New Report Urges Democrats to Rethink Campaign Tech

A prominent Democratic-aligned venture fund is urging the left to rethink its tech infrastructure and best practices in the wake of the 2024 elections. 

The extensive 60-plus-page report released on Thursday by Higher Ground Labs offered a comprehensive assessment of the Democratic and progressive tech landscape, laying out the left’s successes in 2024, as well as its major vulnerabilities and failures.

“We stand at a crossroads: The technological infrastructure we’ve built has demonstrated remarkable resilience and scale, but the path forward demands more than incremental improvements,” Betsy Hoover, HGL’s founder and managing partner, wrote in an introduction to the report. “The challenge isn’t just building better tools—it’s asking more strategic questions.”

Here are three highlights from HGL’s 2024 Political Tech Landscape Report:

The Left’s Tech Infrastructure is Vulnerable

Democrats’ tech infrastructure generally held up well in 2024, according to the HGL report. The party saw record giving through ActBlue, while NGP VAN, the voter data system used by most Democratic campaigns, generally met the demands of its users. 

But the report argues that Democrats also have a problem: they’re too reliant on an increasingly vulnerable suite of tech platforms. 

Some Democratic and progressive groups have raised concerns about the long-term stability of NGP VAN. The New York Times reported earlier this year that outside groups were forced to intervene in 2024 to keep the voter data system afloat during peak moments of the campaign.

ActBlue, meanwhile, is facing a Justice Department investigation into its security and anti-fraud practices that many Democrats see as an attempt to undermine the platform.

“Foundational pieces of movement tech are under strain, from capacity and stability concerns to political threats under the Trump administration,” the report reads. “While safeguarding key infrastructure like NGP VAN and ActBlue remains critical, the progressive ecosystem must also diversify and modernize its tech stack to ensure resilience and continuity.” 

There are already efforts underway to stand up an alternative to NGP VAN. The Movement Cooperative, a nonprofit that provides tech support to progressive groups, began soliciting proposals earlier this year for a new voter data system. The Democratic National Committee also put out its own request for proposals for a set of new organizing tools. 

At the same time, some Democratic fundraisers have discussed the need for an alternative to ActBlue, fearing that the Trump administration could try to shut down the small-dollar fundraising behemoth.

Of course, any changes or alternatives to the left’s tech infrastructure would come with some major challenges, HGL’s report notes.

“As organizations like the DNC and TMC begin exploring what it would take to bring such a system to life, practitioners should prepare for challenges around adoption, training, and integration,” it reads.

Democrats Couldn’t Match the Right’s Influence in Organic Media

Kamala Harris’ campaign and aligned outside groups spent about $400 million more than Trump’s team and pro-GOP outside groups in 2024. But Democrats couldn’t match Republicans when it came to the influence of online creators and personalities. 

“Greater spending did not necessarily translate to greater reach,” HGL’s report reads. “The right-wing digital media ecosystem is said to reach 10 times the audience of Fox News, enabling Republicans to reach a broader audience than Democrats online.”

What’s more, the report argues, conservatives’ reach online goes well beyond right-wing platforms, like Trump’s social media site Truth Social. Conservatives have also found immense success on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Twitch. Trump notably courted new media giants like Joe Rogan during his 2024 campaign, while Democrats largely relied on traditional paid media and legacy news outlets to get their message out.

If Democrats want to compete with the right’s growing influence in organic media, they’ll have to invest in building their own presence on those channels, the report argues.

“Due to the growing ecosystem of conservative voices across the internet, right-wing messages traveled faster, further, and more effectively than left-wing messages,” the report reads. “In order to reach an audience like that of the Republicans, paid media must be complemented by organic channels and long-term cross-platform engagement to amplify and reinforce Democratic messages.”

2024 Wasn’t the AI Election

Democrats and progressives began experimenting with artificial intelligence in 2024. Some campaigns and organizations used the emerging technology for content creation or event planning, while the advent of large language models, or LLMs, on the left gave practitioners new access to generative AI without having to rely exclusively on commercial products.

But AI didn’t dominate the campaign world as some practitioners predicted it would, according to HGL’s report. Despite taking steps toward broader AI adoption, the tech wasn’t used on the kind of scale some had hoped for. 

“Most campaigns reported using AI tools for content generation, communications, and event planning, but few are leveraging AI for more advanced applications such as predictive modeling, data analysis, or real-time voter engagement,” the report reads. “In many cases, AI adoption was driven by individual staff experimentation rather than structured organizational implementation.”

One challenge, the report suggests, is that many campaigners simply don’t know how to effectively use AI. And there’s little institutional guidance or support for those looking to expand their use of the technology.

There are some resources available for campaigners interested in deploying AI. HGL’s Progressive AI Lab trained more than 3,6000 people on the technology last year. But tech investment in campaigns still remains relatively low, and the industry has historically been slow to adopt new technologies.

“Continued direct training and support will help build confidence and skills in AI among campaign staff across the board,” HGL’s report reads.