October 6, 2016

DNC to Launch ‘Forward Together’ 20-State Tour, Will Make Closing Argument of Election and Mobilize Key Communities

This weekend Democrats are launching our “Forward Together” grassroots mobilizing tour – the driving force behind our closing argument to voters in the final days of the 2016 election. Democratic officials, community leaders, celebrities, activists, and hard-working Americans will travel on two buses across the country to highlight what’s at stake in this election and mobilize people to register, vote, and volunteer.
 
The bus tour builds upon the engagement and mobilization efforts the DNC has focused on since our convention in July. We've implemented a grassroots and activist driven digital campaign that spreads our message across multiple online channels. We launched IWillVote.com, an online tool for voter registration and education. We have engaged grassroots donors with our “45 for 45” campaign, encouraging supporters to pitch in $45 to elect the 45th president. We launched Victory Leaders Councils to expand ground capacity for down-ballot races in states like Arizona and Georgia that have not typically received attention in recent presidential elections, for this cycle and others to come. This week, the DNC also announced a new 7-figure advertising blitz focused on communities of color. And we’ve put resources where they matter most, in the states, sending $5 million to the DSCC and the DCCC to help us win as many congressional seats as possible.
 
“President Obama moved our country Forward during his eight years in the White House. Hillary Clinton knows that we are Stronger Together, and she has the experience and vision to bring people together and get real results. From now through Election Day, we’re moving Forward Together. We’re hitting the road and taking our message to as many cities and towns as we can, helping Democrats win up and down the ballot from the White House to the courthouse. Stand with us, fight with us, ride with us,” said DNC Interim Chair, Donna Brazile.
 
The Forward Together Tour is the most expansive mobile organizing effort ever launched by the DNC. We'll be crisscrossing the country meeting with voters and sharing our commitment, laid out in the most progressive party platform in history, to move our nation forward by building communities and an economy that work for everyone – not just the few.
 
That’s the message that came out of our convention in July, that’s what our party stands for, and that’s why we must elect Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats up and down the ballot this November. The stakes are too high to sit this election out. Donald Trump and Republicans are dividing us and want to take us backwards. They would undo the progress we’ve made and build an economy that works for Trump and billionaires like him. Throughout the Forward Together tour, we will hold Donald Trump accountable for his divisive policies, me-first economic vision, and dangerous temperament. And we will be holding the Republican officials who support him accountable.
 
The issues we’ll be discussing with voters include: raising wages; combatting student debt; ensuring Wall Street and billionaires like Donald Trump pay their fair share; tackling climate change; fixing our broken immigration system; equal pay for women; reforming our criminal justice system; expanding access to the ballot; reducing the influence of money in our democracy; investing in our children and families; and standing up against bigotry and hatred.
 
“We want to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. To make that happen we have to energize and turn out voters in every corner of the country. With just a few weeks to go before Election Day, we're working day and night, seven days a week, to make the case for our candidates up and down the ballot. The Forward Together tour is the centerpiece of our final push toward victory in November,” said DNC Chief of Staff, Brandon Davis.
 
The Forward Together tour kicks off this Sunday, October 9th, with the first bus starting in St. Louis on the morning of the 2nd Presidential Debate. From there, the bus will circle the Midwest and then head west toward California.
 
The second Forward Together bus will begin in Ohio on October 12th and from there head east and south, focusing on the Rust Belt, Mid-Atlantic, and South.
 
Over the course of the tour, we'll be focused on getting out the vote in states with early-voting and registering voters prior to registration deadlines. We’ll make stops at universities, Democratic field offices, churches, barber shops and community centers. And we'll focus on communities that are critical to Democratic victory and that have the most at stake in this election – communities of color, labor, women, students, millennials, and more.
 
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