Republican dark-money groups are pouring millions of dollars into defeating Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, but unions are fighting back, trying to re-elect Begich. The tactics are different, though. Unions have put some money into ads supporting Begich or going after his Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan:
The political action committee affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters, for example, recently spent $165,000 on TV ads against Sullivan. The National Education Association’s super-PAC unveiled an ad in early September slamming Sullivan for a misleading claim he made about going after a Wall Street firm that gave the state bad financial advice and cost the public pension fund billions of dollars.
Unions cannot compete, dollar for dollar, with the Koch brothers’ billions, and they don’t:
But there is another way:
Union members have been working the phones, pushing out mailings, and canvassing door-to-door on behalf of Begich. Volunteers have even taken the unusual step of door-knocking in areas far outside of Alaska’s urban centers, says Jerry McBeath, a professor of political science at University of Alaska. Because of the unprecedented level of campaign action this year, Beltrami says, the AFL-CIO had to rent out an extra 7,000 square foot warehouse. […]
Unions have a unique edge when it comes to pushing back, McBeath explains. He says unions could swing this election in Begich’s favor because the amount of outside money flowing in means “the airwaves are almost bought out, and other means of campaigning—like door to door—are more important than they would be in a typical Senate race.”
Alaska has the second-highest union density of any state, meaning unions have a pre-existing relationship with many Alaska voters.
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Democrats can’t just sit back and wait for voters to show up at the polls. A good ground game is a necessity, and that’s how unions could help tip the balance in Alaska.
