While both major party presidentials are going to be historically well funded this cycle, and the Biden-Harris campaign’s early media spends have gotten some strategic plaudits from buyers, some consultants believe that innovation in 2024 is actually going to come from down-ballot races and firms.
“I don’t believe the presidentials have driven innovation like I would have thought,” Zac Moffatt, CEO and founder of GOP firm Targeted Victory, recently told C&E. “Historically, that was the massive [innovative leap]. It just jumped so far ahead and brought everyone with it. I just don’t see that like it used to be.”
Moffatt added: “Most of the innovation that we’re finding is internal. It’s our capacity to score [fundraising lists],” as opposed to coming from top campaigns, which he noted have shifted their own hierarchy.
“House races are out-raising Senate races. That’s not uncommon anymore,” he said. “We have House candidates who out-raise committees — that’s part of the evolution, too.”
Tessa Simonds, who heads Blue State Digital’s political practice, said that while she had some hope for 2024, she agreed with Moffatt that the 2020 presidential campaigns weren’t a big source for innovation.
“I couldn’t agree more that we did not see the level of innovation that you typically see out of 2020,” said Simonds. “I think that Covid had a big role to play in that — there was unique dynamics.”
Ethan Roeder, chief innovation officer at Forward Majority, a Democratic super PAC focused on state-level races, said that part of the reason why there might not be a lasting impact from a presidential is because it’s built essentially to “burn down.”
“There is no incentive to optimize for the day after the election,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. And actually, you’re not doing your job if you are thinking about the consequences of your program for the day after the election.”
