GOP boasts of improved ground game

Republicans say they’ve erased the advantage Democrats have had in recent elections, when it comes to campaign infrastructure and ground game.

Prior to 2014, Democrats could count on a technological advantage and superior grassroots operation, which started at the top with President Obama’s vaunted campaign infrastructure, to boost their turnout on Election Day.

But a memo released Monday from Republican National Committee chief of staff Mike Shields says those days are over.

“These [2014 midterm cycle] victories are a testament to the improvements we made as a party when it comes to identifying and turning out voters and implementing the recommendations of the Growth and Opportunity Project,” the memo reads in part.

The RNC initiated the Growth and Opportunity Project following the 2012 cycle, when the GOP failed to take back the Senate or the White House, despite conditions that initially seemed favorable to them.

In 2014, Republicans gained their largest majority in the House since World War II and won a convincing majority in the Senate.

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“These resources were brought to bear earlier than ever before, beginning a full 18 months before Election Day,” Shields said. “For the first time, the RNC focused on persuasion and turning out low-propensity voters early.”

Shields noted the RNC’s investment of more than $100 million for field operations in 26 states, a “multi-million dollar upgrade” to data and digital operations that sprung from a shop they set up in Silicon Valley, new mobile apps to track and integrate voter data, thousands of coordinators contacting low propensity voters, better training for campaign staff and an email list that grew from 2 million to 12 million.

“Republicans will head into 2016 with a proven field operation and a record of resounding victories,” Shields said.