How Nativ3 Mobilized for Dr. Scott Jensen's Victory with P2P Texting

Learn how Nativ3 Digital Marketing mobilized Dr. Scott Jensen’s Gubernatorial campaign in one of the most complicated Caucus systems in the U.S. by using peer-to-peer (P2P) texting.

Minnesota’s caucus and convention system is notoriously one of the most complicated processes in the entire country. Candidates hoping to come out with an endorsement must go through an elaborate balloting process and hit 60% of the vote during the Minnesota GOP State Convention, which was held on May 14th this year.

This year’s balloting process was “less like politics and more like WWE” according to Max Rymer, President of Nativ3, an accomplished digital marketing firm. In total, there were nine rounds of balloting to determine who would receive the party’s endorsement - the second longest ever in Minnesota history.

Nativ3 worked closely with former State Senator Dr. Scott Jensen during his bid for the gubernatorial endorsement, all while navigating the vicious smear campaign against him for maintaining moderate stances during his time in the state senate. 

In order for Jensen to succeed in this grueling dog fight, Nativ3 needed to think outside the box. They had to capitalize on Jensen’s love for his constituency instead of relying on established Republican institutions who were after his throat. 

So what did they do? They utilized peer-to-peer (P2P) texting to connect directly with Minnesota’s Basic Political Operating Units (BPOUs) and mobilize them to action. 

About Nativ3 

Nativ3 is a digital marketing company based out of Minneapolis, who have helped clients worldwide with their digital products, problems, and processes. They have almost two decades of experience in digital marketing strategy, website development, app development, and more.

Setting the Stage

Minnesota’s caucus process started with their statewide precinct caucuses on February 1st. Voters led by their BPOUs gathered to choose volunteers, discuss issues and ideas for the party to support, conduct straw polls and choose delegates to represent the precinct at district and county conventions.

Despite the heat Jensen was receiving, it was clear his passion for his constituency resonated with voters as he took 1st place by a significant margin in the straw poll taken by some 40,000 caucus-goers.

Between February 1st and the state convention on May 14th, local party conventions were held which determined the pool of state convention delegates that would vote for who to endorse. This is when Nativ3 began their endorsement-winning strategy. 

The Strategy 

Dr. Scott Jensen was not the candidate positioned to come out with the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement. This was a high-intensity campaign for Jensen, who had been facing heat for more than a year prior to the start of the caucus process over decisions he made during his time in the state senate, where he served with leadership.

In order to secure the endorsement, mobilizing passionate voters not previously involved in established politics was critical because Jensen would not have won with the traditional crowds.

On top of this, Nativ3 knew that organization and education would be crucial to getting voters through Minnesota’s complicated caucus system, and that the crowded, hostile competition for the gubernatorial endorsement would use anything they could against Jensen. Thorough studies of voter behavior and the caucus process informed their strategy to navigate these challenges successfully.

This led Nativ3 to start utilizing our P2P texting. 

P2P texting was the key for slating during the local party convention portion of the Minnesota caucus process. Nativ3 was able to directly connect with supporters and local party delegates in these BPOUs to inform participants which Jensen-supporting-delegates to vote into the state convention. 

Nativ3 expertly segmented contacts into individual BPOU districts and counties for hyper-focused, personalized and stealthy targeting that would not have been possible to achieve via email or other channels. 

The delivery rate for these vital text messages reached 95%+ at almost all times with an average response rate of 17-18%. 

Along with state convention delegate slating, Nativ3 used texting for surveying, volunteer recruitment, convention registration and fundraising leading up to the state convention. Although the Jensen campaign was already receiving impressive support from donors, they were pleasantly surprised to see that their fundraising pitches worked extremely well via P2P texting - some of their fundraising texts raised $12,000-$15,000 with less than $400 spent. 

At the state convention on May 14th, Nativ3 used P2P texting on the convention floor for decisive organization and mobilization in real time. Each time they sent a message to organize an emergency meeting, 150-200 people arrived ready for instruction within 15 minutes. 

The results speak for themselves. After nine rounds of dramatic, see-saw-like lead changes, Jensen went over the top on the ninth ballot with 65% of the vote, securing the endorsement. 

August 9th Minnesota Primaries 

Nativ3 pushed off the momentum of the endorsement win and continued sending compelling texts to voters to and past the primaries.

Their event invitation and fundraising texts were notably impressive and impactful. 

All major candidates dropped their bids after the convention, allowing Dr. Scott Jensen to avoid a competitive contest in the primaries, where he achieved a landslide victory with over 90% of the vote.

Bottom Line

Because of Nativ3’s expert strategy with P2P texting, Jensen bested a crowded competition for the GOP gubernatorial endorsement after he dominated the vote at the state party convention with 65% of the delegate vote and 90% of the primary vote.

Facilitating essential educational efforts and mobilizing voters one on one using the most visible communication channel – P2P texting – made the difference for the Jensen campaign. Want to achieve the same results with powerful and easy to use P2P texting? Sign up today at rumbleup.com.

Still have questions or concerns about how texting could best work for you? Please contact our sales team at (833) 530-4400 or sales@rumbleup.com and they will help find the best solution for you!