Common Defense
Common Defense describes itself as the nation’s “largest grassroots membership organization of progressive veterans.” Launched in 2016, its work includes voter engagement, training veterans to become organizers and advocates, legislative advocacy and candidate endorsements. In contrast to VoteVets, another leader in this space, Common Defense centers a “bottom-up” model of political changes and stakes out more explicitly progressive positions on issues such as climate change.
Why This Work is Important
Democrats still have work to do on veterans and defense. The stigma that liberals are “soft” on national security has dogged Democratic candidates for years and polling shows that voters continue to see Republicans as better able to defend the country from foreign threats. Similarly, liberals are also often seen as disinterested in the specific needs of veterans compared to conservatives. Bolstering support among veterans and military families is especially important given the ongoing falloff in support for Democrats among non-college-educated voters of all races.
Veterans and military families are an important and persuadable voting group. With key elections often decided by raz0r-thin margins, Democrats have a lot to gain by increasing their vote share among veterans and military families, especially in certain battleground states and districts. Democrats have made significant headway with these groups in recent years by paying much closer attention to this community and promoting policies that help veterans. While veterans narrowly supported Trump in 2020, it was by a much smaller margin than in 2016. This progress suggests that further electoral gains are likely with greater donor investment in VoteVets and organizations doing similar work.
Veterans have unique strengths as both political candidates and organizers or messengers. The military is one of the few institutions in U.S. society that still commands public trust. Polling in 2022 showed more than half of registered voters liked candidates with military experience. As organizers or messengers, veterans enjoy a similar level of respect when doing direct outreach with voters and can get a hearing from audiences who might not be receptive to Democratic appeals.
Why Donors Should Consider Common Defense
Common Defense engages in targeted GOTV. In recent election cycles, Common Defense has engaged in voter engagement work in key battleground states, including Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin. It has focused its efforts in areas with high veteran density and conducted outreach through texting and phone banking, with an emphasis on peer-to-peer contacts where possible.
Common Defense invests in leadership and organizing. Through its Veterans Organizing Institute, Common Defense “supports the leadership development of progressive military veterans.” It uses trainings and convenings to equip these emerging leaders with the skills they need to be effective organizers and social change agents. The organization has also built a membership program to engage progressive veterans in a range of electoral activities and policy campaigns.
Common Defense is proudly progressive. With its strong stances on military intervention, LGBTQ rights, defending democracy and climate change, Common Defense stands out among veterans groups for its strongly progressive positioning.
Donors have different ways to give. Common has both a c3 and c4 arm, as well as a PAC, giving donors multiple options for providing support.
Conclusion
Engaging and empowering veterans through grassroots organizing and electoral outreach can yield big dividends. Veterans are a persuadable group of voters and can also be strong messengers to audiences that Democrats often struggle to connect with. In addition, with the right skills and support, they can be effective change agents in their communities. Donors who are keen to expand the Democratic coalition and believe in a bottom-up model of political change should give special consideration to giving to Common Defense, which has a c3, a c4, and a PAC.