Messaging Resources
Messaging Guidance & Toolkits
Solidarity Multi-Toolkit: LGBTQIA+, Immigration, Reproductive Rights, Education, Tax Reform, Trump Chaos
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Avoid repeating opposition claims and overemphasizing medical or policy details
- Focus on outcomes/impact on individuals and communities
- Lean into values (freedom, rights, autonomy/agency)
- Name victories to fight cynicism remind voters what we can accomplish – abortion ballot initiatives, defeating anti-choice candidates, etc.
- Rather than talking about the “Dobbs Decision,” which is not a well known phrase, use “overturning Roe v. Wade,” “took away the right to an abortion,” or “took away our freedom to decide if and when to start or grow our family.”
Reproductive Justice-Centered Messaging (Full Messaging Guide)
- Use values-based messages – Freedom/autonomy, justice/equity, and health are values that drive attitudes on abortion
- Focus on outcomes/impact on individuals and communities
- Link attacks on abortion to the broader MAGA attack on our freedoms
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Try to frame climate impacts in terms of lived experiences and tangible benefits, not abstract concepts. Whenever possible, emphasize how climate solutions will improve people’s lives (lower costs, better health, more jobs).
- Emphasize as much as you can the urgent need for climate action and the power of collective agency to drive change.
- Accountability matters. That’s why we should name specific culprits responsible for the climate crisis (fossil fuel CEOs, corporations, politicians they influence).
- A positive vision matters. It’s important to promote a clear, compelling vision of a clean energy future that benefits all communities and supports economic and environmental justice.
- Along those lines, highlight solutions and agency, especially those led by communities of color, not just problems. Link climate action to past collective victories and the power of people coming together.
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Focus on Outcomes: Whenever possible, emphasize tangible benefits for working families and the middle class rather than process-oriented details. People want and need to know how their lives are improving as a result of a candidate’s economic policies.
- Highlight Contrasts: Take the opportunity to contrast progressive policies from our opponents, particularly focusing on economic impacts and values.
- A Forward-Looking Vision: While celebrating past achievements, make sure to stress future commitments and ongoing efforts to improve the economy for everyone.
- Freedom and Opportunity: Make sure to frame economic policies within the context of expanding freedoms and opportunities for all Americans/Marylanders.
Our Shared Values and Unity: Finally, be sure to address how the policies benefit Marylanders across different races, backgrounds, and regions, underscoring our common values.
See also the latest economic message testing outcomes. Also, view our messaging presentation on why “Housing is the Key to a Better Economy.”
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Combining messaging about fair share with information about the budget crisis, and using framing that recognizes the current system is unfair to hardworking Marylanders strengthens support statewide, and bolsters localized support in all congressional districts.
- Messages that name the budget crisis do not lower support for fair taxes.
- Polling consistently shows strong support for taxing the wealthiest Marylanders and closing corporate loopholes statewide. With messaging, support strengthens even further.
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Messaging highlighting policies targeting homelessness performs well with moderates, middle income voters, urban voters, and Black voters.
- Messaging highlighting policies targeting lowering housing costs performs well with moderates, conservatives, higher income voters, and men.
- Most housing messaging performs well with younger voters, rural voters, and Latino voters.
Also, view our messaging presentation on why “Housing is the Key to a Better Economy.”
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Make sure you lead with shared values of freedom and opportunity that unite us across race and background. Highlight the courage of those who move to build a better life, not just the challenges they face.
- Whenever possible, lay out an affirmative vision for a fair and orderly immigration process that respects all families and allows everyone to contribute fully. Avoid getting trapped in just reacting defensively.
- Make sure that you emphasize workable solutions that are fair, practical and uphold our values. Appeal to the public’s desire for an immigration system that is orderly and functions properly, while rejecting policies that only focus on enforcement or demonizing immigrants.
- Take a balanced “both/and” approach – supporting smart border security AND creating legal pathways for immigrants to get right with the law and fully participate
- Name the culprits: politicians like Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican allies who scapegoat immigrants to divide us rather than pursuing real solutions. Take every opportunity to expose their motivations to distract, obstruct solutions, and preserve power through racial division.
- Be sure to highlight past progress and to envision future victories we can achieve by joining together across racial lines to demand policies that uphold freedom and human dignity.
- Be certain to lead with shared values like freedom, community, equality and responsibility. Connect proposed policies to upholding the values at the heart of the American identity.
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Housing: Even in well-performing messaging, rural voters especially resonate with affordability and access issues, and maybe also homelessness.
- Healthcare: (Medicare, prescription drugs) messaging performs above average, and those messages can be combined with “anti-government involvement” or “pro-freedom” abortion and contraception messaging, which also perform fairly well.
Pro-LGBTQ messaging performs badly, even highly effective messages that work well generally, underperform with rural voters.
*Messaging on this topic is very effective with young voters 18-30 and older voters 55+
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Full Messaging Guide)
- Economic Security for All Americans: Emphasize that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are essential pillars providing economic stability and healthcare support to millions of Americans, especially the elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals.
- Universal Protection: Emphasize that these programs protect individuals across all demographics, ensuring that every American has access to necessary support in times of need.
- Long-term Sustainability: Drive home the point that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not only vital for current beneficiaries but are also structured to support future generations with appropriate reforms.
- Contrast with MAGA plans: As is appropriate, contrast progressive commitments to protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with MAGA Republican plans to cut these vital programs all while giving tax cuts to the wealthy and big corporations.
Top-Line Messaging Principles (Autocharging Messaging Guide)
- Reference judges and their important role in the decision-making process whenever possible: Maryland voters trust judges to make decisions about teenagers and crime far more than any other group including legislators, law enforcement, mental health professionals, teachers, or religious leaders.
- Circumstances matter: The majority of Marylanders believe circumstances matter when it comes to charging teenagers with a criminal offense. The remainder of respondents split between believing all teens should be punished with jail time for any offense and all teens should receive services at home and in their community.
- End Autocharging: Multiple tests and messages showed consistent support for ending automatic charging. Explanatory messages about what autocharging is and how it works are not necessary to persuade voters.
- Juvenile system vs Adult system: The primary obstacles to messaging about autocharging are related to fundamental beliefs about the juvenile system vs. the adult system. Explain why the juvenile system is utilized and why the adult system does not meet the rehabilitative needs for teenagers.
The best message is one that focuses on inefficiency because it boosts support for and understanding of the juvenile system being a better placement for teenagers than the adult system. However, to ensure messaging is effective across demographics, this message should be “humanized” to include some of the points from the harmful message.