Democratic Party of Georgia Announces Participation in DNC Organizing Corps for 2020

Program Will Grow 2020 Field Program To Turn Georgia Blue

Today, the Democratic Party of Georgia, in partnership with the Democratic National Committee, 270 Strategies, Collective PAC, and six other state parties announced their participation in Organizing Corps 2020, a program to recruit and train students expecting to graduate by June 2020 and place them as field organizers in battleground states, including Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

“The key to victory in 2020 is starting our work now,” said Nikema Williams, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “This strong investment by the DNC in our organizing program proves what we already know: winning Georgia is essential for Democrats to win nationally, and our strong field program will take us there.”

Organizing Corps 2020 will help build the grassroots infrastructure needed to turn Georgia blue, while investing in the next generation of Democratic leaders — focusing on communities of color who have been traditionally underrepresented among political campaign staff. Not only will these corps members be critical capacity to win in 2020, but Democrats recognize the need to recruit young diverse talent to enter the pipeline to join campaigns, run for office, organize in their communities and become leaders within the party infrastructure.

“Over the past few cycles, Georgians have seen the results of what strong intentional organizing can do,” said Chrystian Woods, Interim Executive Director for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “After turning Cobb and Gwinnett blue, picking up 14 seats in the legislature, and turning out for the closest governor’s race in Georgia history, we’ve shown the value of strong investments in field.”

“Organizing Corps 2020 will be a tremendous asset as we continue to build a home-grown field program that truly represents Georgia, “ said Justin Pitts, Organizing Director for the DPG. “Through intentionally focusing on building a new generation of diverse organizers, this program will not only help us win in 2020, but it will help us create lasting long-term growth.”

Organizing Corps 2020 organizers will be from the communities that they have close ties to, are majority minority and will become an integral part of building the Democratic party in the years and decades to come. With a structured college-to-career pipeline for organizing, the program will recruit juniors in the spring of 2019 from local colleges, including HBCUs. These students will work hand in hand with the state party as they become enrolled in eight weeks of on-the-ground training with campaign veterans, who will teach them critical organizing and campaign skills such as voter registration, data analysis, and digital organizing. After the training program, Corps members will return to their campuses and continue to organize. In May 2020, Corps members will graduate, and will be ready to hit the ground running for Democratic candidates.

The 2020 Organizing Corps is a key part of the infrastructure that Georgia Democrats have been building for years to support Democratic candidates and turn Georgia blue. This program builds on the organizing and investments that led to historic turnout and victories in the midterm elections.

###