Campaigns don’t succeed just because they have a good social media strategy. They succeed because the messages they’re sharing – namely, those on affordability – work.
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Democratic candidates are trying to find a new way to compete with Republicans on social media, but they still seem to be missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
Former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe recently wrote an opinion column for The New York Times with the headline, “The Old Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It Anymore.” In it, he details what exactly the Democratic Party needs to be doing differently ‒ showcasing candidates with an in-house content creation arm that is as robust as other areas of the campaign.
“To win today, you need to harmonize your message across the ever-growing list of ways people are reachable: traditional TV, connected TV, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, podcasts, Snapchat, radio, video games, community events, door-to-door canvassing, phone calls and texting,” Plouffe writes.
He mentions some case studies of candidates – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico in Texas and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani – to show Democrats who are doing things the right way. Each of these politicians is just as focused on how they’re messaging as they are on the content of the messages themselves.
While I agree with the premise that Democratic politicians do need to be taking social media seriously, it seems Plouffe is one of many pundits glossing over what works for progressive Democrats and Republicans alike. Campaigns don’t succeed just because they have a good social media strategy. They succeed because the messages they’re sharing – namely, those on affordability – work.
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It’s clear that the Democratic Party is struggling and has been for some time. Polling during President Donald Trump’s second term has shown that the party is flailing in the open ocean. When you look at the way Republican politicians have mastered messaging since 2016, it seems that the solution for the left is to grab a podcast mic or turn to TikTok. But that’s only part of what makes a campaign successful.
Mamdani didn’t win in New York City just because his team knew how to edit videos for TikTok or had a cool campaign logo. He succeeded because he was a progressive candidate who focused his message on affordability.
Mamdani focused on elements of city life that have become increasingly difficult for residents to pay for – transportation, childcare and rent. He kept the message simple and bite-size for the best results, but there’s no denying that the content of the message is what gave people hope.
Similarly, Ocasio-Cortez didn’t win in 2018 just because she knew how to market herself. Her democratic socialist beliefs were what helped her win the primary against an established Democratic candidate, as well as her determination to have a grassroots campaign that prioritized field organizing.
One person who failed to get a mention in Plouffe’s column is Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. His team is competent at social media, but what really makes it work is the fact that the senator’s positions haven’t changed depending on the way the wind blows. That, and the fact that Sanders is still doing tours of the United States, is what people like about him.
On the other hand, we have famously “internet-winning” California Gov. Gavin Newsom. By the standards of this type of cosmetic campaign analysis, he’s doing everything right.
Newsom has a robust social media presence that should make him the front-runner for the 2028 presidential election. Yet he’s seen as little more than a two-faced politician by large swaths of the population, thanks to his tendencies to throw the transgender community under the bus and his cruel policies on homelessness.
Republicans know that it takes more than social media
There also seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding among Democrats of what works for the GOP. The reason Republicans are so good at social media is that they have the feet on the ground to back it up.
The right has a wide-reaching presence in communities, from the rural enclaves in the South to the small towns in California. People see the way the party has shown up for them, whereas the Democrats have focused on the national landscape.
It would behoove Democrats to organize all over the country and keep momentum going through community events and town halls, even when there isn’t an election. Again, this is something Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have perfected, and it is a big reason why they have favorability among Democratic voters. The public wants the opportunity to see their politicians in-person, not just on a screen.
There’s also the fact that Republican politicians shy away from criticizing those who are doing the messaging for them – even when those messengers are saying questionable things. Recent comparisons in the media between leftist Hasan Piker and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes have made this apparent.
There is no perfect messenger for the party outside of the organization, but Democrats should be wary of wading into debates over a third party’s morality – especially when those comparisons put leftists and progressives in the same category as racists.
It would be smart of Democratic candidates to listen to the idea that social media plays a role in campaigning, of course. There is no feasible way to run for election in 2026 that doesn’t include a robust content creation arm.
But that can’t be the only thing Democrats have working for them – they have to remember that candidates should have a strong platform and a visible presence in the community to win in November midterm elections.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social