Priorities USA training hundreds in digital campaigning

By KEVIN ROBILLARD 04/13/2018 10:35 AM EDT

A major Democratic super PAC is training a new army of operatives as the party continues to rebuild its digital infrastructure following Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss, hoping to fill in gaps in training that limit digital operatives’ careers.

Priorities USA was the main super PAC backing Clinton’s bid and has since rebranded itself with a dual focus on digital ad buys and voting rights. The group is planning to spend $50 million backing Democrats with digital ads during the 2018 election. But it has also started training Democratic and progressive groups on how to best plan a digital advertising campaign and get the most for the money.

“Our bench is very shallow,” said Patrick McHugh, Priorities’ executive director. “So much of the talent is locked up in digital agencies. That makes decision-makers hesitant to invest in digital.”

The training program, which launched in November, has trained more than 250 operatives — from campaign managers to digital operatives — on how to put together digital budgets, be strategic with their investments, integrate digital with other parts of a campaign and create engaging content. The program is ramping up to a three-day boot camp in May, when Priorities will train 75 digital and data operatives from 50 different organizations.

The super PAC, led by high-profile Democratic operative Guy Cecil, is also launching a fellowship program to give aspiring operatives experience in digital when they are fresh out of college. While many young operatives are trained in press or field work, digital training is typically limited to writing fundraising emails, and it rarely includes get-out-the-vote or persuasion work.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/13/priorities-usa-training-480850