one of the most effective ways to persuade. And so Ryan or David, I can leave this open-ended to either one of you who wants to take it. Can you maybe walk us through why is the focus, Swing Left is focused on a lot of community building and community activities, but why letter writing in particular? You know, we've seen based on our experiments, based on our 2020 results from the 2020 Big Send, how it's such a high impact action.

Coming out of the 2020 election cycle and that particular Big Send, we saw close to 0.8% increase of folks actually going out to vote as a result of getting these handwritten letters. What's really interesting, you know, postcarding has been around for a while when it comes to campaigns, but these are actual handwritten letters that voters actually receive and are actually encouraged to vote in a way that is, you know, makes it really, really personal. And so we've been able to, and Vote Forward has been able to find a way to really scale this and find a way to really get folks plugged in in a really, really

easy, cost-effective manner. And as a result, you can do it by yourself. You can do it virtually with friends. You can do it in person like you did in Southern California. And so there's a myriad of different ways that you can quick and easily just adopt a letter online, send it out, and mail it to a voter that we think needs just an extra push. Well, one of the things I'm always interested in is people's activism stories. They're sort of origin stories of how they got there. We sort of fell into this as brothers. We were just so concerned for the country that we were like, we got to do something. Let's make videos. Let's write articles. I don't know. What brought you guys into this space? And I think it's just important for our listeners to kind of understand that this

is something that anybody could do if you're passionate about it and care about the country. So Ryan, why don't you start? Why don't you just give us a little bit of background about how you kind of got into activism? Yeah. So I actually started on a congressional campaign in the southern tier of New York. So western New York along the border with Pennsylvania in New York, 23 is in the 2018 cycle. And so obviously that was the first midterm cycle during the Trump administration where Democrats were able to flip the House. You know, it really took, I think, in order to achieve that, while we didn't win our race, what we were able to do in a lot of these races across the country is to get people energized, to get people engaged the process, to make sure that they and channel it to local races, but also to a lot of the races that, you know, we're working with in the most competitive districts that people, you know,

may not be able to find in their local races, particularly after redistricting that has happened this year. You know, one of the hardest ways for people to get involved is actually understanding what the new map looks like and actually how to find those high-impact ways of getting involved. And so what we want to put in front of people at Swing Left is really an easy on-ramp. We think of letter writing as one of those ways that people can start to get involved

and kind of move them up the ladder of engagement. As we're thinking of other ways to engage people throughout the rest of the cycle, we're going to be talking about phone banking, we're going to be talking about door knocking later into the summer and into the fall. And so it's really all of the above approach. But I think that the best way for people to get involved is really to figure out what locally makes sense to find a volunteer group like we've kind of established and fostered at Swing Last to Croft over the last couple of years. And then making that kind of a hub for further action later on. I love that. And David?

I stumbled into political campaigns via community organizing. My dad is a reverend. My mom's a public school teaching. I've been involved in organizing all my life. I just didn't really know it until I started doing it. I've seen the power of faith-based organizing at work just growing up. And after college, I became an AmeriCorps volunteer and I was lucky enough to work and live in an apartment complex and organize my neighbors and community, connecting them to different types of professional government and non-governmental services. And I was hooked. It struck me as really similar as to what my parents' experience was and what my experience was growing up. And in 2012, I stumbled on the Obama campaign and joined as an organizer and I've been hooked ever since.

You know, something that, you know, I take with me every day here at Swing Left is, you know, how can we continue to make sure that people are involved in something and feel something bigger than themselves. And there is a lot of joy in what we can do when we're building community and when we're organizing and we're building power. And that's the type of programming that, you know, we're trying to do at Swing Left. That's those stories, you know, that Ben shared when it comes to, you know, I was able to, you know, be with friends, you know, at a backyard writing letters, that's, there is a joy to doing the work. And that's, that's something that we're trying to make sure that we're fostering here at Swing Left. But at the same time, you know, having, you know, dramatic impact in really close races, you know, we've seen that when it comes to an organizing, when it comes to a field margin, these types of touches as it relates to a letter, when it comes to a door knock, when it

comes to a phone call, they're effective and they're high impact. You know, at the end of the day, people aren't not just going to remember what you said, but how you made them feel and what can be more personal than getting a handwritten letter encouraging your vote in a midterm election, where there's so much at stake. And in addition to all the great things that you've talked about, that you've done, the state organizing, the data analytics, the voter training, the get out the vote programs, I could go on and on and on. I think one of the most impactful things about the Obama campaign was their unique use of digital organizing. I think nobody had ever seen the internet used like that before on a campaign. And now, obviously,

it's been 10 plus years since that campaign, how have you seen digital organizing change in its impact and the strategies and so on? Yeah, that's a great question, you know, and it changes cycle to cycle. Where we are right now, especially when it comes to political tech, we see a lot of campaigns try to leverage a lot of the tools that are available to digital organize. I actually think all organizing is digital organizing. You know, I don't, I don't become online David when I'm on Instagram and offline David. I'm still David. You don't have an alter ego? Exactly. There's no Sasha Fierce. There's no, no fences for me. So at the end of the day, it's how can campaigns leverage the tools

that are available to them? Right. And what we've seen is, you know, whether campaigns are leveraging Slack to build community, whether they're using Instagram to make sure that they're putting out content, right, that is resonating with folks, that meets voters where they are in language and in culture, right? Whether we're seeing peer to peer, right, and using that level of technology to send out text messages, encouraging them folks to vote or actually persuading folks on behalf of a mission or a candidate, you know, it's night and day of what we've seen, you know, 10 years ago. And so it's really exciting as to where we're going. But again, it's at its core, organizing is just a fancy word for relationship building, right? And so how can we make sure that we're leveraging the tools

that are available to us to make a connection with voters, to make a better connection with volunteers? And Ryan, do I have this right? You previously oversaw Swing Left State Legislative Program. You directed over $11 million to 180 candidates across 11 states. That's the info I have here. It seems like those are wild numbers. Yeah, so we knew that, you know, going into 2020, that redistricting was going to be,

you know, the biggest fight in front of us, you know, in, in the next decade. And so, you know, we, we looked at state legislative races and where we could have, you know, potentially an impact in redistricting cycle. Unfortunately, you know, I think that if we look at the last 10 years of state legislative races, Republicans were, you know, thinking ahead and they were able to build up advantages in terms of both fundraising and in terms of how they drew their own districts. And so, you know, that was, it's a cycle that we're continuing that investment. We're trying to continue infrastructure building and continue supporting these state legislative candidates across the country. As we know that issues of ballot access, of redistricting, of small D democracy, as well as now a host of other issues are going to be really fought for and won or lost at the state level. And so we view

the 2020 cycle as kind of a first step in kind of building this sustainable and continued investment in state legislative races over the next 10 years as well. And gerrymandering is obviously something that's on people's minds. The maps is something that's on people's minds constantly. Looking ahead at 2022, how are the maps looking? I know there are still districts that are being decided and things in the courts, but how are you feeling? Are you optimistic?

Yeah, well, I think that the on net looking at how redistricting has played out across the country, we've seen kind of an unequal system of red states being allowed to brazenly gerrymander and blue states having some restrictions placed on them by the courts. And so what we've seen really is kind of more or less a wash that the maps that we're going to get for the next 10 years are very, very similar in terms of partisan balance as they were over the last 10 years. We're still going to see a map in which Joe Biden would have carried a clear majority of the districts across the country. And so the question, I think, for Democrats and really how we're going about this as well is how do we, you know, assemble the clearest path to a majority in 2022? And that path clearly goes through districts that Joe Biden would have won in 2020. And so what we're seeing is it's really going to be not necessarily a question of how the maps will be drawn,

so much as how we're able to identify and distribute resources to those races that need it most, particularly when, you know, as I mentioned, people have not been familiar with these new districts that are being drawn and they have a bit of a harder time to, you know, identify those races that are going to be in most need in November. And David, I want to talk to you about your work on Cory Booker's campaign. Could you just share your experience a little bit about that? I mean, Cory Booker, I keep thinking back to his speech during the Katonji Brown-Jackson hearings and how it inspired everybody. And everybody was like, he's got to run for president, this guy. I was like, well, he just did. So tell us about your experience on that campaign, because he just seems like such a great guy. That speech is classic Corey. That's who he is in real life. So I started off in what now feels like a decade ago in the 2020 primary cycle, but

in around May, June of 2019 in Nevada as their deputy state director. And so I was overseeing the caucus operations at the time. The primary is it's the primary is a caucus state for, for Nevada. And so just making sure that we were working to, to build as much capacity to, to win a caucus eventually was joined the HQ team, the headquarters team in Newark as their national organizing director, or I got a chance to oversee direct voter contact and capacity building programs across the country, but primarily,

you know, in the first four primary states, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, obviously, and then South Carolina, while at the same time, with an eye for, you know, making sure that we were making it on the ballot across the country as well. And so I was lucky enough to serve, you know, as part of his team. And, you know, it was, you know, it was a grueling primary, but it's still, I think, one of the best experiences that I've ever been a part of, especially just because, you know, he really sets the tone for what it means to be a joyful warrior. And so it was really lucky enough to learn from and work with just some amazing people in that cycle too. That is so wonderful. And I just have one question, but it's a big question for the both of you. And Ron, we could start with you. What is at stake in the midterm elections?

There is any number of issues that I think we can point to. Number one that is top of mind is the ongoing fight for our democracy and what that really means. And particularly as we're thinking about what does the integrity of elections look like in 2024? Are we going to see a continued effort by Republicans at both the state and federal levels to restrict access to the ballot, to draw maps purposely for their political favor, to install governors or secretaries of state that are, you know, believers in the big lie that Joe Biden did not win the election? Are we going to see a continued effort by the right to undermine public trust in elections going forward? But that is, you know, I think, one of about 100 other issues that we can talk about. We can talk about, you know, I think one of about a hundred other issues that we can talk about. We can talk about choice and the right to an abortion across the country.

We can talk about continued progress on the Biden administration's plans going forward and being able to reinvest in communities across the country. To me, one of the things that we've really built our program around is being able to really protect and expand access to the ballot in some of these critical states going forward. David, I think Ryan pretty much hit all of the issues, but is there anything that you want to emphasize even more? No, I mean, I think the only thing I'd add is, you know, we can talk all day when it comes to, you know, who's up or who's down, you know, at the end of the day, you know, millions of lives are on the line as well. And making sure that we're seeing progress on a lot of key issues that Ryan mentioned, you know, this affects millions and millions of lives, you know, livelihoods, right? And obviously, you know, we can go on. And so it's stakes are high. But we can we can win in November, you know, despite, you know, what the GOP wants us to believe. And despite, you know, everything that we're seeing, you know, come across our way, you know, there is a clear path forward,

and it is going to be tough, and it's going to be difficult. But, you know, that's why it's critical that we're investing in high impact races, you know, right now, we're organizing early and to donate early. And David, how do we cut through that kind of voter apathy? Like, I just feel like the GOP has so kind of abused Americans in the way they are weaponizing just everything that they do and stripping away rights and people are angry. And it's now, you know, been, you know, five plus years since Donald Trump and people are just worn out. They're stressed out. They're frustrated. It's day in and day out, constant abuse.

How do you encourage people to keep going and to say, listen, you got to stay in this fight? We're our best messengers for our friends and family. And so we can every now and then tune into the latest viral clip, but it really starts with us and multiplying from there. And I think it's what I spoke about earlier when it comes to trying to find a joy in the work, trying to find a joy in building community. And the way Ben talked about having actually, you know, a fun time, you know, being at that barbecue, writing letters, engaging others, right? It starts there.

What we've seen at Swing Left, you know, over the past year, you know, every month in terms of engagement through our volunteers has been better than the next, right? And so that appetite is there. It's a matter of, you know, as Ryan mentioned earlier, how do we make it as easy as possible? How do we lower the barrier to entry to get involved right now? Right. And it's where we are right now when it comes to political campaigns and when it comes to political organizing and digital organizing. It has never been easier to get involved in a campaign. It has never been easier to get involved with Swing Left, whether you're joining our Slack community, whether you're writing a letter, whether you're actually engaging a campaign, whether you live in California and are interested in what's happening in Georgia. It has never been easy to get involved right now just because the tech is there. All we're doing is making sure that we

are creating as an enjoyable experience as possible and making sure that others actually relay that experience to others because we're the best messengers. David Barrios, Ryan Quinn, I want to thank you both for joining us on the pod. And I want to make you this promise. The same way I spoke out, I was invited to that Swing Left event in that backyard. If there are other Swing Left events that I could ever attend, or if you think it would ever be helpful for me to speak at, I will definitely go, you know, and I will follow your direction and I'd be happy to speak and motivate, motivate the crew that's there in this fight for democracy. So it's always an open invitation. I truly mean that. So, so appreciate that. Thank you, Ben.

We'll take you up on it. Thanks so much for having us. Yeah. Thanks for being on the show and everybody get involved, join Swing Left, join the Vote Forward campaign, get involved. You know how to do it now. And we'll continue to amplify all the work that Swing Left does as well to make sure that you all know how you can get involved. And we will be right back right after these messages. Thank you for listening to today's bonus episode of the Midas Touch podcast. Well, what are you waiting for? We've given you the playbook to win. Now let's all put in the work and make it happen. I want to give a special thanks to Swing Left and our incredible guests,

David and Ryan. If you enjoyed the show, remember to give us a five-star rating and leave us a nice review in your podcast app of choice. And of course, remember to share the show with a friend. Before we go, I got to mention that we are celebrating Jen Psaki's incredible work as press secretary. We're going to miss her in the briefing room. And we are making all of our best-selling Saki Bomb merch 20% off right now at the Midas Touch store while supplies last. So be sure to check it out while you can at store.midastouch.com.

That's store.midastouch.com. Until next time, this is Brett. Shout out to the Midas Mighty.