The following article first appeared in the Kansas GOP's Friday file newsletter.
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The past few days have led to a stark realization for Democrats that they have lost touch with blue collar working class voters across the country. Hunters and 2nd Amendment supporters, a large part of this working class voter bloc, are historically elusive to motivate, and predominantly care about the basic kitchen table issues that directly affect their families. They will remain critical to the future success of electing conservatives across the country.
The key to motivating this group of voters in the future runs through a small non-profit group headquartered in Mission, KS. The organization is called Hunter Nation and its impact in the 2024 election demonstrates that with the right messaging strategy, and the right messengers, hunters can be a demographic that conservatives can rely on. Hunter Nation has cracked the code to turn out these hard to reach and tough to motivate voters. This election cycle proved that, when motivated to vote, Hunters and 2nd Amendment supporters will be critical to future GOP successes.
I had a front row seat over the past four years, helping Hunter Nation mature into an effective operation engaging and turning out Hunters to vote. This critical group of working class voters will decide future elections if they continue to vote in the large numbers they did in 2024. The blueprint this organization has developed and perfected can carry this red wave forward for generations to come by continuing to engage even more like-minded and tough to motivate potential voters.
Hunter Nation is a conservative non-profit that is dedicated to protecting and promoting the future of hunting by engaging Hunters in public policy and getting them to vote through its get out the vote program called Hunt the Vote.
Hunter Nation has a solid leadership team of bona fide Hunters, starting with its founder, a Kansas attorney, Keith Mark. Big name hunting celebrities like Ted Nugent, Donald Trump Jr, and Michael Waddell have also joined the movement. These celebrities engaged with Hunters in many of the key swing states and encouraged them to vote. Skillfully crafted messages were delivered directly to conservative-leaning Hunters with exact targeting technology. The messaging was simple and starkly different from what these voters were seeing on their TV screens. While political television ads were predominantly negative, Hunter Nation’s messages were simple and focused on appealing to Hunters’ traditional values, and emphasizing the importance of participating in elections. With Hunter Nation’s encouragement, Hunters turned out in record numbers in the key swing states where there is a large population of hunters.
Hunter Nation’s GOTV program, Hunt The Vote, features an interactive website, HuntTheVote.org. The website is an interactive tool that was easy to use and proved to be an invaluable tool for new or hesitant voters to look up polling locations, how to register to vote or request an absentee ballot, and how/where to vote early. This resource simplifies the voting process for individuals that have never registered or voted before.
Hunters are historically a low turnout segment of the working class conservative-leaning voters. They are what we call in politics, “low propensity” voters, meaning they have previously not voted. Yet, this small but incredibly effective nonprofit organization from Kansas has mastered the art of motivating these disengaged and disenfranchised voter demographic with their proprietary data modeling, influential celebrity partners and their ability to deliver simple but impactful messaging. As a result, Hunters turned out in record numbers this election cycle.
With Hunter Nation’s historic turnout of hunters, Republicans in Kansas and other swing states are celebrating incredible victories right now. This voter segment can continue to be a key bloc of voters for the GOP in the future as long as the party continues to support and pass legislation in line with Hunters’ traditional values. Hunter Nation is the group that is the key to this important and highly coveted, Conservative demographic in the future.
If you want to learn more about Hunter Nation and their voter outreach project Hunt the Vote, visit HunterNation.org and HuntTheVote.org and stay tuned as they release more information about the vital impact of hunters in this historic election.
John Connors is a partner at Campaign Now, a strategic grassroots political consulting firm that works with leading conservative public policy and political organizations.
