Democrats aren’t online enough.
While conservative organizations spend more than left-leaning organizations on platforms like Facebook and Instagram in non-election years, attracting large audiences, these democratic lined groups become more dormant in the digital space. And that makes the Democratic election year persuasion game much more difficult.
That’s a warning New Report From Tech for Campaigns, a political nonprofit focused on using digital marketing and data techniques to support Democrats, one of the party’s main issues is its communication fades away when it is not election. For example, democratic spending and presence leading up to the election spiked online, but Republicans quickly regained their spending advantage this year.
In other words, Democrats have not worked online during their “off year.”
The report was first shared with Politico, as Democrats donors and officials are working on the 2024 boosting online personalities and social media content to President Donald Trump, and is working on the openly recognized Democrats. Modify their brand.
“Trump in particular recognized that persuasion is no longer last-minute persuasive, but rather a continuous shaping of beliefs about building trust, changing opinions and becoming visible through frequent engagement. “Democrats may acknowledge this change, but they continue to treat digital communication as a campaign season sprint.”
The benefits of Republican viewers range from podcasts, from Democrats to social media and digital sites about the impact of hosts like Joe Rogan. For example, on Facebook and Instagram, the pages that Republicans allied have outweighed Democrat-related people throughout former President Joe Biden’s term, the report found. The only exception to the fourth quarter of 2024, when democratic spending surged ahead of the November election. Republicans regained their spending advantage in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting that Democrats were not on the ground.
“The Democrats have brands and customers that require consistent and constant communication,” said Jessica Alter, co-founder of the campaign’s Tech. “And ads… three to six months before elections can certainly make up for that strategy, not when Republicans never stop talking to their audience, and it can’t become a major strategy.”
The online spending gap is not from political parties or campaigns. Instead, the Republican digital advantage comes primarily from alliance groups and digital media companies such as Pragel and Daily Wire.
These and other similar sites do not focus strictly on electoral politics. But they cultivated a wide audience and shared content on issues for years, including trans students’ participation in sports and diversity, equity and opposition to inclusion programs. And Republican candidates are ready to take advantage of those large, sympathetic audiences as elections approach.
There are new, left-leaning media competitors, such as Courier Newsroom and now this impact, but conservative pages and websites still have a larger audience and spend more on increasing content across the platform.
When it comes to campaigns, Democrats have economic benefits. But democratic campaigns have consistently outperformed Republicans on digital platforms, which often focus on fundraising rather than persuasion or mobilization ads. That’s wrong, technology for technology claims.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign spent nearly three times Trump’s overall on Facebook, Google and CTV after taking part in the presidential election in July 2024, but only a small share, 8%, was dedicated to mobilizing. That allowed Trump and his allies to bridge many gaps when it comes to digital content designed to bring voters to the vote.
However, the report warns against simply trying to replicate what Republicans did well. For example, they are trying to find a democratic equivalent to Logan, or even warning them to assume that the podcast is the most important medium of 2028. Instead, Democrats argue that they need to try different forms and work and adapt as needed.
“It’s not enough to increase the funds to replicate Republican tactics from the final cycle, nor will we continue to rely primarily on the network of the same talent,” the report concludes. “Successful right-wing influencers appeared outside the party’s structure, primarily organically, rather than top-down creation.”
