Across a million doors knocked in key Senate battlegrounds, the conversations AFP Action’s teams are having point to one overriding concern — the cost of living. 

ARLINGTON, VA — AFP Action today announced that its grassroots field teams have knocked on their one millionth door in key Senate races of the 2026 election cycle — a massive scale of early, in-person outreach during one of the most important time windows of the election. The milestone reflects the sheer breadth of ground AFP Action’s activists have already covered this cycle, and across the conversations they are having voters keep returning to the same concern: the cost of living. 

From North Carolina to Michigan, New Hampshire to Ohio, and Iowa to Montana, the message coming back is remarkably consistent. Voters are looking for leaders who take today’s economic pressure seriously and can offer a credible plan to ease it. More than any other issue, the cost of living is what will define 2026, and the voters we are hearing from are the ones who will decide these races. 

Just as important as what voters are saying is when they are saying it — these are the months when narratives take hold and candidates are framed. Engaging now is how AFP Action helps define the choice voters will eventually face, rather than leaving it to be defined by their opponents. This kind of early, sustained, person-to-person engagement is what AFP Action’s permanent, grassroots capability is built for. 

AFP Action Executive Director Nathan Nascimento issued the following statement:

“There is nothing that builds trust like a real conversation on someone’s doorstep. When one of our activists stands on a porch and listens to a family talk about what it costs to fill their tank or feed their kids, and then walks them through a candidate’s real plan to bring those costs down, that voter knows they’ve been heard. Those conversations can’t wait until September — they need to be happening now.

 “Our edge has always been our people. AFP Action activists are real, trusted members of their own communities, and they are putting in the kind of hard work that very few sign up for: knocking doors six months out, listening to their concerns, and talking to them about our strong candidates who can lead on that issue. That is what defines a race. The conversations our activists are having right now are exactly what change minds and influence votes long before Election Day.” 

AFP Action Out in the Field 

AFP Action Ohio Hits 1 Million Doors 

AFP Action Michigan Out Knocking With Mike Rogers 

AFP Action Ohio Out In Force for Jon Husted 
 
The Bottom Line for Candidates and Lawmakers 

This milestone reinforces the case AFP Action laid out this spring. The Senate majority is genuinely at risk and trust for Republicans on key issues is eroding. History gives the party in power structural headwinds at the midterms, but those headwinds can be overcome with credibility and substance. The months ahead are when the contours of these races take shape. The candidates who come out ahead will be the ones who pair authentic, early engagement with a serious, specific plan to lower costs. 

Read AFP Action’s full memo from Senior Advisor Emily Seidel and Executive Director Nathan Nascimento: AFP Action Interested Parties Memo (April 30, 2026) 

The message to every candidate is the same one AFP Action activists are carrying to the doors: keep a relentless focus on connecting voters to your plan to lower the cost of living. Answer the one question voters are asking everywhere — what are you doing to make life more affordable for working families?  

About AFP Action’s Grassroots Engagement  
 
AFP Action operates permanent grassroots chapters across the country with year-round field teams ready to engage voters at the critical time. AFP Action’s grassroots teams have already been on the ground in all six Senate states knocking on more than 1 million doors. Those conversations build the voter intelligence that inform a targeted, layered approach to engagement that combines digital and TV, mail, and one-on-one outreach. In a cycle where every competitive Senate race will be decided by narrow margins among persuadable voters, that early foundation can be the difference in closing the gap and winning in November.  

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