A U.S. advocacy group is making significant strides in reaching out to voters ahead of the presidential election, with its leader expressing confidence that faith-based voters will turn out in “historic numbers” this year.
The Faith & Freedom Coalition (FFC) announced on Monday that it has knocked on a record 8 million doors in battleground states that are crucial for determining the upcoming election's outcome. The organization estimates it will interact with between 17 million and 18 million voters across seven swing states by Election Day.
“We are seeing unprecedented enthusiasm and intensity among our volunteers and the voters of faith with whom they are interacting,” said FFC leader and founder Ralph Reed in a statement.
He noted that the enthusiasm for voter participation this year surpasses what was observed in 2016 or 2020. “These voters are coming, and they are coming in historic numbers. That is more important than polls that replicate voter turnout models from past elections that may or may not apply in 2024.”
Reed believes that reports suggesting an inadequate conservative ground game for the 2024 election are “greatly exaggerated.” Throughout the election cycle, the FFC has promoted its extensive ground operation, which features 10,000 paid canvassers and volunteers focused on engaging "low-propensity voters of faith" to ensure their involvement in the election process.
The organization aims to increase voter turnout by an additional 3 million to 4 million compared to the 2020 election. Other goals for this election cycle include making 10 million volunteer get-out-the-vote calls, sending out 24 million get-out-the-vote text messages, and distributing 30 million voter guides to over 100,000 churches.
While Reed expresses optimism about the effectiveness of targeting voters of faith and pro-life advocates ahead of the election, some analysts believe that churches and faith-based outreach groups must ramp up their efforts. A report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University estimates that 32 million self-identified Christians plan to abstain from voting in the 2024 election.
In response to this outlook, Reed countered, “It doesn’t really comport with what we’re seeing on the ground.” He added, “In the battleground states that will matter, not just presidential but also Senate and congressional races, they’re going to come, and they’re going to come in big numbers.”
Reed anticipates that between 75% and nearly 90% of self-identified Evangelical Christians will participate in the 2024 election, emphasizing that these voters typically have a higher turnout rate than both “all voters” and “all Republicans.”
Current polls indicate that Trump and Harris are closely matched in key states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—collectively holding 93 Electoral College votes.
