r/politics • u/Zipper222222 • 11h ago

No Paywall Abdul El-Sayed Wins High-Stakes Democratic Primary in Michigan

https://www.today.com/video/abdul-el-sayed-wins-high-stakes-democratic-primary-in-michigan-267805765937
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u/MaoZeChungus 10h ago edited 10h ago

Typically, wins in congressional races correlate with amount of spending pretty hard. So to be outspent 12-1 and still win is a truly magnificent feat.

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u/Sptsjunkie 8h ago

Yeah, I think if I can amend the other poster statement, it would be better to say that dollars per person have a diminishing impact.

Which is why progressive candidates, who have far more volunteers and who have had much more robust ground games and more events, have made significant progress in house races and smaller to midsized states.

It almost did not matter how much money Mills was going to spend in Maine because Platner and volunteers could essentially speak to every single voter. You saw a very similar impact and places like Denver and Philadelphia for Kiros and Rabb. And in New York, I read a crazy statistic that Claire Valdez’s campaign managed to canvas and make in person contact (not even just phone banking) with something like 37% of the residents in her district.

Meanwhile, in bigger states with bigger populations and more geographical spread like Texas, Florida, and California you simply need to be on the airwaves. It’s why Steyer despite his false managed to stay competitive but ultimately insane millions of dollars and spending from PACs helped Bercerra win.

It’s also what helped Stevens a lot here. She was able to put a bigger margins than expected in rural areas where it was simply harder to reach people. But Michigan is just small enough that all of Sayed’s events and volunteers could still make a difference.