“It is really a partnership between the Republican National Committee and the (N.C.) Republican Party to form the strongest ground game operation and get-out-the-vote effort in our party and our state’s history,” said Daniel Keylin, the N.C. Republican Party’s spokesman.
The operation aims to be a true grassroots movement, starting at the lowest level by recruiting precinct leaders to gather votes.
“Rather than having out-of-state canvassers lead the get-out-the-vote operation, it will be people who live in the specific precincts, who know their neighbors, who know their town,” Keylin said.
The program targets Republican voters in the 2012 general election who are unlikely to vote in the midterms, such as minority and young voters.
The program has not contacted UNC College Republicans Chairwoman Kathryn Walker yet, but she sees the program as a positive step for the N.C. GOP.
“Republicans are unified and resolved in the goal to win the Senate, and I hope that Boots on the Ground will be successful in mobilizing voters so that we can accomplish this,” she said in an email.
In addition to increasing outreach programs, Boots on the Ground has also begun to introduce technology through a new phone app that will provide live updates to volunteers and serve as a direct line of communication to field offices.
The U.S. Senate race has become contentious in North Carolina due to Sen. Kay Hagan’s shaky hold on the state so far, according to data from the left-leaning firm Public Policy Polling — although recent polls show that Hagan is slightly leading her potential Republican challengers.
