Colin Allred’s Record-Breaking Digital Fundraising Program
When civil rights attorney, former NFL linebacker, and Congressman Colin Allred decided to challenge Ted Cruz in the 2024 cycle, he needed a digital operation that could generate immediate, nationwide momentum and sustain it all the way to Election Day.
Partnering with his team from day one, we set out to build an online program capable of reaching the scale he needed. In the first 36 hours alone, the campaign raised more than $2 million online across 45,000 donations – becoming the largest Senate launch of the 2024 cycle. It was also the first step in making Rep. Allred’s campaign the top-raising Senate digital program of the 2024 cycle.
$65 Million
raised online
$2+ Million
aised in the first 36 hours
439%
ROI on list acquisition by Election Day
Over 1,000%
ROI generated by supporters acquired in the first three months
TheGoal
Allred began his U.S. Senate campaign with a small, inactive email program and not much else. To compete in a high-stakes election against Cruz, our goal was to reach historic scale on launch day and beyond by building a powerful online fundraising operation from scratch, all while expanding supporter reach, driving aggressive list growth, and maximizing revenue around key campaign moments.
THESTRATEGY
PoweringtheCampaignLaunch
With only a small email list to start and no SMS program, we leaned on peer-to-peer texting to reach 2 million prospective donors during the campaign launch. We tested dozens of content variants to tailor content to what each audience responded to best.
The campaign launch was also key to building up recurring revenue and securing opt-ins for a broadcast SMS program: We converted thousands of new recurring donors, who gave hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the campaign, and nearly 50,000 new broadcast opt-ins, who donated more than $2.5M by Election Day.
The P2P strategy at campaign launch was recognized with a 2025 C&E Reed Award for Best Use of P2P on a Campaign. And the campaign launch became the highest raising of the 2024 cycle, with more than $2M raised in 36 hours.
InvestinGrowthEarlyOn
We helped the Allred campaign acquire more than 6 million new supporters, which generated an overall return of 439% on that investment by Election Day.
We committed early on to aggressive growth, engaging and cultivating supporters to respond at big moments. Between May and July of 2023, the campaign invested seven figures into building up its email and SMS lists. By Election Day, those supporters acquired within the first three months of the campaign alone had donated more than $12 million – an incredible return of over 1,000% on investment.
ActivateSupportersWithCandidate-FocusedCreative
Throughout the campaign, our content strategy focused on introducing digital supporters to Allred with messaging about his background, upbringing, and beliefs – so that they could truly get to know him and be inspired by his candidacy. When big moments happened, the relationships we’d cultivated with supporters meant we could be nimble and direct – getting content in front of them quickly that spoke to the moment at hand with a clear call to action for urgent, immediate support.
ScaleAcrossKeyChannelsDuringMajorCampaignMoments
At big moments, we used peer-to-peer texting, digital ads, and bundling partnerships to reach an even larger audience and maximize revenue. For example, on the day of a key debate and the day following, the Allred campaign raised just under $3 million online. More than half of this came from scaling up across texting, ads, and bundling – and we were able to bring in over 36,000 new donors.
THERESULTS
By combining intentional early pipeline building with a groundbreaking peer-to-peer texting engine, our partnership helped Allred build a campaign that inspired millions of Texans and grassroots supporters across the country. We helped transform a race that started with minimal digital infrastructure into a record-shattering $65 million powerhouse – becoming the highest-raising Senate Democratic campaign of the 2024 cycle:
$65M
raised online
$2M+
raised in the first 36 hours
439%
ROI on list acquisition by Election Day
1000+%
ROI generated by supporters acquired in the first three months
MissionWired enabled our campaign to make the absolute most of every moment – launch, debates, polling, you name it. MissionWired never left a single dollar on the table. That was true from day one and for the duration of the cycle. Their partnership, collaboration, and keen political acumen and strategy are top-notch, and we could not have become the top-raising Senate campaign in the country without them.
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