Swing Left, the progressive grassroots group, has launched a large-scale listening effort that uses artificial intelligence to process thousands of open-ended conversations with voters, including those who support Republicans. The project, called Ground Truth, has dispatched more than 3,000 volunteers to over 50 House districts across 23 states since January, aiming to rebuild trust in the Democratic Party by engaging voters directly and turning those conversations into actionable data.
The approach, known as deep canvassing, is not new, but the scale and the technology behind it are. Volunteers like Kim Allen, a 64-year-old middle school Spanish teacher from New York City, use an A.I.-powered app to record voice-to-text recaps of their conversations. Those records are stored in a central database where organizers can query them in plain English and distill findings for campaigns. In one community, the system surfaced widespread worries about a rusting water tower, an issue the Democratic candidate had not been aware of and that would not have appeared on a traditional canvassing questionnaire.
«Democrats have a real trust problem,» said Yasmin Radjy, executive director of Swing Left. «Our perspective is that the way that you build trust has to start by listening.» The effort is part of a broader push to modernize campaigning with A.I. A March survey from the American Association of Political Consultants found that more than 80% of consultants from both parties report using A.I. weekly, for tasks ranging from matching campaigns with online content creators to drafting ads and talking points. The Democratic National Committee has also undertaken its own phone-banking listening effort called Local Listeners.
Ground Truth carries political risk. One survey found that most voters disapprove of using A.I. for many campaign-related activities, including simple uses like drafting fundraising emails. Fundraising hurdles on the left and the slow pace of change within politics have also made it difficult to reach the scale Swing Left hoped for. The group initially set out to talk to 500,000 potential voters before Election Day, but by the end of September it had talked to just over 40,000.
Even so, Radjy sees Ground Truth as a «proof of concept» for the 2028 election and beyond. It is a test of whether A.I., despite being an unpopular technology among most voters, can become a potent tool for understanding them. The hope is that with this information in hand, people will not just feel like some stranger was willing to listen, but that their concerns are being heard and acted upon.