The 2023 Senate election in Virginia was tough for conservatives. Going into the election, the Democratic Party held a majority of the seats. Yet, for anyone who keeps Police and Law Enforcement issues close to their heart, it was not time to give up the fight, which is why United Police Fund and its supporters decided to take action.
Through a smart “Get Out the Vote” campaign, United Police Fund set out to mobilize like-minded low-propensity voters in two key swing districts. And now that the final counts are finished, and with fully certified results, we can safely say it was worth every penny: by highlighting the impact of these elections on local Police Departments, we brought enough votes to secure a Senatorial victory.
Who Was Running?
This campaign aimed to help two experienced candidates with a deep commitment to pro-police causes: Juan Pablo Segura from Senate District 31 (Arlington, Darfax, and Oudoun), and Danny Diggs from Senate District 24 (Shenandoah Valley).
With approximately 150,000 people each, both jurisdictions had been declared “swing districts” by most media outlets and political analysts. But this didn’t mean they were up for grabs:
Senate District 31 was controlled by a Democratic candidate who had steadily chipped away at police funding throughout the previous election cycle. Here, Segura’s possible triumph could directly help Virginia save the lives and livelihoods of police officers.
Senate District 24 had been left surprisingly open after Republican Emmet Hanger announced he was looking forward to retirement rather than reelection. Immediately, the loud activists pushing the “defund the police” agenda set their sights on it – and United Police Fund had to stop them.
What Was Our Campaign All About?
The goal was simple, and it was the same one we have publicly defended since the inception of United Police Fund: elect representatives who see law enforcement officers as the heroes-in-the-making they are rather than the monsters that some media wants them to be.
But in today’s polarized political climate, this was a tricky mission. Year after year, loyalists from both parties had left these districts split almost neatly down the middle. This is why we needed to bring in new voters – but where to find them?
To do this, we found conservative voters who supported the police but had not participated in a Virginia Senate or House election since at least 2015. Perhaps disillusioned by the political system or simply not paying attention to smaller “off-year” elections, these voters were enough to tilt the scales.
Their concerns and our mission matched – so the next step was to transmit the same urgency we felt and to use that to bring them to the polls.
This was accomplished through a series of Facebook and internet ads, which used the powerful and uncomplicated slogan “Defend, not defund.” Next, we deployed an IVR call spree and a mass text message campaign to bring them to the polling sites.
Final Tally: One Last Push Towards a Difficult Victory
Ultimately, the effort paid off.
In Senate District 24, our Get Out The Vote and independent expenditure campaign added 3,330 additional, low-propensity voters to turnout and likely vote GOP, representing a 17.37% increase in Conservative voters districtwide. Then, Danny Diggs won the election—by a margin of just 1,864 votes.
With these numbers, one fact becomes undeniable: the Police hold a special place in many conservatives’ hearts, strong enough to bring them back to the polls after years of disinterest. Through our campaign, we were able to capitalize on this concern and overturn a seat.In Senate District 31, our efforts brought 2,352 extra likely GOP voters to the ballot box, equaling a 20.79% increase in conservative voters. While Juan Pablo Segura fell short, he positioned himself as a local voice to be reckoned with—and the local Democratic Senator will need to remember this if he decides to come after law enforcement.
