Background

In 2023, an exciting opportunity arose when Rep. Ruben Gallego vacated his congressional seat to run for the U.S. Senate. Yassamin Ansari, Phoenix’s Vice Mayor and the youngest woman ever elected to the city council, stepped forward to run for Congress. Her campaign was historic, as she sought to become the first Iranian American Democrat in Congress and the youngest woman to serve in the House. Kinetic was one of the first consultants to partner with Yassamin to help her make history. Against the odds, she secured her primary victory by a razor-thin margin of just 37 votes and went on to win the general election in November 2024.

Approach

Kinetic was tasked with building Yassamin’s online fundraising program from scratch. Starting with limited resources, we executed a robust strategy that included list swaps, splits, and fixed-cost acquisitions to grow her donor base. Despite the challenges of running a primary campaign—typically a less favorable environment for online fundraising—we delivered exceptional results by creating a balanced program of engagement and asks. Our approach centered on connecting Yassamin with her supporters. Through email and text, we provided engaging content, updates from the campaign trail, and vibrant photos of Yassamin in action. We balanced these moments of connection with compelling donation appeals, emphasizing the excitement and importance of her campaign. Yassamin’s dynamic presence—attending events, knocking on doors, and personally meeting voters—amplified the program’s effectiveness.

Result

Yassamin’s late primary, held in July 2024, required agility and speed as the campaign pivoted toward the general election. After a nail-biting finish and a recount, she emerged victorious in the primary by just 37 votes. Demonstrating swift response and organizational strength, we raised nearly $70,000 online for her recount fund in just a matter of a few days. Over the course of the campaign, Kinetic activated more than 5,100 donors nationwide, including over 1,300 recurring contributors, from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Our low-dollar email and text program raised nearly $300,000 in total, a remarkable achievement for a campaign navigating a competitive Democratic primary. This online fundraising success was critical to Yassamin’s historic victory as she now establishes herself as a groundbreaking leader in Congress.

Quote

“From the very beginnings of my campaign for Congress, Kinetic was a core part of my team. They built our website and launched and scaled an online fundraising program from scratch that helped power our campaign to victory. Their team is responsive, and their content is creative and authentic.” 

– Yassamin Ansari