Knocking for a cause: Progressive Turnout Project’s effort to flip NC blue

Progressive Turnout Project launches massive voter mobilization effort across NC

North Carolina is one of seven critical swing states in this year’s election, and for Christopher Rokosny Dean, a Belmont native and canvasser with Progressive Turnout Project—the largest voter contact organization in the country—that means knocking on doors and making calls to get voters to the ballot box. 

On Tuesday evening, Dean knocked on his 170th door of the day—wrapping up a nine-hour shift with his husband by his side.

“We have to meet people where they are, and that’s what canvassing is,” Dean said. “It’s not just a throwaway phrase. Canvassing will never go out of style.” 

For Dean, canvassing is more than a job—it’s his way of challenging those with power and standing up for those without it. As a former Republican who left the party in 2018, he said he knows the tactics he’s up against, having personally seen misinformation about elections scaring people away from the polls—such as claims that ballots would be invalid if any races are left blank, or that getting mail-in ballots is as easy as a quick phone call. 

“They want you to stay home,” Dean said. “I know the playbook. It’s ‘if we can’t win them, we’re going to scare them. If we can’t scare them, we’re going to suppress them.’”

Progressive Turnout Project (PTP), the grassroots organization that employs Dean, was founded in 2015 to boost voter turnout among Democrats, especially in key swing states like North Carolina. The group reaches voters through door-to-door canvassing, phone and text banking, targeted messaging, and pro-democracy trivia nights, aimed to encourage turnout among registered voters who often lean Democratic, but may not consistently vote.

During its 2021-22 cycle, PTP knocked on 148,000 doors in North Carolina to build momentum. 

And the work is especially crucial for Democrats if they want to flip North Carolina, a state that’s been reliably red in every presidential election but one since 1980. In 2008, former president Barack Obama was the only Democrat to do it, but only by less than a half of a percentage.

With polls indicating a potential path for Kamala Harris this year, Dean and PTP see every door they knock on as part of a long-short effort to tip the scales blue.

To do so, however, Democrats will have to do better in rural places. Rural counties have been dominated by Republicans for decades, while progressive power has been centralized in urban areas like Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, and Charlotte. 

Since joining PTP in August, Dean has knocked on doors particularly in rural areas like Rocky Mount, Mount Holly, Cherryville, Hickory, Gastonia near Crowders Mountain, and more. And this year, Dean is one of 1,111 onboard in the Campaign Fellows Program nationwide. Those based in the Tar Heel state alone have knocked on 570,343 doors, PTP officials said, with the organization’s goal to hit 773,216 doors in North Carolina by Election Day. 

“It’s a hard deadline, Nov. 5,” Dean said. “But I’ve committed to knocking on a certain number, and darn it, I’m going to knock on those doors. So you’re looking at a mixture of determination, and just pure belief in the cause.”

Beyond canvassing, PTP also supports initiatives to make voting easier and more accessible, advocating for reforms like expanded early voting, vote-by-mail, and automatic voter registration. The group fundraises to support Democratic campaigns and often collaborates with other progressive organizations to strengthen turnout efforts. Their focus has been especially intense in presidential and midterm election cycles.

Ahead of Election Day, PTP announced endorsements for over 500 Democrats across the country, including 41 in North Carolina. 

In a statement, PTP’s president Alex Morgan said the organization, its hundreds of thousands of volunteers and millions of supporters are “fired up and ready to rally Democrats in competitive elections up and down the ballot from coast to coast.” He noted that the outcome of races this year will determine not just control of the White House and Congress, but also state houses that play a role in protecting fundamental freedoms.

For Dean, that fired up drive is deeply personal.

“What drives me is that this year, we can’t just remember how we felt, all excited for Kamala, Tim, and others,” Dean said. “We have to remember what we did. So in 20 years, when I’m talking to my daughter or grandchildren, I want to be able to say that I voted for the first female president. And I knocked on thousands of doors to help her get there.”

For those interested in getting involved with voter turnout initiatives, check out PTP’s mobilizing efforts here.