Why Democrats Must Treat CTV as the New Political Battleground

When New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won his race, Democrats across the spectrum wanted to know how a Democratic socialist connected with so many new, young and low-propensity voters. 

The answer was not a secret strategy. It was a shift in where and how he met them. He showed up in person, built authentic earned media moments and amplified them across digital platforms.

That is the lesson Democrats need to take into the midterms. The fight for voters’ attention no longer happens through cable boxes in living rooms. It happens on streaming platforms, mobile devices and smart TVs. To reach and persuade the voters who will decide the next election, Democrats must meet them where they are: on Connected TV and streaming.

The Old Media Playbook Is Failing

I have worked on campaigns, PACs and Capitol Hill. Later, at a major TV conglomerate, I sold political ads and negotiated with campaigns and independent expenditures. From that vantage point, I watched the traditional TV ecosystem crumble in real time.

Cable and broadcast stations are supposed to offer candidates the “lowest-unit rate,” meaning that, during campaign windows, they cannot charge candidates more than the lowest rate offered to any commercial advertiser for comparable airtime. The rule was meant to keep political ads affordable and fair.

In practice, that protection has weakened. It is an open secret that rates change based on demand and relationships, giving high-spending advertisers priority for premium slots. Prices fluctuate, leaving smaller campaigns paying more for less. Oversight is limited. Broadcasters must maintain a “political file” showing who bought airtime and at what rate, but there is no comprehensive reporting on total political ad revenue or consistent enforcement. The result is a system that is opaque, unpredictable and tilted toward those with the biggest budgets.

Meanwhile, the audiences we are paying to reach have moved on. Millions of Americans –  especially younger, more diverse and suburban voters – no longer watch cable news or prime-time TV. They are streaming sports on Hulu, watching commentary on YouTube, following podcasts or talking about campaigns on Discord.

Democrats have always excelled at innovation, yet too many campaigns still spend most of their budgets on linear TV, chasing audiences that no longer exist there.

The Power of Targeting and Accountability

The promise of streaming is not just reach; it is precision. Unlike broadcast TV, which delivers a blanket message to everyone, CTV allows campaigns to target by geography, demographics and issue engagement. 

That precision is measurable. CTV provides real-time analytics on impressions, view-through rates and engagement. Campaigns can adjust creative mid-flight and know exactly where every dollar went. For a party that prides itself on data-driven decision-making, that kind of accountability should be standard.

What I Have Seen Work

Across campaigns I have advised, the difference between a good media strategy and a great one comes down to timing and integration. The best campaigns build streaming in from the start.

Mamdani’s campaign proved that point. His team understood that voters were already consuming political content online and invested early and consistently in CTV. According to AdImpact, Mamdani spent about $3.7 million on CTV in the first five weeks of the primary, compared with roughly $228,000 from his opponents. By the time others increased their spend, he had already built a steady presence and message with new and low-propensity voters.

The takeaway is not that personality drives success, but that meeting voters where they already are creates opportunity. Any candidate with strong ideas and creative storytelling can reach these audiences if they prioritize streaming early and spend strategically.

When CTV sits at the center of persuasion and turnout strategy, campaigns see higher engagement and efficiency. Budgets stretch further and outreach becomes more precise.

Having spent years on both sides of the industry, from policy rooms to ad-sales floors, I can say confidently that Democrats cannot afford to keep playing by yesterday’s rules in a media landscape that has already moved on.

A Smarter Path Forward

Winning the midterms and building a durable majority will require campaigns to think differently about how they plan, buy and measure media.

That means:

• Reallocating budgets strategically: Shift meaningful portions of spending from broadcast to CTV and digital video, where persuasion and turnout can be tracked and optimized.
• Building in-house expertise: Hire and train teams that understand streaming analytics, audience segmentation and programmatic buying. Campaigns should know how their media dollars are being used, not just where they are being spent.
• Integrating message and medium: Streaming allows campaigns to test creative, react to breaking news and refine messages throughout the cycle, something legacy TV cannot match.

It is about reimagining media strategy to match how people actually consume information and ensuring campaigns are as adaptive and accountable as the voters they seek to reach.

The bottom line:This is not just a technological shift; it is a generational one. If Democrats do not evolve, they will continue to chase a smaller slice of the electorate, while Republicans quietly capture the screens that matter.

The message is clear: adapt or fade out. The next great Democratic victories will not be won on cable or broadcast. They will be streamed.

Adnan Mohamed is a senior political strategist at TargetSmart and a former media sales executive at Cox Media. He has advised many Democratic campaigns and PACs at the local, statewide, and national level on political and media strategy.