13.6 How Campaigns Reach Voters

In Ohio, campaigns use a variety of strategies to reach voters and build support. These include targeting particular groups of voters, organizing grassroots efforts, holding public events, and using advertising and news coverage. Campaigns must decide how to spend their time and resources to connect with the people whose votes they need to win.

This section examines how campaigns operate in Ohio, from voter targeting and grassroots mobilization to paid advertising, earned media, and campaign messaging.

Targeting Voters

Campaign strategies often begin with identifying which voters a candidate needs to reach. Campaigns analyze voter registration records, past election results, polling, and other available data to identify likely supporters, potential opponents, and voters who might be persuaded to support their candidate.

Campaigns also consider differences across Ohio’s regions. A statewide candidate must reach voters in major metropolitan areas such as Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, as well as smaller cities, suburbs, and rural communities. Candidates running for the Ohio General Assembly focus more narrowly on the communities and voters within their legislative districts.

Campaigns use this information to decide where candidates should spend their time, which neighborhoods volunteers should visit, and where to invest in advertising. They may focus on persuading undecided voters in competitive areas while also encouraging reliable supporters to turn out and vote.

Ground Game & Grassroots Mobilization

A ground game refers to the on-the-ground efforts a campaign uses to connect directly with voters. This often involves volunteers and staff going door to door, making phone calls, and organizing community events. Campaigns also use personalized text messages to contact voters, although automated messaging and AI chatbots increasingly blur the distinction between personal outreach and mass communication.

Grassroots mobilization is valuable because personal interactions can persuade voters to support a particular candidate. A major part of this work involves get out the vote (GOTV) efforts, which focus on encouraging supporters to cast their ballots during early voting or on Election Day.

Campaigns also organize rallies, town halls, meet-and-greets, and other public events. These activities give candidates opportunities to speak directly with voters, answer questions, recruit volunteers, and build enthusiasm. Large rallies can energize supporters and attract news coverage, while smaller events allow candidates to develop personal connections with voters. Candidates also attend community festivals, parades, and local gatherings to increase their visibility.

Campaigns may establish local offices in important regions to coordinate these efforts and identify supporters. While candidates can sometimes win without a strong ground game, particularly if they have significant name recognition, strong party backing, or substantial funding, grassroots efforts remain an important tool for building support and motivating people to vote.

Paid Media & Advertising

Paid media refers to advertising that a campaign purchases to communicate its message to voters. This includes television and radio commercials, digital advertising, and other forms of paid communication.

Ohio has several distinct media markets, so campaigns must decide where to spend their advertising budgets. Statewide campaigns may purchase advertising across multiple regions, while candidates for the Ohio General Assembly typically focus on voters within their districts. Campaigns use polling, voter data, and past election results to determine where advertising is most likely to make a difference.

Direct mail is another form of paid campaign communication. It refers to postcards, flyers, or letters sent directly to voters’ homes. Campaigns use direct mail to introduce candidates, explain positions on issues, criticize opponents, and remind supporters to vote. Mailing lists allow campaigns to target particular groups of voters with different messages.

Paid advertising gives campaigns considerable control over their messages. They decide what to say, which voters to target, and when their advertisements will appear. However, advertising can be expensive, particularly in competitive statewide races.

Earned Media

Earned media refers to news coverage and other publicity that a campaign receives without paying for advertising space or airtime. Examples include newspaper stories, television news reports, radio interviews, and coverage of candidate debates or campaign events.

Campaigns actively seek earned media because it allows them to reach voters without paying for advertisements. Candidates may hold press conferences, announce policy proposals, participate in debates, or organize events intended to attract reporters. A candidate visiting a local business to discuss economic development, for example, might receive coverage from a television station or local newspaper.

Unlike paid advertising, campaigns have limited control over earned media. Journalists decide what to cover, which questions to ask, and how to report the story. News coverage can help a candidate gain visibility and credibility, but it can also draw attention to mistakes, controversies, or criticism from opponents.

Earned media can be especially valuable to campaigns with limited advertising budgets. A candidate running for the Ohio General Assembly, for example, may rely on coverage from local newspapers, television stations, and community news outlets to introduce themselves to voters.

Owned Media

Campaigns also use owned media, which refers to communication channels they control directly, such as campaign websites, email newsletters, and official social media accounts. Unlike paid advertising or earned news coverage, owned media allows campaigns to communicate directly with voters without relying on journalists or purchasing advertising space. Campaigns may, however, pay to promote content posted through these channels.

Social media is one of the most visible forms of owned media. Candidates use platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X to share messages, explain their positions, publicize events, respond to opponents, and encourage people to vote.

Different platforms offer different ways to reach voters.

• On Facebook, candidates may post campaign updates, livestream town halls, or share photographs from community events.
• Instagram and TikTok allow campaigns to distribute short videos, including clips from speeches, behind-the-scenes footage, and messages directed at younger audiences.
• YouTube allows campaigns to publish longer interviews, speeches, and campaign advertisements.
• X is often used for short statements, reactions to breaking news, and exchanges with journalists, public officials, and political opponents.

Candidates can also communicate through email newsletters and text messaging. For example, a candidate might email supporters about an upcoming rally, send a fundraising appeal, or distribute reminders about early voting. Campaign websites provide a central location where voters can learn about the candidate, review policy positions, volunteer, contribute money, or find upcoming events.

One important distinction is between organic social media content and paid social media advertising. An organic post is content a campaign publishes without paying the platform to promote it. For example, an Ohio House candidate might post a video on Instagram explaining their position on school funding. Followers may see the video, comment on it, and share it with others. If the campaign pays Instagram to promote the same video to voters in the legislative district, it becomes paid advertising.

Owned media gives campaigns control over what they publish, but not necessarily over how many people see it. Social media platforms use algorithms to determine which posts appear in users’ feeds. A campaign might have thousands of followers, but only a portion may see a particular post. Conversely, a video that receives widespread attention can reach far beyond the campaign’s existing supporters.

Owned media also allows campaigns to communicate without the scrutiny that normally comes with news reporting. Candidates can present their messages in their own words without answering questions from journalists or including opposing perspectives. This gives campaigns greater control over how they present themselves, but it also places more responsibility on voters to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the information they encounter.