Within the past week, Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders held several campaign rallies across Florida with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon. But who did those rallies draw? How do they help Nixon’s campaign?
The event was held at Tallahassee’s the Moon event venue, where over 1,000 people packed in. Most of the attendees there were already fans of the political figures.
Longtime Tallahassee resident Scott Keller said he's a fan because they don't take large corporate donations.
“I think that's been the problem with our politics over the last 20 or 30 years. Is people think no matter which party you vote for, it won't get you anything, and it's because they're both being bought off by corporations," he said.
Jennifer Stevens also is a longtime Sanders supporter.
“It's incredible that he's still out there on the trail and helping other Democrats try to get into office, and that he stayed true to his message all these years and hasn't wavered.
During Sanders and Nixon focused on much of their discussion on populist left messaging popular with members of their political bloc.
Sanders said most Americans are economically struggling.
“Meanwhile, the very richest people in America have never, ever had it so good. Never before in American history, never before in our long history, have so few people held so much wealth and so much power," he said.
Nixon said Washington is full of corruption.
“When I get to the United States Senate, working people will have a senator focused on putting more money in your pocket than lining their own. Because no matter where I am in Florida, I hear the same thing: people are tired. We're tired of the corruption. We're tired of working harder and having less to show for it," she said.
Sanders also affirmed their support for policies like Medicare For All.
“Angie and I and you and the vast majority of the American people think that the function of our healthcare system should not be to make billionaires even richer. The function should be to provide quality healthcare to every man, woman, and child, and that is why we are going to pass a Medicare for all single payer program. And when we raise trillions of dollars by demanding that billionaires start paying their fair share of taxes, we're going to build 7 million units of low-income and affordable housing so we solve the housing crisis. We're going to provide free and universal childcare," he said.
It was one of four stops in Florida the two politicians did together. But why even do them?
Rallies like these offer several short- and long-term benefits for modern political operations.
First, most of the people there were taking videos and posting stuff to social media. Media teams like us at WFSU went out there to cover it. That combined means large groups of people will hear about the event, without the campaign having to pay anything more than the cost to put it on.
Also, all attendees were required to sign up with their first and last name, email and zip code to enter the free event. Campaigns can use that information to solicit small dollar donations from a broad base of supporters. That strategy is critically important for Bernie Sanders and Angie Nixon.
Sanders’ political committee, Friends of Bernie Sanders, has received more than 240,000 individual donations totaling over $26 million this election cycle. More than half of that comes from small donations under $200. About $5 million of the $8 million Angie Nixon has raised also comes from those smaller donations.
Nixon is running against Republican incumbent Ashley Moody. In comparison, Moody has raised about $2 million of her $13 million raised from small-dollar donors.
The rallies also serve another purpose: They help convince people who are already fans of a campaign to volunteer. Nixon said as much during the event.
“This is not my campaign. This is our campaign, and I am asking, and I am asking you all to join this People Power campaign. I need you all to knock doors. I need you all to make phone calls. I need you all to text your friends, your family, your boyfriends, your girlfriends, your exes, your sneaky links-all of them," she said.
This isn’t just a strategy used by Democrats: Republicans have been throwing rallies across the state with similar purposes throughout this election cycle.
