DNC launches new guide on how to build winning campaigns, including best practices, case studies, and latest innovations in organizing

This week’s Voter Registration Week of Action marks the first time ever that the DNC has done on-the-ground partisan registration during a midterm year

As part of the DNC’s ongoing work to innovate and modernize our party’s organizing approaches under Chair Ken Martin, the DNC is launching two new efforts this week: our first National Voter Registration Week of Action of the year and an Organizing and Political Playbook. The National Voter Registration Week of Action will feature more than 100 events across 26 states over the coming week to help Democrats close voter registration gaps. The Playbook will serve as a guidebook for campaigns, organizers, and Democrats across the ecosystem to help build winning campaigns in 2026 and for years to come. 

These efforts build on Chair Martin’s vision to modernize the party’s approach to organizing, featuring several innovative programs launched by the DNC over the past year, including: When We Count, our largest-ever partisan voter registration push; Local Listeners, a groundbreaking organizing program to reach and engage infrequent voters; and our NextWave Regional Bootcamp training program, the DNC’s largest-ever in-person campaign staff training program.

About the Programs:

• National Voter Registration Week of Action: The DNC is bolstering our historic When We Count voter registration and fellowship program through national weeks of action that scale on-the-ground voter registration efforts directly in communities across the country.
  • The first Week of Action will feature over 100 voter registration drives across 26 states, including on college campuses and in rural communities where the DNC has never organized before.
  • This Week of Action highlights the major growth in engagement and interest in voter registration since the launch of When We Count — this week will have more than 75% more events compared to the DNC’s week of action for National Voter Registration Day last fall.
  • This is the first time ever that the DNC has done partisan registration during a midterm election year.

• Organizing and Political Playbook: The Playbook will serve as a how-to guide for campaign and state party staffers on best practices for creating a successful organizing program. The playbook includes:
  • An organizing re-model that illustrates new approaches for voter outreach and establishes a set of cornerstone principles and guidelines that will transform how organizers talk to voters, centered around listening and community building. 
  • Case studies including how the Spanberger campaign successfully integrated small business engagement into their organizing program, findings from the DNC’s 2025 Black & Latino polling, and information about Swing Left’s ‘Ground Truth’ program. 
  • Highlights from the DNC’s Community Power Fellowship, which outlines how Democrats are organizing and winning key constituencies. 
  • A number of fundamentals for building a campaign, including hiring, setting up a team structure, and even staff training. 

“At the DNC, our motto is when we organize everywhere, we can win anywhere. We’re putting that belief into action as we invest in on-the-ground organizing that prioritizes listening to voters and earning their support,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “Democrats have won tough races up and down the ballot through aggressive, innovative organizing and clear communication — and we’re thrilled to continue building on that momentum with this new playbook as we level up our organizing to meet the moment, starting with our upcoming Voter Registration Week of Action.”

“Organizing isn’t about hitting metrics. It’s about meeting voters where they are and building meaningful connections,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton. “Moving beyond outdated models and investing in resources grounded in what actually works will be critical to winning close races and making sure people know what Democrats are doing for them at every level of government.” 

“Democrats won by historic margins in Virginia in 2025 by running an aggressive, innovative organizing program that wasn’t afraid to go beyond traditional tactics. That’s exactly what the DNC is doing with their voter registration program and Organizing Playbook,” said Abby O’Keefe, 2025 Organizing Director for the Spanberger campaign.

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