“Persuasion” vs “Turnout” – A False Choice

Every year, politicians and pundits take to the airwaves to pronounce whether this next election cycle is about “turnout” or “persuasion”. More often than not, turning out the base ends up as the preferred strategy, driving both campaign dollars and on-the-ground strategy overwhelmingly towards getting “our side” to show up and vote. As one example of that, In advance of Aftyn Behn’s recent special election in TN congressional district 7, DNC Chair, Ken Martin apparently told Liam Kerr that the election is “not about persuading voters, it’s about turning them out.”

In most respects, however, turnout vs persuasion is a false choice, one that has contributed to shrinking the Democratic base over the long-term while doing little to help them win races in the short term.