Trump convicted, but “the only verdict that matters is Election Day”
For Immediate Release
May 30, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT
Zo Tobi, Director of Donor Organizing
press@movement.vote
NEW YORK — In the historic first criminal trial of a former President, today a jury found Donald Trump guilty of violating campaign finance laws by falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to an adult film actress.
Not all anti-Trump groups are celebrating, however.
Movement Voter PAC (MVP), which helps anti-Trump donors fund local organizing in swing states, is advising donors to simply keep their focus on funding grassroots, microtargeted get-out-the-vote efforts.
“The real trial is Democracy v. Trump, and the only verdict that matters is Election Day,” admonished Zo Tobi, MVP spokesperson. “Our only defense against a second Trump term is a few thousand hard-to-reach voters in a handful of states — and local organizers are our best hope at mobilizing them.”
In 2020, Joe Biden defeated then-President Trump by only 42,844 votes across Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin — just 0.027% of all votes cast nationwide. Now, in 2024 polling, Trump narrowly leads Biden in six of the top seven swing states.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but even with a guilty verdict, we are still a coin toss away from a second Trump term,” Tobi continued. “If young voters and voters of color turn out like they did in 2020, Trump loses. If they choose the couch this time, he wins. TV ads won’t move these voters. Panic donations in October won’t either. Person-to-person outreach by local trusted messengers is the best shot we have.”
A growing body of evidence supports the view that person-to-person voter engagement creates the greatest effect on voter turnout, particularly among the disaffected and lower-propensity voters who will likely decide the 2024 Presidential Election in the top-tier battleground states.
“The fact that a convicted former President is still leading in many swing-state polls doesn’t mean ‘game over,’ it means ‘naptime over,’” said Tobi. “Time to turn off the trial coverage, get off the ‘pollercoaster,’ and give like our democracy depends on it.”
###
Movement Voter PAC (MVP) is a one-stop shop for strategically investing in local organizations that win elections and transform policy. Learn more: https://movement.vote
