In June 2019, the Americans for Prosperity Action team kicked off its initial support of Sen. Thom Tillis’ reelection. Since that point, the entire world and political landscape has changed dramatically.

But the dedication and hard work of AFP Action staff and activists remained constant.

AFP Action consistently beat the drum on phones, doors, and digital advertisements starting in January.

Driven by the energy of its volunteers, AFP Action returned to the doors in June to a nearly empty field.

In a state seeing money up and down the ballot by both major political parties and countless outside groups, AFP Action was the largest player in the grassroots game.

And that’s what made the difference.

Culminating in more than 6 million voter contacts across the Tar Heel State through phones and doors, Sen. Tillis led by more than 94,000 votes.

AFP Action’s highly targeted and consistent drum beat on doors in South Charlotte and the Triangle resulted in Sen. Tillis outpacing the rest of the ticket in the areas that decided the election.

Churning up turnout in Forsyth and Guilford counties helped provide a cushion for Tillis’s lead.

Now, Sen. Tillis is headed back to Washington to champion principled policy solutions for North Carolina families.

Joining him in their returns to Washington, AFP Action policy champions Rep. Ted Budd (NC-13) and Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-09) were both successfully reelected.

Heading to Raleigh, AFP Action’s efforts helped eight state legislative candidates — first-time candidates and seasoned legislators — win their tight races.

AFP Action was proud to support the following newly elected and reelected candidates:

• Warren Daniel (SD-46)
• Michael Lee (SD-09)
• Danny Britt, Jr. (SD-13)
• Tom McInnis (SD-25)
• Ed Goodwin (HD-01)
• Jon Hardister (HD-59)
• John Szoka (HD-45)
• John Bradford (HD-98)

Layering citizen-to-citizen contact, AFP Action supported each of these principled candidates through digital advertisements and direct mail.

But, ultimately, what stood apart was substantive, policy focused conversations with the key decision-makers in these races. Face-to-face and on the phone, undecided voters had the opportunity to talk about the true impacts legislators would have on their lives.

AFP Action thanks the hard work of its activists across North Carolina and congratulates these newly elected and reelected policy champions.

Following voters’ rejection of the ballot measure to change Illinois’s constitutionally protected flat income tax to a graduated one, Americans for Prosperity Action Senior Advisor Andrew Nelms issued the following statement:   

“Illinoisans sent a message to Springfield politicians today: No more tax hikes. Politicians promised that if this so-called “fair tax” passed, only the wealthy few would see their taxes go up. But after years of broken promises and tax hike after tax hike, Illinoisans know better. We are hopeful that the rejection of this measure, which would exacerbate the issues plaguing our state, is a wake-up call to our elected officials.”

Americans for Prosperity Action ran a robust grassroots effort mobilizing Illinoisans across the state to encouraging friends and neighbors to vote against the so-called “fair tax.” Activists made and sent nearly 1.5 million calls and text messages throughout the campaign season.  

Background:  

• OPED: Illinois’ ‘fair tax’ amendment and the promises our politicians won’t keep
• OPED: Another reminder not to give lawmakers more taxing power
• WEBSITE: No Unfair Tax

Across the country, Americans for Prosperity Action has been busy making calls and knocking on doors to help elect policy champions who will ensure more people can live their American Dream. It’s hard work. But activists make the most of their interactions with potential voters by infusing a healthy dose of enthusiasm.  

 

Activist Gina Gregory has been going door-to-door to speak with voters about Senator Cory Gardner and why he should be reelected.

 

Along the way, Gina has spoken with Coloradans who aren’t always able to participate in the political process, giving them the information they need to make an informed choice. This is how she does it. 

 

Breaking down language barriers 

 

Last month, while door knocking for Senator Gardner, Gina came across a property that appeared to be closed off.  

 

“I was just going to pass it by,” Gina says, “and then I came around to another side of the property, and a lady was out there, and she was [working] in her flower bed.” 

 

Rather than skip the house, Gina decided to engage her in conversation, but quickly discovered that the voter spoke only Spanish.  

Gina handed the woman a pamphlet detailing Senator Gardner’s positions. She looked over the pamphlet, but couldn’t understand it, and replied in broken English that she would have her husband translate it for her. 

 

“Something in me just kicked in,” Gina says. She doesn’t know the language fluently, but had learned quite a bit from her grandmother, who also only spoke Spanish. 

 

Gina began explaining Senator Gardner’s policy positions in the Spanish she knew and made sure to ask the woman for the words she didn’t know. 

 

“It was just a great conversation,” Gina says, adding that she was able to talk about everything in the pamphlet.  

 

At the end of the talk, Gina asked the woman if she intended to vote for Senator Gardner.  

 

“She was very excited, and her face lit up, and she said, ‘Si, si! Intiendo a votar a Cory Gardner,’” Gina recalls. “She was very excitedly telling me that, yes, she is now going to vote for Cory Gardner.” 

 

That interaction is one of Gina’s favorites while door knocking.  

 

“I thought that was really neat — that I was able to understand her enough, and she was able to understand me enough, to be able to bridge that gap,” Gina says. “It made me feel like I was in the right place at the right time, with the right attitude, and the right information to give.” 

 

Election signs 

 

Gina had always wanted to learn American Sign Language. She began learning in junior high so she could speak with a hearing-impaired friend. Later, she joined a deaf church and learned more sign language from an interpreter. 

 

She even joined the deaf choir, enabling her to further expand her sign vocabulary.  

 

So, when Gina found herself on the doorstep of a hearing-impaired voter in September, she knew what to do.  

 

“She came to the door, and she opened it up, and she just very quickly told me that she could not really communicate with me because she was deaf,” Gina says. “So, right then, it just kicked in, and I signed to her, ‘Oh, you’re deaf?’ And I said, ‘I can try to sign.’” 

 

Just like the Spanish-speaking voter, “her eyes lit up,” Gina says.  

 

Gina signed to her that she was there to support Senator Gardner on behalf of Americans for Prosperity Action. She asked the potential voter if she knew anything about the candidate, but she said no: It can be very difficult for hearing-impaired Americans to get the political information they need, as it’s often not in a format they can understand. 

 

That’s when Gina went step by step through Senator Gardner’s policies, using what vocabulary she knew, and manually spelling out the words she didn’t. And as Gina informed her of Senator Gardner’s policies, the voter taught Gina a few words in sign language, too. 

 

“It took some time, but she went through it, she understood it,” Gina says. “I asked her if she was likely to vote for Cory Gardner and she said ‘Of course.’” 

 

Gina says it’s thrilling when she can bring into the political process voters who might otherwise be excluded. These experiences have made her more aware of the communication gaps in politics. 

 

“It’s always been my desire to try to bridge those gaps and not be afraid of them,” she says. 

 

Join Americans for Prosperity Action’s grassroots network and work to solve the political issues we face across the country. Contact us today! 

A statement from Ryan McKee, Senior Advisor to Americans for Prosperity Action in Alaska, regarding recent messaging from Defend Alaska Elections:

“Principled disagreement expressed through civil discourse is one thing. Personal attacks against those who differ with us is quite another.

Recently, we learned that Defend Alaska Elections chose to go beyond the policy arguments against Alaska’s Initiative 2, by personally attacking one of the initiative’s supporters.  We called on Defend Alaska Elections to pull down the attack, which they quickly did.

While we disagree with those who support some of the particular election reforms in this initiative, we also defend their right to speak and make their case.  Personal attacks have no place in policy debates. We take seriously the responsibility to speak out against tactics like these that pit people against each other.  AFPA is committed to engaging in the political process in a civil and respectful way and we encourage others to do the same.

Moving forward, we hope that the debate around Initiative 2 will stay focused on advancing the understanding of Alaskans about the issues at hand.  That is what best serves the voters who have a choice to make on November 3.  It is also the level of civility that Americans deserve.”

 

Background
Americans for Prosperity Action donated $45,000 to Defend Alaska Elections, joining a diverse group of organizations from across the political spectrum who disagreed with some of the many policies bundled in the initiative.

Prior to opposing it, we expressed our concern directly to the organizations who supported it, suggesting that they unbundle the various reforms so that Alaskans could evaluate and decide on each of the very different proposals, which range from Ranked Choice Voting – a novel and largely experimental attempt to reduce extreme partisanship – to donor disclosure requirements that have been shown to chill voter participation and intimidate everyday Americans from becoming involved in the political process.  The former is an issue on which AFPA has not taken a position, the latter has a long history of opposition from a wide diversity of groups beginning with a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the NAACP, which first opposed a similar law more than 50 years ago.

AFPA opposes Initiative 2 because we believe that elements of it will further disenfranchise those who don’t have the time or resources to defend themselves against the vitriol that has come to characterize American politics. Ironically, this episode is an unfortunate proof point in that argument.

Alaskans have an unbreakable spirit. A global pandemic may have changed our daily lives, but it has not, and cannot break Alaskans’ indomitable spirit. We’ve faced challenges before. We’ll face more in the future.

 

To help us weather these challenges, we need leaders in Juneau who will fight for policies that will put our economy on track, ensure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and get Alaskans safely back to work. We need to elect leaders who will stand on principle — even when those principles are politically inconvenient — and make it possible for us to get back on

our feet.

 

That’s why Americans for Prosperity Action Alaska is endorsing Lance Pruitt, Sarah Vance, James Kaufman, and Kevin McKinley this election. These individuals earned the support of AFP Action Alaska for their principled dedication to tackling Alaska’s toughest challenge. They have demonstrated their dedication to supporting a constitutional spending cap that will get government spending under control and get our economy on track. These candidates have shown they’ll fight to make sure Alaskans have every opportunity to live their American dream in The Last Frontier.

 

Lance Pruitt, District 27:

Lance Pruitt understands that if hardworking Alaskans have to live within their means, so should the government. He supports a meaningful spending cap that would get Alaska’s economy back on track.

 

Sarah Vance, District 31:

Sarah Vance is a champion for fiscal restraint and will work to make sure the legislature passes a meaningful constitutional spending cap. Additionally, she has a track record of working to make sure every child in Alaska has access to the education that fits their unique needs.

 

James Kaufman, District 28:

James Kaufman supports a meaningful spending cap to ensure Alaska has a strong fiscal future. He is a champion for regulatory reforms that will spur economic growth and enable more Alaskans to find fulfilling work.

 

Kevin McKinley, District 5

As a business owner, Kevin McKinley understands our government must exercise fiscal restraint to ensure a bright fiscal future for our state. He will fight for regulatory reforms that will help more Alaskans find fulfilling work, enable our businesses to thrive, and bring back our jobs.

This is a pivotal election for our nation – but especially for Alaska. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic shut down has radically changed our daily lives and brought into sharp focus the need for principled leaders who are fixing the issues that matter most. We encourage Alaskans to vote for these principled policy champions. A vote for these candidates is a vote for a prosperous Alaska where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

—

Paid for by Americans for Prosperity Action – Alaska, 431 W 7th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501.

Ryan McKee, Chair, approves this message. The top contributors are AFP Action, Arlington,

Virginia, Trina Johnson of Anchorage, AK and Dan Kennedy of Wasilla, AK. This NOTICE TO VOTERS is required by Alaska law. I certify that this communication is not authorized, paid for, or approved by the candidate. AS 15.13.135.

BOZEMAN, Montana — Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action) launched a new ad and sent tens of thousands of mailers today highlighting Matt Rosendale’s record fighting for the most important issues facing Montanans.  The pieces outline major policy differences between Matt Rosendale and Kathleen Williams on vital issues for Montanans including health care and economic recovery.

AFP Action Senior Advisor David Herbst had this to say:  

“This is a pivotal election for our nation and especially for Montana. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic shut down have radically changed our daily lives and brought into sharp focus the need for principled leaders who are fixing the issues others merely talk about.

“Matt Rosendale fought to expand access to affordable health care, he will make sure every child can receive the education that fits their unique needs, and has fought to lower taxes so that Montanans can keep more of what they earn.  This election will determine the Montana we will leave behind for our kids and grandkids. Let’s make sure we elect leaders who will fight to make sure it’s a place where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their American Dream.”

SEE AD HERE
SEE MAIL HERE

The ad will run on connected TVs and across social media platforms.

Americans for Prosperity Action believes the civil liberties that serve as the foundation of our country — including freedoms of speech, conscience, and the right to peaceably assemble — make it possible for individuals and the groups they support to drive meaningful change.

Alaska Ballot Measure 2 works against that, making it harder for Alaskans to engage in the political process.

Measure 2 lacks clarity. If passed, the measure would significantly increase the legal and financial burden on Alaskans and the groups they support to advocate for the causes that matter to them. Clarity and simplicity in our laws is critical for Alaskans to see and trust the election process.

Measure 2 is troublingly vague. Individuals and small groups who don’t have the resources to decipher overly broad, vague laws will be kept out of the political process. Only the voices of the well-funded and well connected will be heard on election day. That’s why opposition to the initiative has attracted such a diverse mix of groups.

Our laws should be making it easier, not harder, for every Alaskan to have their voice heard in the political process. AFP Action encourages Alaskans to vote no on Ballot Measure 2 to ensure that every Alaskan can continue to have a voice in their elections.

Americans for Prosperity Action is excited to support Nick Freitas’s election because he has been a proven champion for Virginia and will continue to fight for us in Washington!

Take Action!

1. Tell your neighbors to lend a hand & jump into #VA07 by signing this letter today!
2. Personally ask 10 of your friends to also sign this letter to support Nick Freitas this November.
3. Share this letter to get your neighbors to support Nick Freitas today!

Why are we supporting Nick Freitas? Click here to find out!

WATCH a short message from our AFP Action Senior Advisor, JC Hernandez!

Spread the Word!

1. Share these online resources on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram with #VA07

Facebook/Twitter/Instagram Graphics

2. Use the below sample copy to share on your social media channels!

• Share with Your Neighbors! Jump into #VA07 to help support
• @NickForVA: Fighting for Virginia Families, Businesses, and Jobs! #VA07Freitas
• @NickForVA is Fighting for More Health Care Options at Lower Costs for Virginia Families #VA07
• When I’m sick, I know I can get the care I need thanks to @NickForVA. That’s why I’m jumping into #VA07 before this November!
• Thanks to @@NickForVA, I’m keeping more of what I earn #VA07
• Principled leadership and dedication to improving the lives of all Virginians. That’s why I support @NickForVA #VA07
• Virginians keep more of their hard-earned paychecks thanks to @NickForVA. Join me in supporting his election. #VA07
• @NickForVA supports putting health care back in the hands of me and my doctors. That’s why I’m jumping into #VA07

Share Your Story!

Example Instructions:

• • Grab your device that provides the best video/sound quality!
  • Center yourself in the frame & make sure the camera is eye level!
  • Do a “soundcheck!” Record a quick video of yourself speaking and replay it back to ensure you’re heard loud and clear.
  • In approximately 30 seconds, share why you’re supporting Nick Freitas this November.
  • Share video via your online platforms with the hashtag #VA07 and tag @AFPAction and @NickForVA.
  • Challenge your families to jump into #VA07 and challenge them to share their stories!
  • Watch the message catch fire and influence your neighbors to jump into #VA07!
  • Don’t forget to tag @AFPAction!

ARLINGTON, VA—Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action) today announced it will launch a new wave of advertisements in support of Senators John Cornyn, Steve Daines, David Perdue, and Thom Tillis’s re-elections. Driving a positive, forward-looking message highlighting the positive impacts of these candidate’s support for historic tax reform and reducing red tape, these ads seek to bring voters together to vote for these lawmakers and the solutions they’ve driven during their tenures.

The approximately seven-figure digital effort will layer the group’s active grassroots engagement on innovative digital platforms such as connected TV. While AFP Action has had a consistent digital presence in support of these candidates, this will serve as the largest, most comprehensive digital buy of the cycle, to date.

To date, AFP Action activists have contacted nearly two million voters in these races.

You can view the ad in support of Sen. John Cornyn here.

You can view the ad in support of Sen. Steve Daines here.

You can view the ad in support of Sen. David Perdue here.

You can view the ad in support of Sen. Thom Tillis here.

AFP Action Senior Advisor Tim Phillips issued the following statement:

“Americans are resilient and capable of extraordinary things. As individuals and businesses across our country begin to rebuild and recover, we know that we can count on John Cornyn, Steve Daines, David Perdue, and Thom Tillis to continue their work to promote opportunity for all Americans. With their leadership in the Senate, proven track records of reducing red tape and ensuring hardworking Americans keep more of what they earn, we will recover and come back stronger than ever. We urge the voters in these states to send these policy champions back to Washington.”

For further information or to set up an interview, reach Nicole Tardif at NTardif@afpaction.com. 

ATLANTA, GA – Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action) congratulates Georgia State Sen. Chuck Payne on his hard-fought primary victory to continue representing State Senate District 54.  AFP Action endorsed Payne in early May and leveraged its signature grassroots, direct-mail, and digital advertisements to reach voters.

AFP Action Senior Advisor Stephen Allison issued the following statement:

“Senator Chuck Payne’s primary victory is a great win for his constituents and the state of Georgia. Throughout his time in office, Sen. Payne has shown his commitment to improving the lives of all Georgians through supporting principled policy solutions to the greatest challenges Georgians face—even when it’s politically difficult. Whether it be improving access to quality, affordable health care, keeping our communities safe by supporting smart on crime policies, or ensuring Georgia’s families keep more of what they earn, our activists are proud to have supported a principled leader and congratulate Senator Chuck Payne on his well-earned primary victory.”

Background:

Americans for Prosperity Action endorsed Senator Chuck Payne for re-election, citing Payne earned the support for his commitment to:

• Economic Opportunity: Sen. Payne supported policies that include fiscally responsible budgeting, cutting wasteful, lowering the tax burden on hardworking Georgians, and reducing red tape on small businesses.
• Health Care: Sen. Payne supported improvements that expanded access to quality, affordable health care. Leading the charge to repeal certificate of need (CON) laws and supporting telehealth legislation, Sen. Payne has shown support for expanding access to care.
• Criminal Justice Reform: Sen. Payne has supported smart on crime, soft on taxpayers criminal justice reforms to keep our communities safe.

For further information or to set up an interview, reach Nicole Tardif at NTardif@afpaction.com.