State legislative races can often receive far less attention from voters compared to national political contests, despite the policy decisions coming from these elections having a far more direct impact on their everyday lives. In 2022 however, voters were paying close attention– and in states like Colorado where reproductive rights were on the ballot, they knew just how much was at risk. With state legislators in the driver’s seat on such critical issues, Democrats across Colorado sought to maintain their majority. All Together Colorado, a progressive allied organization, turned to Ascend Digital Strategies and DSPolitical to assist in the fight by delivering persuasive and informative ads to persuadable, pro-choice voters in competitive districts across Colorado.

For Colorado Republicans, the state’s senate appeared to be the party’s best chance at regaining power. With some individual Senate districts having seen as much as $4 million in campaign spending, it was evident that Republicans would not relent, and Democratic candidates would have to employ all available resources to hold onto their seats. In order to actually move voters to the polls, Colorado Democrats clearly needed extremely compelling messaging and the technology behind it to be as efficient as possible.

To engage voters, Ascend Strategies delivered ad creative with an emphasis on the following:

• Positive, candidate-focused ads supporting Democratic candidates.
• Negative ads specifically centered around Republicans’ anti-abortion stances.

Using DSPolitical’s advanced targeting capabilities these ads were delivered across candidate districts with additional filters for persuasion, partisanship, and voter turnout. The most powerful targeting method used in this campaign however, was DSPolitical’s Pro-Choice Audience segments.

Through voter data partnerships, DSPolitical’s custom choice persuasion audiences ensure campaigns can reach persuadable voters and tailor messaging for voters who may be less receptive or negatively react to choice messaging. For this campaign, ads were targeted using the largest choice audience available, an audience that expands on the range of eligible choice scores for the widest reach possible.

Throughout this campaign, DSPolitical constantly adapted our media buying strategy as deadlines drew nearer. That meant quickly adapting to creative and building upon our partners’ strategy to reach the optimal audience at the best cost per lead. In the end, persuasive creative from Ascend Strategies coupled with DSPolitical’s breadth of voter data and advanced targeting technology helped drive Democratic wins across Colorado, keeping control of the state legislature safely in Democratic hands.