Home » DFA Training Academy Success Stories

The DFA Training Academy has had undeniable impact across the nation. From Elesha Gayman's upset state House victory in Iowa to Jerry McNerney's phenomenal Congressional pick up in California, candidates all over the country are publicly crediting alumni of the DFA Training Academy.

Featured Testimonials:

Elesha Gayman

"I had an uphill race in a part of Iowa that even the state Party didn't target. I sought training with a couple different groups, but it was the DFA Training Academy that really taught me the nuts and bolts of running a serious campaign. The DFA training taught my campaign how to analyze voter data, how to establish real-world goals and benchmarks, and how to talk to voters, volunteers, and the media. Campaigning is a skill, and it's something that every progressive activist should know. I'm certain we wouldn't have been able to win without the support and training of DFA."

Ben Walsh

These past few months have been amazing. Back in July I got a call from a friend I made at the DFA training I attended telling me about an opening for the campaign manager position on a state senate race. It was a solidly Republican seat with an five-term entrenched incumbent. It would be a challenge for anyone, and a position I wasn't sure I was able to take on. I was supposed to graduate from college this December, so I wasn't so sure about this rather drastic change of plans.

I hemmed and I hawed and I did the interview and a week and a half later I was in Rutland, VT managing Bill Carris' campaign. There was a lot of on the job learning involved, and I was working with an incredible candidate and an incredible Vermont Democratic Party field staff. But what made the difference, for me anyway, was the skills I got at the DFA training earlier in the year. From developing a campaign message to drafting our campaign field plan to coordinating our letter to the editor campaign, the skills we learned at the training were the basis for much of what we did on the campaign.

The results? In what was supposed to be a Republican stronghold in our little blue state Bill, my candidate, beat a solidly entrenched conservative Republican by a larger margin than any GOP candidate had won by in the past ten years! I can't emphasize enough the importance of getting more activists, like me, the skills they need to make their hard work go as far as possible.

Kevin Caridad

How we won when no one thought we would

I was the Butler County Organizer for Jason Altmire the Democratic candidate for PA's 4th CD. Jason challenged Republican Melissa Hart who was a three term incumbent and was believed to have a bullet proof seat. However, Election Day disproved that reality. I went to DFA training back in the early spring in Columbus, OH where I learned all aspects of running a campaign. I was volunteered to head Butler efforts because no one had great expectations of Butler due to the heavy Republican registration. The expectation was 32% of the vote.

I used my new learned DFA skills for fundraising, grassroots organizing, and for a strong GOTV effort. By the time election Day came I had raised over 10 thousand dollars, had amassed over 80 volunteers, and was the GOTV captain for the democratic congressional, senatorial, and governors race in Butlers 4th CD. By the end of the night we had swept Republican Congresswomen Hart and Senator Santorum out of office while retaining the governorship. GO DFA!

Norm Winick

A Democratic First in Knox County

I wanted to let you know that I sent a local judicial candidate, who was unknown to voters and had never run for any office before, to your DFA training session in the Quad Cities after the primary. Scott Shipplett and his wife took copious notes and followed your advice. They went door-to-door to thousands of homes. They did everything they learned.

He was running against a better-known, well-funded Republican attorney who had prevailed in a five-candidate primary.Tuesday, Scott Shipplett became the first elected Democratic judge in Knox County since before the Civil War.

Norm Winick, Chair
Knox County Democrats

Thomas De Luca

I needed to tell you that thanks to you and your team, my candidate won her election.

Samantha Steele is the first Democrat to be County Assessor (Tippecanoe County, Indiana) in over thirty years. The Republicans fight hard to keep their County seats here. In fact, Samantha is the only Democratic challenger that won this election (unfortunately).

Your Warrenville, IL training did this for us. Thank you. I'll never forget it.

A.J. Willmore

An Encouraging Word

[T]hank you, DFA Night School creators, contributors, and financial supporters. DFA Night School gave me the optimism and skills to work making calls for DFA and (later at night, into the SW and West coast from FL) MoveOn. At the local level, I became reacquainted with another cross-cultural (MoveOn and traditional Democratic precinct working) Dem at Dem headquarters, who I met when we delivered a MoveOn petition to pressure our local Repug Rep to fire Tom DeLay. As the election neared, I helped local Dems various ways:

• Recruiting phone bankers, encouraging them with information I learned in DFA Night School
• Recruiting drivers for rides to polling places
• Arranging and joining a rally to support our statewide candidate outside of the Republican headquarters to picket their candidate arriving from out of town
• Screening calls for the busy Dem execs before the election

An especially encouraging takeaway message from DFA Night School helped me in the 2006 campaign: No matter how discouraging call after call could be, I knew if I called for an hour and changed just one voter's mind, and I multiplied that by thousands of upbeat progressive phone bankers also changing just one voter's mind in that hour, that's thousands of votes for progressives. Some elections were won or lost by fewer than 100 votes. And not only was I encouraged, but working in the local Dem headquarters, making GOTV calls locally, I could share that encouraging message with GOTVers who may have been discouraged talking to local likely voters.

After the election, I was delighted to read an article about Red states going Blue, including New Mexico and Nevada. Those were the two states I called into for MoveOn GOTV at night when I had some time, when it was too late to call locally.

Frances Cleveland

After doing a lot of MoveOn calls and acting as Precinct Captain for my mostly democratic area, I decided that on Election Day I wanted to directly help get out the vote on a "critical" voting district. So I signed up to walk precincts for McNerney against Pombo. I went around with my walk list of likely McNerney voters, door hangers with polling location, and a friendly smile.

The highlight of the day for me personally was when I knocked at one door, and a very grumpy older man asked me why I was bothering him -- he was in the middle of cooking and didn't want the food to burn. I explained that I was there to urge him to vote. He snarled back that he couldn't vote. On gently questioning why (he was one my walk list as a voter), he irritatedly stated he hadn't gotten the right paper work sent to him. He had even asked for an absentee ballot but it had never arrived. But he wanted to get those damned Republicans out of there because they were destroying the country. I said that I would check with the poll workers. I did that, and found that indeed he was able to vote there. I went back and greeted him with "I've got great news for you! You can indeed vote!" He broke into a huge grin and said "That's just terrific! I don't mind if my food burns! Where do I go? Now I can help beat those bastards!"

Mark Harmon

Win Early, Win Often

I ran for Knox County (Tennessee) Commissioner throughout the spring and summer of 2006. The Election Day was August 3rd. I won with a little more than 54% of the vote, the only local candidate that day in our county to upset an incumbent. Democracy for America and Democracy for Tennessee trainings were very helpful. My campaign manager, Paul Witt, leads Democracy for Knoxville--and he was exceptionally good about strategy. The keys were: Door-to-door. I walked nearly the entire district, using good lists of likely voters. I stressed those who leaned Republican. If I could persuade them to vote for me that was a "two," one for me, one less for my opponent. I also went to many neighborhood association meetings, and had good direct mail. My issues were schools (more support needed), sprawl (too much), and sheriff (held accountable). To that I could add term limits because my opponent joined a lawsuit to nullify the county charter so he and several others could avoid term limits. I ran a subtle message that my opponent had done some good in eight years, but had let us down by that act -- and it was time for a fresh approach to these matters.

Fran Ryan

Grassroots Campaigns Work

Years ago, our neighborhood precinct wanted to usurp a village board and president, who were corruptly run by an adjacent village, comprised of a majority of Republicans.

We did telephone chains and home meetings to inform our fellow residents, and precinct co-captains walked the precinct to talk to people. In short, on Election Day that year, we threw the bums out -- all of them -- and our village was also a majority of Republicans. Our precinct was first in voting numbers. Sound like a familiar process? It was inspiring! Though I have voted in every election, I was never that angry or involved again until 2000, 2004 and 2006. Obviously, we lost in the first two elections. In this last one, I got really involved in lots of small ways. I contributed what I could afford to DNC, DFA, Common Cause, Truth Out, Barbara Boxer's PAC and a couple of other PACs to see if I could influence what was happening nationally.

I took a couple of DFA "night school" computer/telephone classes. I loved DFA's "grass roots" approach because I knew it could work. I walked neighborhoods with and without candidates. We also showed one of the films in our own precinct, and had the largest turnout of any of our precinct meetings. Our precinct captain and just a few neighbors had been involved. We were discouraged by what seemed like a lack of interest by many people, and we didn't realize we were actually getting peoples' attention.

Carol Yager

Update from Illinois

I promised to let you know how I did in my precinct after DFA training. Quick background: I have never been a precinct commitee person before. I had done lots of volunteer work (knocking on doors, marching, calling, etc.) but never had responsibility for an area. I attended DFA training in Warrenville, IL because I really didn't know what I was doing.

The Dems in my county are reorganizing. Since my area is one of the fasted growing in the US, voting records are incomplete with lots of wrong info. For example, according to walk lists from Voter Registrars, I didnt even live in my precinct. And many streets were missing. (In their defense, we are growing so fast, they do not have the staff to keep up) Following your advice, I got maps. And yes, I do live in my precinct.

There are 3 precincts in my subdivision, with about 800 voters in each (again according to the very screwed up out dated records). I am the only committe person. I determined to cover my precinct, and if I had time work on the other two (Did I tell you I am a dreamer and often bite off more than I can chew?).

I started in September with no volunteers, lousy records, and a strong Republican county. But, thanks to DFA training I had a plan! And I followed that plan.

Long story short, since you know the work involved, I really was hoping to just improve the Dem vote in my precinct (which has never voted democratic). I even reached the point of thinking the hell with the rest of the country, I can only do something about my little patch of earth.

At training you neglected to warn me of the anxiety and stress I would feel on election day! Waiting for the final numbers in my precincts (I covered all of mine and 3/4 of another) was torture. I had harrassed, stalked, fed, held hands and loved (boy do I love them!) my volunteers. Been out in all kinds of Chicago weather (even when I didn't want to go). Letters, meetings, registering voters, phone calls... you know the rest. But it all comes down to Election Day. This was my report card. Did I make a difference?

Hastert and the repubs still took the county with a huge margin. But in my little patch of earth, every single dem on the ticket won! Every single one. I don't know if that has ever happened in this county before. Of the three precincts: one that I never got to went Repub big with the rest of the county, one that I only covered part of went Dem with a small majority and my precinct went dem with a stronger majority. Goes to show if you train and get them out the door, it makes a difference.

Now the Kendall County Dems want me to head up all the precint people in the county. Start organizing for 2008. Asked if I wanted to run for county board.

I tell everyone that I didn't do anything special. I attended DFA training and followed the plan the best I could. It isn't magic. It was just following through on all that you taught me. So, kudos for you. You made a difference in my little patch of earth here in Illinois. Keep up the good work!

These are just a sampling of stories we've recieved in the last few weeks. Do you have one to share with us? Submit your own.