937: How AOC got my email
Inspiration for attention on FEC filing day
Since WelcomeFest, AOC’s chief of staff keeps chiming in to my Twitter mentions.
So I thought it may have been all part of the fun when, on June 28, I started daily getting email blasts from AOC (first subject: Why am I considered extreme?).
But on today’s July 15th FEC Day, the quarterly deadline for candidate committees to file financial reports with the Federal Election Commission, solves many such mysteries. AOC’s biggest campaign expense of the quarter was $1,255,000 for “List Acquisition” through the progressive fundraising firm Middle Seat.
That buys a lot of emails, including mine.
Groups Must Fight For Attention
This is not a critique of AOC1, but a plug for our partners on campaigns and PACs to actually approach list-building like the growth area it could be.
Since AOC last emailed, the only other candidates to clutter my inbox were Jon Ossoff and Cory Booker. The only entities were party committees (DCCC, DSCC, DNC) and scammy PACs.
Welcome is investing in contesting this zone of attention more intensely (reminder: support Janelle Stelson!), and eager to learn from others.
AOC didn’t just buy my email, she bought a slice of my attention.
There are just 937 days until the first presidential primary of 2028, and overperformers need a much larger slice of attention than in 2020.
Bonus: many of the AOC email buys may have come from Bob Casey’s Senate campaign. What a business!
A critique on the merch spend (instead of winning swing district) was levied in the New York Times after the last midterm, and I was not a big fan of the emails claiming AOC is at risk of losing to a Republican … but gonna let that go for today!
What I find interesting is the note that Bob Casey sold the list for $382,007 dollars. I mean, why the extra $7? Was he really desperate to get a free drink out of it?