DNC’s Last-Ditch Effort: Will ‘Local Listeners’ Save the Party?

Paul Riverbank, 2/5/2026Democrats ditch scripts for “Local Listeners,” prioritizing genuine conversations to reclaim disillusioned voters.

This summer, though, the Democratic National Committee is trying something notably different. Gone are the “get out the vote” scripts and perfunctory check-ins. Instead, they’re launching “Local Listeners,” a program with a revealing premise: Before you can win someone back, you have to let them talk.

The nuts and bolts go well beyond door-knocking drills. Over seven weeks, party volunteers are being trained in what DNC Chair Ken Martin calls “active listening”—learning to hear frustration without rushing to the next talking point, and to sit with awkward silences about broken promises. “We can’t re-earn trust by talking at people,” Martin explained at a recent roundtable. “We have to listen. And really learn.”

It’s hardly a minor effort. By the DNC’s own data, there’s a million-strong group of 2020-voters-turned-no-shows that could flip close seats, especially in battleground regions where every drop-off can swing an outcome. Around a quarter of the outreach is over the phone, but most of it will happen in person—or, at least, somewhere neighbors can meet face-to-face and hash things out beyond the cable news glare.

Libby Schneider, the committee’s deputy executive director, doesn’t mince words about what sparked it: “After November, it was painful. This was honest self-reflection—what is actually in the party’s control? We decided it’s time to actually do the work, not just repackage our message.”

It’s easy to be skeptical, of course. Even some Democratic insiders have a tendency to eye-roll at another rebranding push. “We’ve been told in the past not to use ‘negative’ language, or to drop jargon from our scripts,” said one staffer, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, “but talking to voters like they’re actual people? Apparently, that qualifies as innovation.”

There’s good reason for the soul-searching. The party has watched its standing erode among Black voters, Hispanic voters, and young people. The post-election surveys tell a familiar tale: inflation pain, sour opinion of political elites, and a sense from many who stayed home that both parties missed the mark. “If you want people to believe you care about their rent or grocery bill,” says Alicia Patterson, a Philadelphia volunteer already enrolled in the pilot, “you have to hear about what keeps them up at night.”

Some of the recent campaign stops show the shift. In Rust Belt counties, volunteers have started showing up at union picnics and housing forums without literature, just notepads and open-ended questions. When they report back, that feedback goes straight to the top. Party leaders say the hope is to craft new messaging around economic anxiety, jobs, and opportunity—ground-level stuff, not high-concept rhetoric.

And there’s a sharp focus on Pennsylvania, where Governor Josh Shapiro’s approach—quietly practical, laser-focused on wages and affordability—has turned heads nationally. “If Shapiro can help us deliver in the statehouse, it changes everything,” state Rep. Mike Schlossberg weighed in.

Even so, the strategy hardly comes with guarantees. Voters’ mistrust runs deep, especially after years of polarization and gridlock in Washington. And more than one progressive veteran is wary, recalling how quickly the party sometimes drifts back toward Beltway battles, losing track of the pocketbook issues that matter most far from D.C.

Still, amid the doubts, there’s a sense that the clock is running out on old habits. Local Listeners isn’t a quick fix, and leaders admit it should have begun years ago. If it succeeds, it may be by doing what seems basic—start soon, listen harder, and act on what’s heard, rather than what’s polled. The next chapters, both in 2026 and beyond, may hinge on whether Democrats stick with that ethos—or retreat to safe scripts when the pressure mounts.

If you drop in on a coffee shop discussion in Harrisburg these days, odds are you’ll overhear local Democrats puzzling over a new question: How do you get the ones who vanished in 2024 to show up again? For party leaders, the days of relying on late-campaign blitzes seem to be over—burned by too many reminders of what happens when key voters simply sit the election out.This summer, though, the Democratic National Committee is trying something notably different. Gone are the “get out the vote” scripts and perfunctory check-ins. Instead, they’re launching “Local Listeners,” a program with a revealing premise: Before you can win someone back, you have to let them talk.The nuts and bolts go well beyond door-knocking drills. Over seven weeks, party volunteers are being trained in what DNC Chair Ken Martin calls “active listening”—learning to hear frustration without rushing to the next talking point, and to sit with awkward silences about broken promises. “We can’t re-earn trust by talking at people,” Martin explained at a recent roundtable. “We have to listen. And really learn.”It’s hardly a minor effort. By the DNC’s own data, there’s a million-strong group of 2020-voters-turned-no-shows that could flip close seats, especially in battleground regions where every drop-off can swing an outcome. Around a quarter of the outreach is over the phone, but most of it will happen in person—or, at least, somewhere neighbors can meet face-to-face and hash things out beyond the cable news glare.Libby Schneider, the committee’s deputy executive director, doesn’t mince words about what sparked it: “After November, it was painful. This was honest self-reflection—what is actually in the party’s control? We decided it’s time to actually do the work, not just repackage our message.”It’s easy to be skeptical, of course. Even some Democratic insiders have a tendency to eye-roll at another rebranding push. “We’ve been told in the past not to use ‘negative’ language, or to drop jargon from our scripts,” said one staffer, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, “but talking to voters like they’re actual people? Apparently, that qualifies as innovation.”There’s good reason for the soul-searching. The party has watched its standing erode among Black voters, Hispanic voters, and young people. The post-election surveys tell a familiar tale: inflation pain, sour opinion of political elites, and a sense from many who stayed home that both parties missed the mark. “If you want people to believe you care about their rent or grocery bill,” says Alicia Patterson, a Philadelphia volunteer already enrolled in the pilot, “you have to hear about what keeps them up at night.”Some of the recent campaign stops show the shift. In Rust Belt counties, volunteers have started showing up at union picnics and housing forums without literature, just notepads and open-ended questions. When they report back, that feedback goes straight to the top. Party leaders say the hope is to craft new messaging around economic anxiety, jobs, and opportunity—ground-level stuff, not high-concept rhetoric.And there’s a sharp focus on Pennsylvania, where Governor Josh Shapiro’s approach—quietly practical, laser-focused on wages and affordability—has turned heads nationally. “If Shapiro can help us deliver in the statehouse, it changes everything,” state Rep. Mike Schlossberg weighed in.Even so, the strategy hardly comes with guarantees. Voters’ mistrust runs deep, especially after years of polarization and gridlock in Washington. And more than one progressive veteran is wary, recalling how quickly the party sometimes drifts back toward Beltway battles, losing track of the pocketbook issues that matter most far from D.C.Still, amid the doubts, there’s a sense that the clock is running out on old habits. Local Listeners isn’t a quick fix, and leaders admit it should have begun years ago. If it succeeds, it may be by doing what seems basic—start soon, listen harder, and act on what’s heard, rather than what’s polled. The next chapters, both in 2026 and beyond, may hinge on whether Democrats stick with that ethos—or retreat to safe scripts when the pressure mounts.